The Government's ambition is to roll back the state while a better objeactive would be to change the role of the state says Cllr Steve Reed.
Cooperation is about people working together for the common good – benefiting individuals and the wider community they're part of. It is an idea and was part of the thinking that drove the early socialist pioneers in the 19th century, while the ideals of common ownership and mutuality have been part of the radical tradition in British politics for centuries.
During the last century, and particularly after the Second World War, the objective of common ownership and control became identified with state ownership. Today people's aspirations are higher, consumers of services demand more choice, and the needs of different groups vary more markedly. While the statist model delivered many benefits – society today is healthier, wealthier and better educated than ever before – it also created dependency and a brake on innovation that sometimes slows down the development of new ways to improve public services while strengthening civil society. Changing needs in a changing society demand a fresh approach.
The time has come to rethink the relationship between the citizen and the state so we can hand more power and control to communities and individuals.
For the Conservatives, the Big Society means a small state. They are using the language of cooperation and empowerment to divert attention away from a cuts agenda which is really about reducing public provision, while staking a claim to the political centre-ground. But, looking at their policies in health, education and other areas, the Government appears to be driven more by the dogma of competition than by co-operation.
Instead of getting stuck in an outmoded argument about big state versus small state, we should be finding new ways to create an enabling state.
We can use the cooperative approach to explore alternative models of service delivery that create more responsive services by empowering users and communities to meet their aspirations. Lambeth launched our cooperative council model several months before David Cameron announced the Big Society. There are obvious similarities in language, but at heart the Government's ambition is to roll back the state while a better objective would be to change the role of the state.
We will only empower communities if we make sure they have the resources, support and tools they need to take control, otherwise we are simply pulling the rug from underneath them. There will be a continuing role for government in making sure everyone has a voice and the opportunity to participate and that services aren't taken over by narrow interests that exclude other groups.
The cooperative model is not a magic wand that will make the coalition government's cuts disappear, but it offers a way to reduce the damage of the cuts while establishing a new foundation on which to rebuild in the future.
The co-operative approach is already working in different services in different parts of the country, but there are some big questions to answer as we take this agenda forward:
