No such thing as the ‘Big Society’? The Conservative Party's unnecessary search for ‘narrative’ in the 2010 general election

Dorey, Peter; Garnett, Mark

doi:10.1057/bp.2012.17

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…In many ways, this is in keeping with the ambitions of Government ministers who have promoted the Big Society, localism and co-production since 2010 (Dorey and Garnett, 2012; HM Government, 2010). However, this approach to public policy has largely been about ‘spatial liberalism’, freeing up local actors to take initiatives that best meet the needs of their area within the parameters for action laid down by national legislation covering neighbourhood planning, the right to challenge and the right to buy (Clarke and Cochrane, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

(Re)Locating Community in Relationships: Questions for Public Policy

Wills

2016

The Sociological Review

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This paper argues that we should think of community as being about social relationships rather than a 'thing' that is 'lost' 'found' or 'made'. The paper draws on the philosophy of Roberto Esposito and the sociology of David Studdert to highlight the overlaps in their approaches to community. Both argue that community is ontological, as unavoidably 'with us'. The paper then draws upon two empirical examples to argue that this approach could enable a different kind of public policy in relation to community. Policy would focus on existing relationships as the starting point for any efforts to effect social change. The implications for contemporary debates about localism are explored at the end of the paper.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

(Re)Locating Community in Relationships: Questions for Public Policy

Wills

2016

The Sociological Review

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“…Others have focused on the practicalities of the Big Society, with authors such as Ware (2011), Alcock, (2010, Bach (2012) and Dawson (2012) expressing pessimism with regards Cameron's ability to engineer the types of social changes he wants to see, while authors such as Jordan (2011) have arrived at an altogether more sympathetic reading of the Big Society's prospects. Meanwhile, Buckler & Dolowitz (2012) and Dorey & Garnett (2012) have focused on the reasons for the failure of the Big Society to deliver the Conservatives a general election win in 2010, with both concluding that the main reason for this failure was the inability of Cameron to successfully balance the exigencies of party management -in particular, placating unreformed Thatcherites -and portraying the Conservative party as 'modernised' in the eyes of the wider public.…”

Section: Making Sense Of the 'Cameron Project'mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Much of this kind of rhetoric featured in Cameron's plans for the Big Society but proved to be much less effective -not only because the subjects of Big Society discourse were effectively being presented with these subject positions and this view of the world for the second time in a generation, but also because this kind of discourse lacks credibility coming from a Conservative politician, given repeated failed attempts at 'decontaminating' the Conservative party brand -even if, had Cameron been a more skilful exponent of symbolic politics, there was a rich tradition of Conservative thought on the importance of community (most notably stemming from the conservatism of Edmund Burke) that Cameron could have drawn on to make his 'Big Society' take on New Labour's communitarianism a more enticing prospect (Edwards, 2011;Jennings, 2011;Dorey and Garnett, 2012). Furthermore, as an empty signifier, Cameron himself was a much less attractive proposition than either Thatcher or Blair.…”

Section: Explaining the Failure Of The Big Society As Hegemonic Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neoliberalisms in British Politics

Byrne

2018

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This thesis reconsiders conceptualisations of neo-liberalism by challenging established economistic and ideologistic narratives of the unfolding of the neo-liberal project in Britain. Drawing on and attempting to integrate with one another Laclau and Mouffe's post-Marxist discourse theory and Foucault's theory of governmentality, the thesis charts the development of a neo-liberal governmental rationality in British politics from the emergence of Thatcher onto the British political scene in the late-1970s, through the New Labour project in the 1990s and 2000s, up to the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in 2010. The second major strand of the argument presented in the thesis is that each of these decisive moments in the history of British neo-liberalism served the crucial purpose of reinvigorating the longer-term neoliberal governmental project by providing it with a new hegemonic basis upon which to base its popular support. The thesis begins with an analysis of Thatcherism as a chaotic, fledgling form of neo-liberal governmentality underpinned by, in Hall's (1979) memorable words, an 'authoritarian populist' hegemonic project. It then considers New Labour as representing a more fully-developed, 'advanced neo-liberal' form of government, which simultaneously restored the electoral viability of the Labour party and provided the neo-liberal governmental project with a new, 'technocratic populist' hegemonic basis. The final section of the thesis focuses on the politics of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government. The historical significance of 'Big Society' is theorised as both a neo-liberal technology of government and as an ideology with the dual purpose of 'detoxifying' the Conservative party brand and winning popular support for the further neo-liberalisation of British society.

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“…In part, this policy shift is linked to initiatives under the Big Society agenda, which has attempted to mobilise citizens to take a greater role in looking after themselves and the areas where they live as the state withdraws and public funding is reduced (Dorey and Garnett, 2012;Pattie and Johnston, 2011). This policy approach, based on developing the responsibility o f citizens, has already extended across a wide range o f policy areas, including: health, finance, housing, local area management (parks and libraries), parenting and school attendance, free schools, and also in the form o f the National Citizen Service.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responsible Citizens and Accountable Service Providers? Renegotiating the Contract between Citizen and State

et al. 2014

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New forms of governance, conditional approaches to public service access, and initiatives to engage citizens in taking on new responsibilities are being developed in the context of the scaling down of the welfare state. We examine the extent to which collaboration and multidirectional accountability can be developed between the state and citizens, with a focus on a case study of Community Contracts in England. These quasi-legal agreements, operationalised at the local level, involve citizens and service providers cooperating in tackling social problems through agreed responsibilities and behaviour. Findings from interviews and focus group research suggest that Community Contracts represent an innovation in governance. Citizens are given a voice and there are new pathways for effective service delivery and accountability; conditionality applies to citizens and service providers. However, although there was evidence of increased service accountability, the impact on civic responsibility and conditionality beyond already active citizens and beyond certain issues was less apparent. Although citizens and service providers were ready to take on new roles, the legal status of the contract was only loosely defined. Challenges remain concerning how contract-based approaches can be fully realised in practice.

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No such thing as the ‘Big Society’? The Conservative Party's unnecessary search for ‘narrative’ in the 2010 general election

Cited by 13 publications

References 6 publications

(Re)Locating Community in Relationships: Questions for Public Policy

(Re)Locating Community in Relationships: Questions for Public Policy

Neoliberalisms in British Politics

Responsible Citizens and Accountable Service Providers? Renegotiating the Contract between Citizen and State

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