The Big Society Concept as a Vehicle of Change to the British Conservative Party’s Image and Social Policy

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The Big Society Concept as a Vehicle of Change to the British Conservative Party’s Image and Social Policy

Journal Title: Debiuty Naukowe Studentów Wyższej Szkoły Bankowej - Year 2017, Vol 17, Issue

Abstract

The paper sets out to accomplish several goals. Firstly, it outlines the principal assumptions underlying the idea of Big Society as a new approach to social policy geared to building up Britain’s social capital. Secondly, the paper analyzes the concept as a measure that was expected to help modernize the Conservative Party under David Cameron. A substantial part of the paper is based on David Cameron’s speeches and on publications by the Conservative Party and the coalition government. In an attempt to assess the implementation process of Big Society policies, the author examines the effects of an important Big Society project – the National Citizen Service program – and of the community empowerment regulations adopted in the Localism Act 2011. The examples provided show that many of the Big Society goals have not been achieved. A lot of criticism has therefore been targeted at the idea as such. Nevertheless, Big Society should definitely be seen as driven by an innovative outlook on social policy and motivated by a resolve to increase Britain’s social capital. It is at the same time an ambitious endeavor to modernize the Conservative Party while not undermining its traditional attitudes toward society and politics.

Authors and Affiliations

Marta Obrębska

Keywords

EP ID EP299386
DOI -
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