What's the best description of the direction of this Government? I think I heard it today on BBC Radio 4. Former leader of the Liberal Party, Paddy Ashdown, described its main mission as 'redistributing opportunity'. This is a great explanation. At present opportunities for the many are few and far between as power is so centralised in the hands of the few - in essence the state.
The purpose of the Coalition is to diffuse opportunity to the many: allowing parents to set up their own schools, academies to be free from local bureaucratic control, enabling people power to veto excessive council tax, and have a real say on housing and planning decisions. Redistributing opportunity, means lowering taxes for the lower paid, to help end the poverty trap and ensure that less people are on benefits. In health, it is about getting rid of Quangos like the Strategic Health Authorities and putting GPs in charge, combined with more patient choice. On crime, it gives local people the opportunity to choose the kind of policing they want for their neighbourhood, through the election of Police Commissioners. With the Big Society, it devolves power and resources to community, voluntary and charity groups, to put the community in charge of their own neighbourhoods.
'Redistributing opportunity' has great potential, and could end up as a really exciting rallying cry. I hope it becomes the reforming mission of this government.
by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com
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