Showing papers on "Coalition government published in 2014"

Neoliberalism, Big Society, and Progressive Localism:

Abstract: In the UK the current Coalition government has introduced an unprecedented set of reforms to welfare, public services, and local governance under the rubric of ‘localism’. Conventional analytics of neoliberalism have commonly portrayed the impacts of these changes in the architectures of governance in blanket terms: as an utterly regressive dilution of local democracy; as an extension of conservative political technology by which state welfare is denuded in favour of market-led individualism; and as a further politicised subjectification of the charitable self. Such seemingly hegemonic grammars of critique can ignore or underestimate the progressive possibilities for creating new ethical and political spaces in amongst the neoliberal canvas. In this paper we investigate the localism agenda using alternative interpretative grammars that are more open to the recognition of interstitial politics of resistance and experimentation that are springing up within, across, and beyond formations of the neoliberal. We analyse the broad framework of intentional localisms laid down by the Coalition government, and then point to four significant pathways by which more progressive articulations of localism have been emerging in amongst the neoliberal infrastructure. In so doing we seek to endorse and expand imaginations of political activism that accentuate an interstitial political sensibility that works strategically, and even subversively, with the tools at hand.

The Price of the Ticket: Rethinking the Experience of Social Mobility

Abstract: Increasing social mobility is the ‘principal goal’ of the current Coalition Government’s social policy. However, while mainstream political discourse frames mobility as an unequivocally progressive...

Shrinking the welfare state: the structure, geography and impact of British government benefit cuts

Abstract: Welfare spending is currently a key element of government expenditure in western countries and it has grown considerably since the Second World War. But there have been calls for cuts in spending that have intensified since the onset of the financial crisis and the stress on austerity. This has been associated with a shift in the nature of welfare policy to what has been termed ‘workfare’, where benefits are increasingly means tested, time limited or financially capped and contingent on recipients seeking work. This shift has been seen in Britain since 1997 but has intensified since the election of the coalition government, who have instigated the most radical reshaping of welfare policy since 1945. The paper argues that geographers should pay more attention to the geography of welfare spending. The paper examines the structure of welfare spending in Britain and its geography, the nature and rationale for the welfare reforms and cuts, especially the stress on ‘fairness’, and the social and geographical impact of the benefit cap. It argues that the cuts point to a re-orientation of the welfare state and pose political problems for the Opposition, given the shift in social attitudes to welfare.

The Politics of Child Protection: Contemporary Developments and Future Directions

Abstract: From Every Child Matters and the Munro Review, to changing shifts in thinking from Coalition government; the child protection system has seen dramatic political and policy developments over recent years. This book brings you a critical analysis of these developments from a leading writer and commentator. It begins by exploring the origins of present-day arrangements, locating English policy and practice in both a wider British and international context. It examines tragic cases such as 'Baby P' and Maria Colwell, considering their impact on public and professional attitudes and, in turn, the implications for the child protection system. Looking to the future of child protection, Nigel Parton considers the current state of the system and argues that we need to address wider social and political issues, including poverty, class and inequality

Understanding the local Themes and Issues in the Experience of Structural Reform in England

Abstract: The structure of the English school system has been the subject of almost continuous change since the late-1980s. The most recent was commenced by the Conservative–Liberal Democrat Coalition government, which was elected in May 2010. This policy set in train, very quickly, processes through which all schools have been encouraged, and in some cases required, to become independent of local authorities (LAs) and funded directly by central government, the government’s vision being to create a complete system of publicly funded ‘independent’ schools. This article considers some of the implications of these aspirations and the ways in which they have been translated into policy and implemented. It begins by setting the policies of the Coalition government within a context of trends in education policy since 1988, showing how these can be related to three dominant themes: school autonomy, central control and diversity of provision. It then proceeds to consider how these developments can be theorized, suggesting ...

The People Against Europe: The Eurosceptic Challenge to the United Kingdom's Coalition Government

Abstract: This article approaches Euroscepticism as central to a contemporary dynamic of government and opposition. Populist Eurosceptic mobilizations exemplify opposition to depoliticized forms of political rule and demonstrate the tight political coupling of the national and the European. In the case of the United Kingdom, a depoliticized post-imperial governing approach to European integration has proved highly contested. From this perspective, the article examines the recent politics of Europe under the coalition government (from 2010 to 2013) as a period of Eurosceptic mobilization that successfully challenges European policy. What on the surface appears to be a problem of party management for the Conservative leadership is more accurately understood as a broader conflict between government and a populist Eurosceptic opposition. The outcome of this conflict is to further embed hard Euroscepticism within British politics to the point where maintaining governing autonomy on Europe is severely constrained, if not unfeasible.

