Would we have had social enterprise without Margaret Thatcher?

Thatcherism taught us that a mixed market in the public sector is the future, and that a 'state or market' debate is outdated

Margaret Thatcher – a key figure in the history of the social enterprise movement? Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd./Graham Whitby-Boot/Allstar

There probably aren't many Margaret Thatcher fans among social entrepreneurs, with most attributing the growth of market economics in social arenas to the measures introduced by Tony Blair. But would we have had the Right to Request without de-nationalisation or the Right to Buy?

As Ed Miliband said during parliament's tribute sitting, Thatcher was right to recognise that our economy needed to change. In 1982, she said:"How absurd it will seem in a few years' time that the state ran Pickfords removals and the Gleneagles Hotel."

Thatcher introduced the idea that government should stop being the default employer and that the public sector needed mixed models of delivery – thinking that has been shared by successive governments ever since.

Looking at public sector reform through the point of view of theTransition Institute, set up to promote increased social value in public service created through non-public sector providers, we can see two major spikes in change; the first when Thatcher allowed the private sector to enter the domain of public services such as in municipal maintenance and waste collection; and the second when Blair introduced the concept of social enterprise into education, health and the then Department of Trade and Industry.

At my organisation, the Transition Institution, we know that the market economy drives down costs but can also fail if equal priority is not given to the needs of service users and the wider community, termed social value. Our work shows what can be achieved when the priority of cost effective services are shared with the needs of those that rely on services. We promote the work of co-operative schools, staff-led community interest youth services, and mutual delivery of community care.

The Transition Institution calls for plurality, a drive for an increase in social and economic value, demonstrating the coexistence of free market forces and social responsibility. The introduction of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 and the support of the cabinet office, led by Francis Maude, for the promotion of mutuals within the public sector have encouraged those seeking change in this field, but progress is slow.

Thatcher was perhaps the great advocate of the free market, even though employment in the public sector was 3% higher when she left office than it is now. She undoubtedly questioned the monopoly of the state and did not limit her introduction of market forces to the nationalisation of British Airways, British Gas and British Telecom, but went on to assert that the state can not commission, deliver and appraise every service without the emergence of a conflict of interest that does not serve the wider public, an idea continued under Blair.

In 2011, David Cameron said: "The Blair government took some good steps, like foundation hospitals and academy schools, but they were too tentative … The public already benefits from services delivered by private and third sector providers, from running walk-in clinics to providing school caretakers, and the government is right to recognise that there is scope to do more."

Yet even with that commitment and other stated aims to grow mutualism, social value and community engagement, we have yet to see a third spike. Many prospective and new public sector spin-outs continue to be confronted by sceptical parent authorities and voracious private sector competitors with the advantage that they can get in quick. As in Thatcher's era, it is money that counts: then inflation hit 21% and drove the government to think the unthinkable. Today, it's the deficit and, with banks limiting borrowing, those with access to capital are moving faster. I do not have the results of the 2013 national Transition Institute surveyyet, but I am willing to guess that access to capital is a big issue for today's independent public service providers.

Margaret Thatcher introduced an idea that continues to grow, that of a mixed market in the public sector. Her scepticism about the public sector led to a deep-seated faith, shared by some in government today, that only unfettered competition can give us quality and affordability. In contrast, some on the left maintain that only the state can care for its citizens.

This is 2013 not 1983 and if the banking crisis and subsequent recession have taught us anything, it is that it may be hard to describe and tricky to measure but what the public sector needs is a mixed approach – only a combination of competition tempered by social value can create affordable and sustainable world-class public services.

Allison Ogden-Newton is chair of the Transition Institute.

Ed Miliband and Steve Reed launch "Towards Cooperative Councils" with a contribution from Allison Ogden-Newton

Allison Ogden-Newton
Allison is the chair of the Transition Institute

The architecture of public services in the UK is in transition. Across the National Health Service, local authorities, neighbourhood schools and libraries, our public service institutions are being remodelled. 

Knowing when to bail: This isn't politics, it's bigger than that – just ask Hugh Grant

Hugh Grant: Not just a pretty face

Like everyone in the country, I am agog at what's going on. The tabloid press seem to have sunk to new lows below even those assumed of them. The police seem to be guilty of taking a discretionary approach to what is or is not illegal, based on self-interest. And it would seem that politicians have entered a Faustian pact with the Murdoch empire that has prevented anyone from getting to the bottom of how information is bought, sold and publicised in some parts of the British media. Just ask Hugh Grant, he knows all about it.

