What's Labour's alternative to the Big Society?

After a difficult few weeks for the Big Society, culminating in Liverpool’s nakedly political ‘withdrawal’ from the vanguard projects, Peter Oborne has already drafted an obituary for the Conservative’s policy agenda.

As Oborne says, the Big Society goes to the heart of this government’s reason for existence, and its (real or perceived) failure would damage the Conservatives. But it’s notable Labour has yet to come up with an alternative to the Big Society, or even a substantive critique of the idea.

The problem for Miliband is that the Big Society agenda captures the centre ground of social policy – neither pro nor anti-state – and risks sidelining his party. He recognises this threat, but Ed and his ‘blue Labour’ guru Maurice Glasman have struggled to carve out a distinct, non-economic vision for the Labour Party. Miliband’s platitudes about mutualism have no traction; there’s no money, so he can’t advocate more state ‘investment’; and any genuinely innovative ideas can be co-opted by the government.