Tales from the Big Society: Whitlawburn Edition

Of all the criticisms* of David Cameron’s Big Society, the one that makes least sense is the notion that while it might be fine for wealthy parts of the country it’s of no use in poorer communities. Nothing could be further from the truth. If it’s anything the Big Society is about untapped “social capital” and there’s more of that, in more communities, than the scoffers and titterers on the News Quiz would have you believe.

Nor, really, is it a new idea. Take this example cited by Lesley Riddoch in her Scotsman column today:

In 1988, Glasgow Council was given £6.6 million to refurbish this run-down estate on its southern outskirts. West Whitlawburn had hard-to-fix high rise flats. So the council spent the repair money instead on the easier-to-fix low-rise blocks of East Whitlawburn. Outraged, the tenants’ association in the West opted out and set up a co-operative to own, improve and manage their 540 homes.