Guardian Yesterday , Jackie Asley (Let’s tune in again 16.11.09) was spot on. Like her, I am fed up with the continuous political fighting over details and performance. What we need as we move towards next year’s election is the development of the BIG VISION, supported by BIG IDEAS , allowing us that all important BIG DEBATE.
As an environmental designer and I know that without a concept properly thought through from the start, it is almost impossible to deliver a holistic solution; as the design progresses, details will keep on cropping up and without that big picture and philosophy, they become impossible to solve and you are left with a disconnected mish-mash!
What we need is a framework that is all inclusive and will allow decisions on all issues to be made within a context.
This is lacking at the moment, but it does seem that out of the ashes of the banking crisis, the stuttering diplomacy of Copenhagen, and the present political debate that one is beginning to emerge that is both global and local.
The strands that are emerging;-
The Climate Deal –The poorer nations are demanding financial support from those that have polluted. There is also a growing recognition that reductions solutions can only be delivered by engaging society at a local level and by changing culture.
Big Society – David Cameron’s ideas around Big Society rather than big government, one that empowers ‘people’.
Tobin Tax – Gordon Brown (and others) talks about a tax on all transactions that should be shared equally between the state and within a climate deal.
Energy Strategy – Ed Miliband talking about fast tracking planning on new energy infrastructure.
Somewhere amongst this lot it seems that there is the potential to galvanise local action and divest responsibility whilst finding a more equitable means of distributing wealth for the good of the planet and its people as a whole.
I do not want to play on old clichés and nor do I want to propagate any notion of communism, but somehow all of these things need to come together if we are to find a solution that meets local needs whilst delivering on the BIG PICTURE.
Anyway, thanks to Jackie for kicking off the debate-but how do we keep it going?
Guy
17.11.09
Tags: big society, copenhagen, jackie ashley
