Any Tory voters think Cameron's "Big Society" idea was a good one?

[VodkaAndTonic]

From The Guardian here:

Another senior and normally loyal Tory MP complained that Cameron's big idea for the campaign ? "the Big Society", under which armies of volunteers would come together to tackle the country's ills ? was "complete crap".

"We couldn't sell that stuff on the doorstep. It was pathetic. All we needed was a simple message on policy. We could have won a majority if we had not had to try to sell this nonsense."

Do any Tory voters:

a) think Big Society is a good idea
b) think it is a vote winner
c) think it is "complete crap"?

Vodka, I guess thats why the tories lost in Hammersmith, even though they put one of their most credible candidates in there?

the "Bog Off Society"

the Biggus Society

the Bugger All Society
the Buggered Up Society
the Beggar Thy Neighbour Society
the Big Sh*t Society

the Big Broken Society

instead of the welfare society we'll have the Big Farewell Society

nbyn phew, did not realize theyhad lost Hammersmith

How will Cameron explain that one away, if he was so proud of what was being done there?

I cannot believe people like Gove are still peddling the line, "Cameron's done really well and the people have spoken"

Gove is quite strange. I reserve my loathing for him rather than Osborne whom I firmly beleve cannot and will not ever be Chancellor.

Gove is a journalist, he knows the value of words.

claig you are on a roll. Love the Farewell Society instead of the Welfare Society!

yes unfortunately that sums up what is hidden behind the Big Society idea, end of welfare and sod you all

Gove's education plans are quite scary if taken to their logical conclusion.

Privatised, or semi-privatised schooling. With mass-education undertaken on a for-profit, or charity basis, at the very bottom, delivered free for users, with some state subsidy. But almost certainly v. low quality.

I hope that is just my worst fears talking.

Anyway, back to the Big Society ... .

animula, I see the education plans in a posotive light. The private companies that will run the schools will be forced to show how good they are and to get good results, in order to be allowed to have the licence to continue. I think it could very well lead to rising standards and no more trendy theories and experimenting with our children's education. They will use tried and trusted methods and employ very good teachers. I think it will be positive.

Can't tell you how much I hope you're right about that! There's really no point in referring back to La Thatch, because it hasn't happened - yet. So, I will just leave it with anxiety and a worried frown!!! Soooo hope my pessimism is misplaced.

"So let's just blame Labour for everything."

Well tell me who else has been in power for the last 13 years?

Who has spent all the tax money, all the money in the bank and then borrowed to boot and still couldn't manage to run services for the elderly and disabled?

Your saying the conservatives are going to cut front line services for the elderly and yet you have no knowledge of this because it hasn't happened yet (if ever) but it has under labour.

If you can see the future with utter clarity and certainty please tell me as I would love the lottery numbers for next wednesdays draw.

It's you're! It's the contracted form of 'you are'.

Let's blame Labour for grammatical errors as well!

Let's blame Thatcher and Labour for everything and spend the next admistration in-fighting and stabbing each other in the back about it.

So very productive and positive and getting the root of problems so they can be fixed.

(She was probably educated under Thatcher, expat. What can you expect?)

"Your saying the conservatives are going to cut front line services for the elderly and yet you have no knowledge of this because it hasn't happened yet (if ever) but it has under labour."

...and it also happened under the Conservatives atlantis. When I was nurse caring for elderly patients we were cut from 7 staff in the morning to 6 and just before I left to 5 - all under a Conservative Govt. Try supporting and nursing 30 elderly patients with washing, dressing, breakfast and medication with 5 staff - it can be done but with no frills or quality.

Under a Labour Govt it's not brilliant but there ARE resources out there now which were not there before. Just for that reason alone I'd rather see a Lab/Lib coalition then a ConDem one.

I have no idea what "Big Society" means because DC never explained - like much of the campaign it was all words. I am all for change - change is good but I would like to see DC having to make some very big assurances about safeguarding the resources we now have.

There was the most brilliant article in the Independent here on what DC's big society actually means - modelled on an existing council - Hammersmith & Fulham.

Utterly depressing reading but very well researched and written and well worth a read.

"It's you're! It's the contracted form of 'you are'."

"(She was probably educated under Thatcher, expat. What can you expect?)"

You know what I give up, fuck it, what's the point, you guy's know i'm dyslexic and yet everytime you can't responsably answer a point you resort to name calling and trying to belittle people.

I'm off.

Enjoy.

'you guy's know i'm dyslexic '

It's an open internet forum with tens of thousands of members! And in addition, it's one on which you can change your name everyday and no one need know who you are, which you may have done recently because I've been on here 6 years and don't recognise your name.

I don't automatically assume someone is dyslexic or anything else from random posts online.

What.ever.

'yet everytime you can't responsably answer a point you resort to name calling and trying to belittle people.'

pot.kettle.black.

Claig, that was supposed to be what happened with rail companies, and I'm yet to be convinced.

HamShine, yes good point. I am not sure either. We will have to wait and see. I disagreed with the rail companies being privatised, but I think there is possibly a case for state schools being allowed to be run by third parties other than the state, as long as the state supervises the process.

atlantis is a fantastic contributor and has given us great insights. I don't want her to leave. I have learned a lot from her posts. We all at one time or another make spelling or grammatical errors, who cares? It's what we have to say that counts.

Sorry atlantis didn't mean to offend you - only a joke about the Thatcher/education thing. I certainly had no idea that you were dyslexic and wouldn't have guessed it at all from your posts.

(I am generally unashamed about causing offence on politics threads, but not on a personal level like this).

Atlantis. Don't leave, I've been picked on for various reasons, but I won't leave. People who pick on you for spelling says more about them, than it does about you. As Claig says you put on some good posts.