It now seems clear that Murdoch may not be allowed to buy the rest of the BSkyB but that his current holdings need to be reviewed and reduced. Even without further revelations only a nitwit would try to defend the assertion that News International will do a thorough job cleaning up its act through self-regulation or, for that matter, the Metropolitan Police should be left to its own devices. It is political suicide to trivialise the implications of this, because the public have got beyond the 'smoke without fire' stage to organising its own evacuation. The public isn't waiting for politicians to tell them what to do: Mumsnet and the Church of England are looking at a Murdoch boycott and are sufficiently well informed not to be distracted by the closure of the News of the World. The good old Guardian has become our very own Washington Post, now looked to across the world for the only unbiased coverage of this whole business.

I have a close friend who is the international editor of a well-known celebrity magazine and she has often told me of the fear the famous have of the British tabloid press, some choose never to come to the UK or leave hastily because of it. No great loss, you may think, but an interesting indicator of how the British tabloid press is in a class of its own when it comes to being out of control. Further it has always fascinated me that the worst practices of some of the media in this country are managed and exploited by non-residents who would not welcome or tolerate such intrusion in the countries they choose to live in. Having said that, my friend has often argued for the continuance of an unregulated press. So what's to do?

Ed Miliband has been accused of playing politics with this issue, I don't think that is possible. Like Watergate and the Profumo Affair, it's got beyond that now. We do need to stop the Murdoch takeover sharpish. We do need someone to stop the deleting as it is now, shredding as it was in Ollie North's day. And as David Cameron agreed, old Rebekah Brooks needs to go whether she is a 'lightning rod' or not, if only to say that if it all goes tits up on your watch, it's your responsibility.

I am amazed and, I have to say, delighted at the role Hugh Grant has played in all this. It seems following his relentless experience of being 'papped', he fought back by taking ex-News of the World journalist Paul McMullan out for a drink with a microphone pen in his pocket to record and expose the hacking, police bribery allegations and the culpability of politicians and newspaper editors and bosses as McMullan bragged that 'he [Grant] was powerless to do anything about it.' Given his extraordinary tenacity I think he should definitely play himself in the inevitable film.

It may yet turn out that Andy Coulson becomes #newsgate's Oliver North, but even going for his scalp won't keep the information, outrage and disgust coming wave upon wave now. Talking of waves, if you want to avoid a painful wipeout, the knowledgeable surfer knows when it's best to bail – a surfing term meaning jumping in the water before you lose your balance. Let's hope the PM remembers in time, that to ride the next wave, bailing is better than heading for a wipeout.

Big society is here to stay and it's time to get used to it: Guardian Public 09.03.11

Photo: Murdo Macleod

Despite opposition from both the left and right on the political spectrum, and a wealth of criticism from civil society leaders, there are reasons why the "big society" is here to stay.

Big society – can we have spin-outs without spin? The chief executive of Social Enterprise London worries that presentational issues will get in the way of encouraging new models of public service delivery

As seen in the Guardian online today.....

"Big society" is big news. But what does it mean? If so-called spin-outs from the public sector are all part of this headline policy initiative, has big society helped or hindered?

Ready, Steady, time to Go home

Its been a wonderful holiday, dodgy weather not withstanding, and we are ending on a high note. Today was the Port Gaverne to Port Isaac swim in aid of the Port Isaac Gig Club. The gigs are the local sport round these parts, with teams competing from each village, each taking responsibility for the up keep and maintenance of their own boat. The gigs themselves are retired eight oar lifeboats and peculiar in design to North Cornwall. Today’s race has not been run for thirty years but local organisers Clare and Steve were hoping it becomes popular enough to raise money for the Isaac gig and become an annual event. Worried about the rocky sea yesterday, Clare told me she didn’t sleep a wink last night.

I had been talking about joining in as I have been swimming in the bay for the last 12 years. But I don’t go out if the sea is too choppy and I have never been further than the headland. This race is over a mile of open sea, against the tide most of the way, and the weather has been so rough there was talk yesterday of cancelling the race altogether. That explains why hubby and I were in The Harbour Restaurant with our lovely friend, restaurateur and chef, Emily and her delightful new beaux, Jason, until the wee hours. Jason is front of house at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen in Newquay and so no stranger to social enterprise or, isn't it a small world, my friend Liam Black.

