Foreword

Big Society or just big cuts?

By John O'Leary

Shortly after David Cameron took over the leadership of the Conservative Party, Policy Review asked whether his buzz-phrase of the time – the Post-Bureaucratic Age – would turn out to be myth or reality. Post-bureaucracy has given way to the even more ambitious theme of the Big Society, but the question remains the same.

This edition of Policy Review magazine looks beyond the slogan to gauge the prospects for public services as the coalition begins to tackle the deficit. Might the inevitable cuts actually offer the opportunity to innovate and avoid the sterile confrontations that have marked previous recessions?

David Smith, the former chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover, is convinced that they do. He offers a blueprint for public sector managers faced with traumas of the sort that he and other leaders of private companies have confronted over the last two years. He recalls the maxim of management guru Michael Jacobides “not to let a good crisis go to waste”, but he stresses that success will require boldness, radicalism and constant communication with the workforce.

Our other featured writers consider how the Big Society – and the social enterprises that are at the heart of its ideas about public services – might work in practice. Asheem Singh explains the rationale behind a slogan that failed to engage the electorate  but will now have the opportunity to prove its worth, while Rob Greenland gives a social entrepreneur’s perspective. He may not buy the whole package, but he sees social enterprises in action and knows that they can succeed.

Bridget McConnell and Paul Carter look at the possibilities from the world of local government. McConnell has had three years’ experience of running Culture and Sport Glasgow, once a department of the city council, and believes it can be a model for other services. Carter says that the disciplines of Total Place have helped to prepare Kent for a radical devolution of power that will make the Big Society a realistic proposition.

In the rest of the magazine, we look at the aftermath of the election in other areas of public policy, from further and higher education to the latest debate on land taxes. Tariq Tahir examines the conflicting pressures on IT providers – to make services more accessible while abandoning many of the big modernisation projects – while Karen Whitby gives a preview of a new report on the making of education policy over the past 20 years.

The first days of coalition government may be confused, but they are not short of debate. Over the summer, future editions of Policy Review will focus on different public services as the detailed proposals unfold.

29 May 2010

John O'Leary. Editor, Policy Review Magazine