Francis Maude and the Big Society

I speak of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2Wue8IN_xQ

I’m a couple of days late to the party here I realise, but I’ve thought about this over that time and only gotten more frustrated and angry.  To ask someone who is extolling the necessity of volunteering in modern society what voluntary work they personally undertake seems an entirely reasonable question to ask, personally.  That Francis Maude failed to provide anything more meaningful than to gripe at being put on the spot is at best lazy and at worst utterly condemning of him as an individual.

Possibly this hits a bit close to home for me.  I work for a range of clients, but I am ostensibly a charity accountant.  I know how charities operate, I know how hard pressed they are for funding now, let alone what it will be like with what’s to come.  I also know how reliant the third sector is on its volunteer base.  I’ve seen literally hundreds of people put in time, effort, expertise and care in order to support and continue absolutely fantastic community based projects.  The volunteer movement in this country is truly inspirational and doesn’t get nearly enough credit regionally or nationally.

Without any real thought I can come up with half a dozen things I do which could be construed as volunteer work.  I say this not to paint myself as some paradigm of virtue; I’m well aware of my failings and character flaws built up from decades of questionable decision making.  The point is that I’m willing to bet that every single person reading this can think of something they do which could be deemed as charitable or voluntary with remarkable ease.  Francis Maude demonstrably could not offer a single example.  What does that say about him as a man?

It seems that either Francis Maude was so ill prepared that he failed to see a very obvious question coming, or he is so breathtakingly arrogant that he thinks he can try to assuage the nation of the need to take on work of which he has no intention of sharing any personal burden.  If it’s the former he is clearly not fit for purpose as an effective cabinet minister.  If it’s the latter then he’s the kind of self motivated, petty, little man who is not fit for purpose as a human being.