Tourism and the public sector in England since 2010: a disorderly transition?

Abstract: The recent financial crisis has reconfigured tourism production and consumption. Many states have cut public spending to reduce deficits. However, there has been no analysis of the nature, extent or outcomes of such changes to state support for, or mediation of, the tourism sector. This article examines how reforms since the Coalition Government came to power in May 2010 have impacted on tourism governance and administration in England, and how they have been experienced as they have been unfolding. This article argues, more generally, for a greater appreciation of sense making in critical studies of tourism and public policy. More specifically, rapid reforms to the preferred nature and scale of state intervention have had destabilising effects. New localism, sub-regional bodies, and a desire in central government to reduce public contributions to a minimum have introduced complexity and uncertainty to a previously ordered and understood system. The implications are that these reforms may frustrate other ...

Coalition theory: a veto players’ approach

Abstract: Coalition theories have produced arguments about the importance of party positions for participation in government coalitions, but have not connected the existing government institutions (in particular agenda setting) with the coalition government that will be formed. This article presents a veto players’ approach to coalition formation, which pushes the logic of non-cooperative game-theoretic models one step further: we argue that policy positions play a significant role in coalition formation because governments in parliamentary systems control the agenda of the policymaking process. As a result, the institutions that regulate this policymaking process affect coalition formation. In particular, positional advantages that a government may have (central policy position of formateur, fewer parties, and small policy distances among coalition partners) will become more necessary as a government has fewer institutional agenda setting advantages at its disposal. The empirical tests presented in this paper corroborate these expectations by explicitly accounting for the conditional effects of policy positions and institutional agenda setting rules on one another in a set of multilevel logit models.

In It Together: The Inside Story of the Coalition Government

Abstract: Matthew d'Ancona's In It Together is the revelatory inside story of Britain's coalition government. Andrew Rawnsley told the inside story of new labour in Servants of the People and The End of the Party and now renowned political journalist Matt d'Ancona cuts right to the heart of the Lib Dem/Tory struggle in In It Together. With exclusive, unprecedented access to all the major senior figures, from David Cameron, George Osborne, Boris Johnson and Nick Clegg, he will tell the truth behind key relationships, the U-turns, the shifts in policies, the dramatic fights and arguments and the warring within the party. A breathtaking book that takes you into the heart of government, it reveals the truth behind the corridors of Whitehall and Number 10. Matthew d'Ancona is the award-winning political columnist for The Sunday Telegraph, a position he has held since 1996. He was Deputy Editor of that paper before becoming editor of The Spectator in 2006. During his editorship, the magazine enjoyed record circulation and he was named Editor of the Year (Current Affairs) in the 2007 BSME awards.

Despair as a governing strategy: Australia and the offshore processing of asylum-seekers on Nauru

Abstract: As part of its efforts to deter the arrival of asylum-seekers by boat to Australia in 2001, Prime Minister John Howard’s Coalition Government established the offshore processing of refugee claims. Known as the Pacific Solution, this policy included an agreement with Nauru and Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island for asylum-seekers arriving to Australia by boat to be transported to either of these islands where they would wait in camps while their refugee claims were processed. The majority of the asylum-seekers subjected to offshore processing at this time were held on Nauru, and most had fled Afghanistan. Governmentality, as introduced by Michel Foucault and developed by later scholars, provides insight into the institutions, methods, techniques, strategies, and tactics used by governments to achieve its ends. This article explores Australian Government policy and the experience of Afghan asylum-seekers held on Nauru from 2001 using a governmentality approach. Given that people seeking asylum in Australia are once again being transported to Nauru and Papua New Guinea, this time initiated by a Labor Government and continued by the current Coalition Government, this article’s findings are pertinent for insight into under- standing current Australian policy.

