Summary
The "big society" - the idea that volunteers should take over some of the functions of the state - is the most over-used policy phrase of the moment. But how will the theory work in practice?
Chris Bowlby looks at the big society on the ground in Oxford - from the affluent streets of the City's North to the deprived estates of Blackbird Leys - and tries to figure out the consequences of expecting communities to do more for themselves.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm Rory Stewart and I grew up wanting to be a hero and I'm still fascinated by the ideas of heroism. |
| 0:08.9 | In my new series, I'm taking in the long sweep of history from Achilles to Zelensky and asking, what is a hero? |
| 0:16.2 | Simply doing your job, being a decent human being. |
| 0:20.0 | A true hero is someone who just kind of shines by |
| 0:23.1 | their own light and that light is to be recognized by others. The long history of heroism with me, |
| 0:28.6 | Rory Stewart. Listen on BBC Sounds. Thank you for downloading this podcast from the BBC. |
| 0:36.0 | For our terms and conditions, please go to BBC.co.uk forward slash podcasts. |
| 0:43.6 | In this week's analysis, Chris Bulby discovers what happens when the big society idea meets real life. |
| 0:51.7 | It's never easy when your policy, proclaimed loftily from the political rooftops, |
| 0:57.2 | is suddenly reduced to the local or the personal. What volunteering do you do? |
| 1:02.1 | I do, golly, what do I do? I do a whole load of things. I'm involved in my local church. |
| 1:07.5 | Gosh, that's a really unfair question cold. |
| 1:11.6 | But actually, the point is... Well, I think... |
| 1:12.3 | Francis Maud, cabinet minister with lead responsibility for the big society idea, |
| 1:17.5 | faced an uncomfortable few moments on the PM programme with Eddie Mayer last year |
| 1:21.2 | when asked about his personal contribution to volunteering. |
| 1:24.9 | But the government remains convinced that the spirit of volunteering is a key to a revolution in public services. |
| 1:31.4 | And as local authorities face major budget cuts, they're working out who will take on the services they say they can no longer afford. |
| 1:39.3 | Keith Mitchell is leader of Oxfordshire County Council, which is proposing to withdraw funding from many of its |
| 1:44.8 | libraries and youth centres, challenging local people to now run them as a big society initiative. |
| 1:51.2 | It's an idea, he told me, with very simple routes. |
| 1:54.4 | Why shouldn't a shopkeeper clear litter outside their shop and clear snow? Why shouldn't a household |
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