After a splendid evening at Emily’s 15th century gem of a bang up to date eaterie, where I had the monkfish and scallops washed down with at least one bottle of New Zealand, Dog Point, too many, I sat out to count shooting stars and bats. The last few nights we have had a comet over head but last night was our first clear sky to view the last of the shooting stars. More Cornish magic. It was for this reason I found my bed rather late.

Oh dear. This morning brought a lovely sunny day, relatively calm seas and Jon Cleave, famous for his Gully Children's Stories, membership of the local and now Internationally famous singing sensation Fisherman's Friends armed with a public address system positioned under my bedroom window, announcing the race was on. So armed with a cup of tea and 2 paracetaomol I tottered down to the beach, signed up and gave my money to the Gig Club. In the end there were 49 swimmers, of which I finished 44th, in as many minutes. It was hard going at times but at least I did it, and avoided the humiliation of being rescued, although my friend Andy, helmsman of the Lifeboat did keep offering to rescue me for most of the journey. Commenting on my less than professional style, Andy felt some of my strokes were not recognisably Olympic ones, although I think he had no difficulty interpreting my hand gestures. Andy told me later that the Lifeboat crew and bet against me making it but his money was on me. Thanks mate!

As a postscript Andy Cameron is a legend, especially to our children who he has taught to surf at his Wavehunters Animal Surf Academy (he's the bloke in shirt and tie standing on the desk in the sea) based in Polzeath. You may have seen him on the telly recently as he had the difficult task of teaching Jeremy Clarkson and team to surf on a Top Gear episode a few weeks ago. Apparently they filmed for 2 days but if you blinked you missed the 20 seconds Andy was trying to get Clarkeson to pull himself together. Andy has got some of the most famous people into the water to sample North Cornwall’s fabulous surf including Kate Moss, Jude Law and even our own Prime Minister, David Cameron (no relation) who was in the papers yesterday encouraging people to holiday at home, giving Cornish surf a special mention.

Oh and I have not forgotten to tell you all about the radio frequency thermal energy laser treatment I was booked in for. I went ahead with it yesterday, remembering to take photos of before and straight after the treatment. I’ll do a full post when the swelling goes down and you can see the final results. I went out last night feeling (and looking) like elephant woman, (although worryingly Emily said I looked no different!?) but have high hopes of a great outcome, thanks Penny Pudd, practice nurse and Veinwave Therapist.

Despite the energetic start to the day we all feel really sad packing up, but as I keep telling my troops we will be back soon enough. On Andy's website it says, leave the office, walk away from your desk and come for a surf. You never have to ask us twice.

Bringing up the rear

Are we there yet?

Sponsored sea swim..Done!

All quiet on the Western Front

I know its been hell for stranded passengers but for those of us in West london the quiet skies are bliss.

I agree that Nick Clegg did a bang up job on the debates on Thursday. Mind you I don't think any of them disgraced themselves. I'm looking forward to the next round, should be fun watching David and Gordon manage a consensus as they gang up on him. Funnily enough I knew Nick when we were children. His sister, Elizabeth was my classmate and friend and the Clegg's lived on our road. The last time I saw Nick, we were both in the Clegg's rather impressive sandpit. Not sure what sort of training a good command of bucket and spade is for political leadership, but it can't hurt.

Our conference, Social enterprise: A brighter future of schools, was a tour de force on Thursday. It's energy reminded me of the early days of social enterprise events when we knew we were being radical. The stories of what folk were up to both running businesses out of schools and running schools as cooperatives and potentially social enterprises was gripping stuff. This was parents organising and really getting involved, children inspired to set up and work in their own social enterprises and social entrepreneurs squaring up to run schools. I've done a full write up for the Guardian, so watch this space. It is, I think, an issue which is going to grow and grow. This is about staff and parents wanting to experiment with new enterprise based models. The genie is out of the bottle here, where schools are failing kids the state can no longer reject those who want change and are willing to do something about it.

