Cameron uses Big Society as a smokescreen for PO closures

[TrueBlueTerrier]

David Cameron uses Big Society as a smokescreen for post office closures

DAVID Cameron is using his “Big Society” agenda to cover a wave of post office closures.
The Prime Minister promised to put post offices at the heart of his flagship policy by recruiting volunteers to run failing branches, but not a single ­community-owned post office has opened in the past year.
Last week the Sunday Mirror revealed how 200 sub-post offices have shut in the last 12 months because postmasters have retired or given up the business. More than 6,000 have shut since 2001. Now a sum of £1.6million that was ­available to help set up branches over the last five years is under threat from ­Coalition cuts, ­meaning volunteers may have to cover their start-up costs alone.
The service has been hit by losing a £20million-a-year benefits deal and insiders say another 6,000 offices are likely to close if they lose the right to handle road tax, insurance and foreign currency.
Campaigner Pritpal Singh added: “The Government says it is committed to the network yet is telling people, ‘if you want it, you’ll have to run it yourselves’.”


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[clashcityrocker]

Why not extend the idea of "The Big Society" to Parliament?
Government by volunteers...............

[fishtank]

Government by volunteers...............

Are you a government policy maker now Clash?


Camerons "Big Society" government of volunteers revealed

"Big Society" plans announced today by the Prime Minister, David Cameron, will see WRVS ladies and other voluntary workers taking over in central government.

The army of tea ladies will be taking up prime positions in central government. Doris Beasley is tipped to be the new PM. Doris, 71, is a former school dinner lady who has worked as a WRVS volunteer in her local hospital in Manchester since retiring. She was selected for the top in a national WI flower arranging competition.

"I am looking forward to having a go at running the country" Doris tells us. "It will be fun meeting president Obama and his lovely wife Michelle. They can come round for a cup of tea and a nice piece of cake."

Asked about her plans to cut the defecit, Doris replied that she has always been thrifty and plans to keep saving her coppers in her piggy bank as always to pay off the country debts.

Other volunteers tipped for big jobs in the new government include 69 year old Ted Williams, a former Scout Master from Kings Lynn in Norfolk who is tipped to be the new foreign minister, and Elsie Brown, 68, a charity shop worker from Surrey who will be the new minister for work and pensions.

It is expected that the current government will move aside to allow for the new voluntary government to take over. David Cameron is expected to fill Doris' shoes in the WRVS shop whilst retaining his current salary. "I am looking forward to learning new skills in cake and preserves making" Mr Cameron told us. "The best thing is that when the country goes tits up, I won't get the blame" he added.

The volunteer government will remain just that - unpaid volunteers

Doris Beasley - new volunteer PM


http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm? ... e=s1i79137" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[clashcityrocker]

What do you mean - now?

[Post Off]

It is expected that the current government will move aside to allow for the new voluntary government to take over. David Cameron is expected to fill Doris' shoes in the WRVS shop whilst retaining his current salary. "I am looking forward to learning new skills in cake and preserves making" Mr Cameron told us. "The best thing is that when the country goes tits up, I won't get the blame" he added.

Brazen hypocrisy... (taken from the NewStatesman)

But the big society is a con. First, there is the brazen hypocrisy. The Tories speak of localism and "people power", but such pious claims are undermined by their centralising tendencies. The coalition's policy on "free schools" and academies, for example, disenfranchises parents and instead puts huge power in the hands of a single individual in Whitehall - the Education Secretary, Michael Gove. He decides which projects go ahead and he is in control of the purse strings.

Meanwhile, the Financial Times has reported on "radical government plans" to "kneecap" local authorities under which "all state schools in England will be directly funded from Whitehall for the first time". "What happened to decentralisation?" asked Les Lawrence, the Tory cabinet member for schools on Birmingham City Council. "This is centralised control of school funding."

Second, there is the exaggeration. Are people clamouring to be "empowered"? Cameron has said he "profoundly" believes that people want to be more involved;

Another area where 'Big Society', (the phrase itself) should join the ranks of those '50 office-speak phrases you love to hate', and to which doesn't amount to jack sh*t, unless a concerted effort is made by those in power to govern from a more rounded perspective.

Third, there is the impact of the cuts. How will communities be "empowered" and engaged if there is little money left to fund them?

Yet another shower of wrongs that will forever be raining down on us. It's like something I either heard or read about the other day about how countries would be so much better off if they were run by Apple (the computer peeps), but how I'm now seeing that this country is being run like the Royal Mail.

[Wessex]

Cameron has been compared with his intervention in Libya to Palmerston, his supposed hero.Lord Palmerston's government of course famously started the Post Office Savings Bank in 1861.Perhaps someone in Parliament could remind him of this fact so he might be reluctant to ruin the work of his hero's government. :dcfo :ncfo :vcfo

[mdm]

oh, if only we had the left in power, life would be so much better, oh wait we did..............................

[Wessex]

oh, if only we had the left in power, life would be so much better, oh wait we did..............................

Sadly the decent get trod on in the rush to the top

[TrueBlueTerrier]

oh, if only we had the left in power, life would be so much better, oh wait we did..............................

I beg to differ - Broons/Bliars Labour Party was not a party of the left - it was extremely centerist and if anything was just a paler version of the tories. I and I think many others belive there has been a tory or neo-tory party in power since 1979. If John Smith had survived we might have had a real Labour Party in power.

It is strange though that John Smith is now seen as a Leftie when during his life he was actually seen as on the right of the Labour Party, but in my opinion nowhere near as much as the 2 fighting chimps were.

[Wessex]

I think everyone regrets that John Smith passed away before his time.Instead we ended up with the narcissistic twosome.