Well David Cameron releases his scheme for Britain’s Big Society” and I have to say I am stunned by his audaciousness. I am not stunned by any disillusion that the idea has any merit, I am slightly taken aback by the fact that he is espousing (what is in essence) socialism. But I am stunned with the open purloining of an American advertising campaign.
For readers in “Blighty;” there has been a rather amusing campaign being run in this country by a hotel chain. As an example a man is being seated on a bucking bronco and an assistant asks; “How many rodeo’s have you done ?” to which the reply comes back “None…… but I did stay at a (insert the name of the hotel chain here) last night.”
Another shows a man walking into the cockpit of a commercial airliner crowded with passengers and the co-pilot asks…”Are you the captain?” You can see the sort of thing.
Now the new coalition leader expects the people of Britain to give up their off work hours and volunteer to spend their leisure time assisting at a library or the local post office without pay.
He apparently intends to fund this by raiding dormant bank accounts,
What planet has he just arrived in from?
As I remember my life in England; I think of being out of the door at dawn, returning 12 hours (or more) later before commencing several hours of paperwork generated during the day. I often was working past ten in the evening and still not making enough money to make ends meet!
The only reason that my bank account wasn’t dormant is because it was overdrawn on a weekly basis!
I don’t think that my experience was much different from that of many single working class people in London. So where is Cameron expecting these volunteers to come from?
Obviously it is another thinly veiled scheme to put the unemployed under the cosh again. While I have no objection to the unemployed being asked to make a contribution to society in general I object to governments creating unemployment and then penalising the unfortunate victims as if they had a choice in their situation by stealth.
Perhaps I am being unduly harsh and the scheme is exactly what he says it is, perhaps there a millions of people in Britain who are “chomping at the bit” to give back to the country. Perhaps there are thousands of subjects who would like nothing better than to build a school or sit behind the counter of a post office but I can see this ending in tears.
I can see the new television advertising campaign that will kick this off, let me share it with you…..
Do you have much experience building schools? No but I did work building a Patio with Fred West…..
This train goes from London to Bristol have you worked as a guard before? No, but I spent some time in a cell with Ronnie Biggs….
So have you done survival training with children before? No but Raoul Moat gave me some pointers.
Welcome to the school have you worked with children before? No but I did spend some time in Vietnam with Gary Glitter
Oh the list is endless but my nomination is the ad that has David Cameron asking a volunteer… Have you ever written a conservative party manifesto before…. No but I did get a diploma from the Bernard_Madoff online college of accounting, I can make your promises disappear and then I’ll tackle that expenses problem you were having….
While I have written this with my tongue placed very firmly in my cheek there is a a part of my mind wondering how long it will be before some of these “volunteers” act in a way that will make people think twice about being associated with it
Perhaps not much longer than it seems to have taken for this years manifesto promises to disappear