Resilience or Resistance? Time Banking in the Age of Austerity

Abstract: Within the UK the economic crisis has been utilised by the coalition government to promote a very specific policy response. Through the notion of ‘austerity’ there has been an efficient attack on welfare provision, building on the tradition of UK governments since the 1980s, to demonise welfare claimants, advocate cultural and behavioural explanations of social problems and continue to pursue a neo-liberal policy agenda. The coalition government has associated this with the need to further promote self-help through the localism and, now defunct, Big Society agendas. This paper explores one initiative promoted by the UK coalition government within both the Big Society and social care reform: time banking. Time banking is a form of community currency which has developed globally since the 1980s (including a number of European countries) and in the UK since the late-1990s. The paper sets out how austerity and the Big Society present a particular form of neo-liberalism within the UK and are built upon the not...

Elected Mayors: Leading Locally?

Abstract: The directly elected executive mayor was introduced to England a decade ago. Drawing inspiration from European and American experience, the elected mayor appealed to both New Labour and Conservative commentators in offering a solution to perceived problems of local leadership. There was a shared view that governance of local areas was failing and that elected mayors were the answer. The first local referendums were held in 2001. Most have continued to reject the idea of the elected mayor. During 2012, the coalition government initiated 10 further mayoral referendums in England’s largest cities but only one, Bristol, opted for an elected mayor. Overall, there is no evidence of widespread public support, yet the prospect of more mayors – with enhanced powers – remains firmly on the policy agenda.Drawing from a decade of research, this paper considers reasons for the persistence of the mayoral experiment, the importance of local factors in the few areas where mayors hold office and the link to curren...

Local authority sport services under the UK coalition government: retention, revision or curtailment?

Abstract: In the context of significant reductions to local government finance since the election of a coalition government in 2010, this paper examines the impact on sport services. In particular, the research focuses on change to policy, governance and modes of service delivery. The findings are extracted from research conducted by the author for the Association of Public Service Excellence (APSE) that consists of a national survey (n = 95) and interviews with senior officers (n = 55). Findings signal the acceleration of an established trend away from a direct provision of services, within the ‘ensuring’ council framework, towards outsourcing services via a ‘commissioning’ council framework. Within the coalition government’s Big Society agenda, the research also found that a small number of council sport services are adapting to financial pressures by adopting a ‘cooperative’ council framework for service delivery. The paper discusses the wider consequences of political and financial change for sport services in ...

Conservatism and educational crisis: the case of England

Abstract: The Conservative-led Coalition government in Britain is strongly committed to a programme of austerity. In the short term, this is a programme which makes more difficult the country’s exit from a period of recession and slow growth; in the longer term, it threatens cuts and privatisation which call into question the welfare state. Yet, politically, the Coalition has managed the post-2008 crisis more effectively than other European governments. Focusing on education, where the government’s right-wing radicalism is strongly evident, this article explores possible reasons for its political success. It looks particularly at the Coalition’s policies for teachers, and for the extension of private influence over schooling, as well as at the way it justifies its policies with reference to a reconceptualisation of ‘equal opportunity’. It suggests that these are the culmination of more than 40 years of discursive elaboration and programme-building, which have weakened opposition to a point which makes the immediate costs of policy implementation quite low. It suggests, however, that the Conservative achievement is an unstable one, more likely to sharpen long-term political and social tensions than to resolve them. Keywords: Conservatism, privatisation, crisis, equal opportunity, education politics (Published: 7 March 2014) Citation: Education Inquiry (EDUI) 2014, 5 , 24046, http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/edui.v5.24046

Kenya’s Search for Truth and Justice: The Role of Civil Society

Abstract: This article describes the role of Kenyan civil society in two attempts to achieve ‘truth’ and ‘justice’ through a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC). The first occurred in 2003, when a change of political leadership led to the creation of a Task Force on the Establishment of a TJRC (TF), and the second occurred from 2008 to 2013, when a postelection crisis led to the formation of a coalition government and the institution of a widely criticized TJRC. In both instances, the fate of the exercise depended in large part on civil society organizations: the alliances they made, the arguments they mobilized, the support and criticisms they provided and their interactions with citizens, media, international donors, state actors and TF or Commission staff. Civil society approaches were also shaped by a combination of their individual and collective understandings of what constituted the most important issues and best practice, and their interpretations of government motivations, and thus by what was deemed possible, and to be feared, in working with such a state-led initiative. The article suggests that truth commissions are not a discrete tool that can be applied with the same effect in any setting, and that transitional justice actors must pay greater attention to local politics and dynamics in establishing truth commissions, including the capacity, concerns and interests of local civil society organizations, which have the power to either bolster or undermine such a project.

