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Broken Communities?

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Class Inequality in Austerity Britain

Abstract

Experts of all kinds are now being inveigled to ‘tackle Broken Britain’. We are surrounded by pessimistic accounts of the ‘slow-motion moral collapse’ of Britain2 and by the invocation to fashion something called the ‘Big Society’ to respond to the challenge of encouraging ordinary people to take back responsibility for their lives and destinies. As the above quote designed to publicise a major conference reveals, exhortation proliferates. Such hyperbole was undoubtedly a major plank of Conservative Party policy in its 2010 election campaign. The official Cabinet Office statement proudly boasts that the ‘Big Society is about helping people to come together to improve their own lives.

Tackling Broken Britain: building a stronger society will follow the report of the Communities and Victims Panel, getting to grips with the fundamental issues of our society, and establishing how to build strong, socially and economically resilient communities. Covering areas such as youth services, education, welfare, health and social care and criminal justice, and examining potential solutions such as community budgets and early intervention initiatives, this timely and high-profile seminar is a must-attend event for professionals from across the public sector and beyond.1

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Notes

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Authors
  1. Mike Savage
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Bristol, UK

    Will Atkinson

  2. University of Kent, UK

    Steven Roberts

  3. London School of Economics and Political Science, UK

    Mike Savage

Copyright information

© 2013 Mike Savage

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Savage, M. (2013). Broken Communities?. In: Atkinson, W., Roberts, S., Savage, M. (eds) Class Inequality in Austerity Britain. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137016386_9

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