Elections special: Steve Moore

British Elections special: voices from civil society.

Vita Europe talks to Steve Moore, founder of Policy unplugged, an events company with a social edge. Moore has also recently become involved in the development of the Big Society Network, an  organisation set up to work between government and citizens to promote a revival of civil society in the UK. The movement took inspiration from Cameron’s idea of Big Society, but is “completely independent” from it. Moore will be voting Conservative. Here is why. 

Why conservative? 

My view at the moment is that we have had a growth in the size of the state in the last decade and more. People have been happy with that, but that has now changed. We feel that there is a space for a smaller state.

Where will this Big Society come into play?

The Big Society Idea is basically a new way of trying to fill the gap of the new contraction that’s going to be created by the state. There is a lot of evidence to suggest we need a revival of civil society. People are less trusting of their neighbours, less trusting of people around them. I think there is an urgent call to action around that. The Conservatives are the only ones who are coming up with solutions and they are the only ones admitting that these kinds of problems cannot be tackled by government or government action. 

Would a Conservative government be offloading its responsibilities onto civil society therefore?

I don’t think it’s a case of offloading as much as balancing. We believe that amongst people in communities there is a latent will to come together. You can see this in the way in which people come together online. It’s only right for the government to encourage that kind of activity and encourage more involvement in public services. We need to be having a debate with the state, and I think that the person leading that conversation should be the Conservative party.

What would a Big Society look like?

We are suggesting people can have more control over the local police force, the local schools, be more actively involved in public services. More support and funding would be provided for social entrepreneurs, with more opportunities for people to become involved in activism politics. A Big Society Day would enable people to showcase what they are doing.

Aside from the specificities of your rhetoric, what Labour and Conservative are advocating for civil society is rather similar…

The Labour party are saying they will do these things but not to the same extent that the Conservatives are. No one else has made this the main theme of their election campaign. Labour has been renowned for centralisation in what they have been doing, they have not empowered communities.

Do you feel the Liberal democrats are a threat at all?

You don’t really understand what the Liberal Democrats stand for. Are they a bit of a middle class protest group? Are they seeking an alliance? They have to make their mind up what they’re for. Their policies are certainly weaker on civil society.

www.policyunplugged.org