Bonfires and barbecues: coalition governance and the politics of Quango reform

Abstract: The use of arm's-length bodies to deliver certain services, to regulate certain sectors or to assume responsibility for particularly salient political issues is neither new in historical terms or a feature unique to the UK in comparative terms. What is particularly distinctive, however, is the Coalition Government's attempts since 2010 to reduce the number of ‘quangos’ while also strengthening the capacity of the core executive and sponsor departments to control and co-ordinate this dense and fragmented sphere of delegated governance. Drawing upon the findings of the first research project to analyse the current Public Bodies Reform Agenda, this article provides an account of the ‘filling-in’ of the ‘hollowing out’. It argues that when viewed through a historical lens, the Coalition Government has adopted a distinctive approach to ‘the quango problem’.

Workfare in 21st century Britain: the erosion of rights to social assistance

Abstract: This report is part of an ESRC funded research which analyses the evolution of welfare reform in the US and the UK The report focuses on the decision making processes behind the expansion of workfare schemes and benefit sanctions endorsed by the coalition government (2010/present), especially:  The Mandatory Work Activity and Employment, Skills and Enterprise Scheme Regulations (ESE 2011)  The benefit sanctions regime under the Welfare Reform Act 2012  The Job Seekers Back to Work Schemes (emergency retroactive legislation introduced in March 2013) The aim of the research was to identify the legal and political arguments that justify the reframing of welfare rights as conditional The interview schedule included questions regarding the evolution of workfare schemes as well as questions regarding the degree of political consensus between Labour and Coalition government actors (with an assessment of Labour and current government policies)

And it’s good night Vienna. How (not) to deal with the populist radical right: The Conservatives, UKIP and some lessons from the heartland

Abstract: Mainstream parties across Europe have been struggling for some time to counter the appeal of the populist radical right. With the rise of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), the British Conservative Party is now facing a similar challenge. We argue that, since this is the case, it makes sense to ask whether there are lessons it can learn from other countries – in particular Austria, where the centre-right People’s Party (OVP) has been competing against the populist radical right (most obviously, the Freedom Party) for almost three decades. In the course of so doing, the OVP has tried many ways to deal with the threat posed: treating the populist radical right as a pariah; adopting some of its policies and rhetoric; inviting it into coalition government; and finally pursuing a ‘dual-track’ approach. We evaluate each strategy in turn and find that none of them has enjoyed huge or lasting success. We conclude that the Conservatives need to realise that UKIP is not so much a problem to be solved as a situation to be managed. Seeking to toughen the Tory stance on immigration and asylum is unlikely to pay electoral dividends and carries with it considerable downsides in terms of the party’s credibility and reputation, as well as in terms of public policy. Moreover, even if a more restrictive stance does not prove entirely pointless or (worse) positively counterproductive, it imposes opportunity costs the Conservative Party should think twice before paying. All this suggests the value of a comparative approach to those wanting to understand the new dynamics in British politics.

Introduction: geographies, histories and practices of informal education

Abstract: In a 1943 survey of British youth work, Arthur Morgan described a range of youth clubs and organisations as ‘training place[s] in the social art of citizenship’ (p.102). Seventy years later, these types of voluntary and publicly funded spaces of non-formal or informal education ‘beyond school’ continue to occupy an important place in civil society as part of young people’s leisure activities, learning and wider socialisation. Simultaneously, these spaces are seen as addressing the needs of the state, as they are used to mobilise wider political and policy-based discourses around participation, citizenship and engagement. For example, in 2014 the coalition government of the United Kingdom continues to roll out its National Citizen Service (NCS) scheme — ‘for the lessons they can’t teach you in class’ — via a network of recently established charities and social businesses such as Catch22 that run alongside pilot programmes with long-standing youth organisations such as the Jewish Lads’ Brigade founded in 1895. In bringing together these varied youth partnerships, the very make-up of the NCS represents a kaleidoscope of informal education spaces in the United Kingdom and a sustained focus on ‘training places’ for children and young people.

