Whatever your political leanings, it is hard to deny that the Tories won the Big Idea
Competition. The Labour Party offered a series of unconnected (if occasionally innovative) initiatives. But they lacked coherence. Their manifesto had what Peter Mandelson called “Blair
Plus”, but also what could be referred to as “Prescott Squared”. “What’s The Big Idea?” asked Sky’s Niall Paterson. The Tories on the other hand have a Big Idea
– decentralisation. Giving power to citizens in a number of different ways. It is a concept that gives shape to the Tory manifesto, providing a ready stock of sound-bites.
But why do we need Big Ideas, as opposed to just Good Ideas? When Henry Ford took inspiration from slaughterhouses’ overhead trolleys to build his assembly line, increasing annual production, he did not go around saying self-consciously: “I have had Big Idea.”
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