I am at a concert for children at Amersham School in Amersham, Bucks. Our performers are Travelling with Tuba, Chris Cranham and Stewart Death. The kids are really enjoying it, depite the sunshine being outside. They have especially enjoyed the chance to play musical instruments from around the world like the Alpine Horn and South African Cornu.

 Joe playing the Alpine Horn

Just when I thought the energy around social enterprise had reached a high, things are hotting up. David Cameron in his Hugo Young Lecture on Monday night and Tessa Jowell, Minister for the Cabinet Office yesterday have said their parties will make social enterprise central to the very core of future Government service delivery.

Labour plans to encourage mutuals like Central Surrey Health and Sunderland Home Care Associates as replicable models, whilst the Tories intend a broader commitment to encouraging community groups to take control of key services. Labour refer to a ‘John Lewis’ style public service, with employee control at the heart.

All very encouraging; I have little doubt for example that had postal workers been owner employees of the Post Office this autumn, the strikes which crippled and conceivably destroyed our national postal service would never have happened.

However, many of these ideas still need to be worked through. Andrew Lansley, the Shadow Health Secretary, has also been discussing the idea of an “easyCouncil” as in a no frills service along the lines of EasyJet airlines. It’s worth noting that John Lewis is a social enterprise, and EasyJet not; at EasyJet the employees are certainly not in charge, and arguably the model would fall down if they were.

We know social enterprises can thrive when they work directly for Government, for example with leisure trusts, which now outrank the private sector in terms of their market share of public leisure service delivery. In that space we have market leaders like GLL big enough to compete to manage the Aquatic Centre at the 2012 Games.

But of course not everyone likes social enterprise. It appears some people really hate it. Unite leaders have been particularly busy lately publishing pamphlets trying to frighten workers with talk of social enterprise as the ‘Trojan Horse’, privatisation through the back door and the possibility of City style pay and bonuses for executives. This nonsense culminated at the end of last week with a printed ‘report’ that highlighting the salaries of some Third Sector leaders. My mum always warned me about the dangers of launching missiles from inside the green-house; with a combined salary and benefits deal of £308,374 the joint General Secretaries of Unite, Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley should keep schtum in my opinion.

Actually when I read the Unite piece, I wonder if I was alone in thinking how poorly paid some of the CEO’s of some of the largest Third Sector bodies are. These organisations are highly complex with large turnovers, numerous staff, and important work with society’s most vulnerable people. Top jobs calling for top people, private sector comparisons are ridiculous and mischievous, no one is getting mortgage relief, and there is no bonus culture.

Social enterprise can do much to turn this sorry state of affairs into an opportunity. We can help people think about new and better ways of working. After years of targets and micromanagement we can offer people the hope of self determination and an ability to be creative in their work again. But we are not about exploitation, services on the cheap or privatisation through the back door. I was delighted that ACEVO CEO Stephen Bubb questioned David Cameron on Monday, on whether the Tories plans for the Third sector meant services on the cheap. Cameron said no, let's hope he meant it.

Social entrepreneurs need time and investment to build our capacity. We need Government departments to recognise where more research and investment needs to be made. This means following through on the long awaited review of the national economic development strategy, as public spending is analysed and rationalised they will need strategies to replace the current delivery modes, and with the right support and investment the third sector can really deliver.

I have nearly 1900 members all chomping at the bit to roll their sleeves up and get stuck in. Yes we need investment; you can’t expect social entrepreneurs to remortgage their houses (Although sadly some of them do) to finance companies they do not own, in order to deliver public services. The local bond is an interesting idea; for sure the tax breaks Government are looking at are long overdue, as is the Social Investment Bank, which will invest our vast reserves of unclaimed banking assets into social and community initiatives.

We need good, fair contracts that acknowledge the extraordinary social impact of social enterprises, like sterilisation products from the social enterprise Clarity, and we need unions that work with us, acknowledging that many of the people who set up and work in social enterprises are existing or potential union members, and many social enterprises.

I believe much of the hostility towards social enterprise is generated by confusion over whether it represents a John Lewis or EasyJet. Social Enterprise is the former, and with more research and further working through of policy, this will become very clear. Human beings aren’t good at change and there is a boat load of it on its way. In such situations so-called early adopters are the ones that thrive, and I know of no other community than mine with so many early adopters in its ranks. Public services run as employee owned mutuals will be the public services of the future, and it’s a future I want to be part of.