Cameron’s faux mutualism is not “people power” , it’s simply bogus. The Tory manifesto may look slick on the dustjacket but the George Osborne small print tells a different story. The real “people power” manifesto was launched by Labour yesterday in Birmingham, and it supported real plans for community control by users not just by vested interests.
Michael Stephenson, general secretary, Co-operative party
The first thing we should note about this manifesto is quite how much of Labour’s legacy the Conservatives have now accepted: they explicitly commit themselves to maintaining tax credits (though not for families earning over £50,000), pension credit, the winter fuel allowance, free bus passes, the minimum wage, devolution and Sure Start (though they want a different focus). This is not a reversion to a status quo ante 1997, which should cheer progressives somewhat. Even in the sections on ‘people power’ Cameron has rowed back from the idea that cutting back the state will ‘let a thousand flowers bloom’ – and there is a lot of talk of state support for the voluntary sector. In other words they implicitly do not accept there is such a trade-off between the ‘big state’ and the ‘big society’ – as the rhetoric would lead you to think. The biggest differences between the parties are as they have always been on tax and spend and the role of the state in the economy (and Europe of course), where the Conservatives retain a basically free market small state approach ‘which contrasts markedly with that set out in the Labour manifesto.
Rick Muir, senior research fellow, ippr
“People power” runs through every page of the Conservatives’ manifesto. Cameron’s Kennedy-esque call for a Big Society is deliberately optimistic, but it’s not clear how it would work in practice. The Tories’ appeal to civic engagement is very different in tone to Labour’s vision of more activist government. But in reality, both parties would still run a large central government machine, make deep spending cuts, and try to re-engage with normal people. And although the manifesto is strong on community empowerment, financial devolution – critical for cities’ success – is quite limited.
Dermot Finch, Centre for Cities
The Tory-controlled Council, here, will not implement the Sustainable Communities Act and I, therefore, suspect that there will be so many hurdles thrown up to hamper “people power” that it will just be seen as empty rhetoric. However, will people be convinced that a Party that has always favoured greater centralisation, of which the Council Tax is a prime example, has changed?
The Tory manifesto, with its emphasis on self reliance, provides a great opportunity to contrast their sink or swim approach with our helping hand approach. Somebody in our campaigning team needs to pick up on this – fast.