By Richard Johnstone | 25 May 2011
The government’s adviser on its flagship Big Society policy has stepped down after a year in the post.
Lord Nat Wei has resigned from his Cabinet Office role but said he will now work with a charity to drive the ‘practical development’ of the plans in communities. But trade unions say his departure shows the Big Society policy is ‘collapsing’.
Wei’s decision comes just two days after Prime Minister David Cameron’s passionate defence of the plans.
Wei said that he ‘will always be proud to have played a modest role in helping lay the foundations here on which the Big Society will be built in years to come’.
He said that his role with the ‘community philanthropy’ charity Community Foundation Network would advise investors, organisations and community leaders on the ‘heavy lifting’ needed to transfer power and resources from central government. He will also continue to back the Big Society in the House of Lords.
Earlier this week, Cameron said that the Big Society was part of moves to ‘create a country which feels like a community, where our relationships are better and the glue that binds people together is stronger’.
This included people coming together to take responsibility for local services if they were threatened with closure, he said.
However, trade union Unite said Wei’s departure illustrated that the plans are ‘bankrupt’.
Unite national officer Rachael Maskell said: ‘The prime minister can’t even keep the person he charged with making the Big Society happen on board, which speaks volumes about the failure of this concept, which is just a smokescreen for financial cuts and job losses for charities.
‘In essence, Lord Wei’s resignation is irrelevant when charities are floundering with a £4.5bn shortfall in funding due to the government’s austerity programme. This is the big issue that David Cameron is shirking.’
The government’s adviser on its flagship Big Society policy has stepped down after a year in the post.
Lord Nat Wei has resigned from his Cabinet Office role but said he will now work with a charity to drive the ‘practical development’ of the plans in communities. But trade unions say his departure shows the Big Society policy is ‘collapsing’.
Wei’s decision comes just two days after Prime Minister David Cameron’s passionate defence of the plans.
Wei said that he ‘will always be proud to have played a modest role in helping lay the foundations here on which the Big Society will be built in years to come’.
He said that his role with the ‘community philanthropy’ charity Community Foundation Network would advise investors, organisations and community leaders on the ‘heavy lifting’ needed to transfer power and resources from central government. He will also continue to back the Big Society in the House of Lords.
Earlier this week, Cameron said that the Big Society was part of moves to ‘create a country which feels like a community, where our relationships are better and the glue that binds people together is stronger’.
This included people coming together to take responsibility for local services if they were threatened with closure, he said.
Announcing Wei’s resignation, Cameron said: ‘Nat has worked incredibly hard over two years to help develop policies that support the Big Society. He has played an important role in delivering key initiatives like Community Organisers, National Citizen Service, and the Big Society Bank. I wish him every success in his new role with the Community Foundation Network.’
However, trade union Unite said Wei’s departure illustrated that the plans are ‘bankrupt’.
Unite national officer Rachael Maskell said: ‘The prime minister can’t even keep the person he charged with making the Big Society happen on board, which speaks volumes about the failure of this concept, which is just a smokescreen for financial cuts and job losses for charities.
‘In essence, Lord Wei’s resignation is irrelevant when charities are floundering with a £4.5bn shortfall in funding due to the government’s austerity programme. This is the big issue that David Cameron is shirking.’