The everyday politics of the age of austerity : crisis and the legitimation of fiscal consolidation in the UK

Abstract: In 2010, the British Coalition government came to power explicitly promising spending cuts as part of a wider fiscal consolidation programme to resolve a debt crisis. Despite this promise to reduce public services, the British public seemed to reluctantly accept as necessary the imperatives of this debt crisis. Why? Through the analysis of data from focus groups conducted around Birmingham, this thesis tackles this puzzle of austerity acquiescence by answering a double-edged central research question: how do everyday actors make sense of austerity, and what do these processes tell us about the legitimation of austerity and the wider politics of crisis? The central argument is that while austerity is a vague and highly moral idea, it is simultaneously powerful and 'successful' inasmuch that it resonates with the 'mood of the times'. In other words, fiscal consolidation has been conferred a degree of legitimacy since it can be justified in line with some of the intersubjective beliefs and experiences of the public. Through this argument, this thesis primarily contributes to the discipline of political economy through a novel empirical account of austerity acquiescence and a constructivist framework for exploring how crises and narratives are conferred legitimacy through resonating with the mood of the times.

A Social Democratic Response to Market-Led Education Policies: Concession or Rejection?

Abstract: This chapter analyses market-led policy on education in Scandinavia over the last 30 years. Even though Denmark, Norway and Sweden still maintain a comprehensive school system, they have, nevertheless, initiated market-oriented reforms in the belief that explicit measures, e.g. decentralisation, state-private partnership in education provision and school choice, would enhance the quality and efficiency of education. The almost uniform view among educationalists is that market-led policy of education is a result of the increasing power of the Right. However, we posit that this view fails to provide an explanation for the significant differences to the extent these policies have been pursued across the Scandinavian states. Based on the power resource theory, we argue that social democratic consent is critical to understand this variance. Finally, we offer a brief discussion as to whether one of the tenets of Social Democratic education policy, a ‘school for all’, is being undermined, and whether the Social Democrats can be held responsible for this.

Forever a False Dawn? Explaining the Electoral Collapse of the British National Party (BNP)

Abstract: On 3 May 2012, voters went to the polls to elect councillors in 131 local authorities in England, members of the Greater London Assembly and mayors in London, Liverpool and Salford. Coverage of the elections focused on the performance of an increasingly unpopular coalition government and an upsurge of support in the polls for the radical right UK Independence Party. One quieter story of the campaign concerned the extreme right British National Party (BNP), and the question of whether the 30-year old party would prove able to stem an electoral decline that followed a failed breakthrough attempt at the 2010 general election.1 Assessing the performance of the BNP at the 2012 elections, and the extreme right more generally, this article charts the decline of the former and examines the increasing fragmentation of the latter. After providing an agency-based explanation for why the BNP-once the most successful extreme right party in British history-returned to the electoral wildness and changed strategy, the article concludes by considering the implications of the party's decline for an increasingly chaotic and diverse extreme right scene.

‘Slimmed down’ assessment or increased accountability? Teachers, elections and UK government assessment policy

Abstract: Since coming to power in 2010, the UK Coalition government in power has implemented a range of reforms in relation to assessment at all stages of education in England. This paper focuses on two assessment reforms relating to children aged five and six years old, and considers their evolution from manifesto commitments to practice in classrooms. These reforms are the introduction of the Phonics Screening Check at age six, and the revised Early Years Foundation Stage Profile at age five. The main focus is on the coherence of these policies, both over time and as part of an overall government strategy on assessment in early years and primary education. It is argued that, despite claims of reducing bureaucracy, these assessment policies are driven by an agenda of increasing accountability in the first years of primary school.

Back to the Future: Australian Border Policing Under Labor, 2007-2013

Abstract: This article analyses the border policies of Australia’s federal Labor governments between 2007 and 2013. It argues that the policies of externalization pursued by Labor inevitably led to the restoration of the Pacific Solution introduced by the previous Liberal-National Party Coalition government and reproduced similar forms of state criminality and resistance.

The Coalition government's reforms to employment tribunals and statutory employment rights—echoes of the past

Abstract: The current Coalition government's reforms of Employment Tribunals (ETs) and statutory rights echo the articulated rationale and argument, the underpinning deregulation ideology and the content of reforms initiated by Conservative governments of the 1980s and 1990s. The changes, while generally adverse for workers, are not necessarily positive for employers and risk adding to, rather than alleviating, the regulatory ‘burden’. A declared emphasis on alternative dispute resolution and workplace dispute settlement distinguishes the current reform agenda, but the potential this offers is unlikely to be realised given the short-term policy focus on cost reduction, an emphasis on suppressing and deterring legal actions rather than on improving workplaces and the absence of such facilitating features as workplace representation and institutions, a continuing legacy of the 1979–1997 period.

