Firstly, all of us at Liberal Scotland wish you, dear reader, a very Happy New Year – we hope that 2010 is a peaceful and prosperous year for you.
A few days back, I wrote a piece about David Cameron’s big idea – the post-bureaucratic age.
One of the problems with PBA is that many people in the UK, whatever they say, are unwilling to take control of elements of their own lives (their children’s schooling etc).
A perfect example is from my own street. I am lucky enough to live in a nice area of Edinburgh – Stockbridge. It is a lovely bit of town. People take pride in their gardens, front doors are painted nicely etc.
Over the last week, the snow has turned to ice about 1 to 2 inches thick. It isn’t terribly treacherous but can be problematic for people (especially old people) to walk on. Only two houses on the two streets I walk to the shops on have cleared the ice away (mine was one and the other was an elderly gentleman around the corner). It took an hour or so but it wasn’t too hard.
I went to my old flat in Dalry and the ice was as bad on the pavements there. Indeed, all over town this seemed to be the way. Now, I understand, you’ll be asking ‘what the hell has this got to do with the post-bureaucratic age’?
My point is this. I’ve heard people in pubs, on trains etc complaining that the council hasn’t cleaned the ice off the pavements.
And this is where the link comes (this is smooth stuff – ed.). The problem, too often, is that when people could do something for themselves (like cleaning their steps and the area outside their steps) they expect the council to do it for them. If we all cleaned our steps and the little areas outside our houses everyone would be better off. A shame really – how have we got to the point where we expect the state to do such simple things for us and, when we could act, we sit and wait for the state to intervene? Sad stuff.
Anyway, a glum thought but let us hope that 2010 is a fantastic year !
RCM
