For immediate release
Former Home Secretary, Rt Hon David Blunkett MP, today reacted to the Prime Minister’s relaunch of his ‘Big Society’ initiative.
Mr Blunkett said: “The truth about David Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ is that it is being fatally undermined by the enormous cuts being made to local authorities and the voluntary sector, who are bearing the brunt of the coalition’s ideological desire to shrink the State – leaving people to fend for themselves.
“This was highly predictable. I published a pamphlet 11 months ago, The Hidden Agenda, warning of precisely the message that the Prime Minister has delivered today. David Cameron has essentially said, ‘It’s over to you, guv’. The services which people rely on simply cannot survive what he and his government are doing.
“The danger for the Labour Party is that, in drawing attention to the fatal flaws in Mr Cameron’s project, we will come to be seen as against the development of civil society and be on the wrong side of the argument as a distinction is drawn between ‘big society’ and ‘big government’.
“The truth of the situation is that the coalition are undermining the very essence of community in pulling the plug not only on community groups, but on adult and lifelong learning, youth facilities and even citizenship in the school curriculum. This is very much a case of the right hand not knowing what the far-right hand is doing.”
ENDS
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