An Unservile Society – It’s time for the voluntary sector to get political
“Community empowerment is local government’s core business”
Simon Milton (in DCLG’s 2007 Action Plan for Community Empowerment)
“Power is never given.”
Operation Black Vote organising slogan
One of the ironies of community empowerment networks (CEN’s) was that they couldn’t empower themselves, or more accurately save themselves from the crude dynamics of how power works at … Continue reading
Whilst Annie Kelly’s excellent article in the Guardian (19.3.08) captures my rage about what is happening to the VCS, it doesn’t quite capture the perspective in one important respect – voluntary agencies delivering public services. Locally-based voluntary agencies have been delivering services to people for ever and these organisations form the backbone of the sector. … Continue reading
By Mathew Little, Third Sector, 20 February 2008
Andy Benson, convenor of the National Coalition for Independent Action, wants to stave off creeping state control of the voluntary sector.
If the voluntary sector were a country, Andy Benson would be one of its dissidents. The convenor of the National Coalition for Independent Action, which … Continue reading