Strategic Commissioning in the UK: Service Improvement Cycle or Just Going Round in Circles?

Abstract: This article explores the drivers of the development of strategic commissioning over the last two decades, its limitations, and the implications of its rapid spread. It suggests that the differences between government departments have allowed scope for local variations, which have been exploited by local government, leaving room for more innovation than would have been possible under an entirely ‘joined-up’ government agenda. The forms taken by this new approach to strategic commissioning were consistent with continual pressure from central government to find ways of promoting externalisation of public services. Although this underlying drive was often resisted, particularly at local level, but always re-emerged. The article ends by exploring the implications of this analysis for public services in the era of fiscal austerity under the new UK Coalition government.

Democracy, participation and contestation : civil society, governance and the future of liberal democracy

Abstract: List of illustrations and tables List of Contributors Acknowledgements Introduction "Contested Democracy": A critical evaluation Emmanuelle Avril & Johann Neem Part I Contested Definitions of Democracy Chapter 1 Rethinking 1828: The Emergence of Competing Democracies in the United States Reeve Huston Chapter 2: Some Ideological Aspects of the 'Battle of Cable Street' Christos Efstathiou Chapter 3 Democracy inc. and Radical Criticism in the US Pierre Guerlain Chapter 4 Is Equality the Goal?: Challenging Economic Inequality in the US and UK Scot T. Fitzgerald Part II Who Participates? Political Inclusion and Exclusion Chapter 5 Democracy: America's Other "Peculiar Institution" Andrew W. Robertson Chapter 6 Undocumented Immigrants, From Pariahs to Citizens? Mobilizations and Arguments in Favor of Inclusion James Cohen Chapter 7 Productive Protest? The contested higher education reforms in England under the Coalition Government Sarah Pickard Chapter 8 A Tale of Polarizations: Stress, Inertia and Social Change in the New Gilded Age Jean-Baptiste Velut Part III Governance and the Management of Democratic Processes Chapter 9 Public Participation, Planning and Housing: a Changing Balance of Power? David Fee Chapter 10 The English Regions since 1994: Decentralization and the Contested Terrain of Territorial Governance Houari Mired Chapter 11 The European Citizens' Initiative: the Influence of Anglo-American Governance Ideology on Recent EU Institutional Reforms Coralie Raffenne Chapter 12 Channeling Indigenous Contestation of Uranium Mining in Australia: Legislation, Negotiation, Co-optation Sandrine Tolazzi Chapter 13 Partners not protesters? Managing Contests to Traditional Democracy through Expanded Public Input into Political Decision-making Jennifer Lees-Marshment Part IV A Changing Public Sphere. New Spaces and New Tools Chapter 14 Contested Boundaries of Representation: Patterns of Transformation in Black Petitioning in Massachusetts, 1770-1850 Daniel Carpenter and Nicole Topich Chapter 15: Social networks and Democracy: Fightbacks and Backlashes in the World Wide Agora Emmanuelle Avril Chapter 16 Local Democracy and Public Spaces in Contest: Graffiti in San Francisco Guillaume Marche Chapter 17 A Faux-Public Sphere: Liberty Mutual Markets an Online Conversation Economy for Citizen-Consumers Sheena Raja Chapter 18 Social Media and Political Activism: Breaking the Offline and Online Division Cristiana Olcese Concluding remarks: Does Democracy Have a Future? Gary Gerstle Index

Can you tell what it is yet? Public attitudes towards "the Big Society"

Abstract: ‘The big society’ was a central theme in the Conservative's 2010 general election campaign. Opinion polls at the time of the election suggested that ‘the big society’ had little resonance with the public. Nevertheless, ‘the big society’ has been the subject of a number of prominent re-launches since the election. It appeared to underpin the Coalition government's policies in a range of areas and the Prime Minister invested considerable personal capital in it. This article examines public attitudes towards ‘the big society’. Drawing on public opinion data, it focuses on public recognition and understanding of ‘the big society’ and more broadly on whether the government's approach to rolling back state provision has prompted an increased public appetite for involvement in the delivery of services.