Big Society or big con - why Cumbria could be the key
We, and I include myself in this, can spend a fair bit of time moaning about what politicians do to us.
But there are a select band of people who, spend less time moaning and instead concentrate on overcoming their problems.
I've been to meet two such groups of people, in contrasting areas.
The villagers of Crosby Ravensworth in Cumbria are one group who've faced some severe challenges.
In the last few years their community has endured the closure of its village shop, post office and two pubs.
Yet rather than watch their village head into terminal decline, they've decided to take their fate into their own hands.
They've drawn up a community plan and .
by persuading 105 villagers to pledge £1,500 each to gain a share in their local.
They're planning to build some new affordable homes for local families on a site they're buying in Crosby Ravensworth.
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Using anaerobic digestion, the energy would help heat some local homes, with the rest being sold to the National Grid to generate income for the village.
That money could then help sustain services like local buses as well as revive others like the village shop.
They are a determined bunch of people, who've had to overcome a host of obstacles to get as far as they have.
It's no wonder then that the man credited with is paying them a visit.
is said to be even brainier than David Willets but he still might get a few pointers from a Cumbrian village.
He's been invited by Penrith and the Border MP Rory Stewart, who sees the industriousness of his constituents as an ideal model for ways of communities taking control of their own lives.
Rory Stewart is now the Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Local Democracy, and .
And 35 miles up the A6 in Carlisle, a different Cumbrian community has also been working together to improve the lot of those who live there.
Harraby in Carlisle is much more deprived, and far more urban than Crosby Ravensworth.
But over the last few years, a project called has helped .
The community has seen a new play area built, , and there's been an improvement in the whole environment on the estate.
There is though a key difference with Crosby Ravensworth.
Although there are local people involved in the project, it was started by the local councils, and the improvements have been funded through public money.
It's a pilot project, and there was hope it could be extended to other communities.
But the local Labour councillor for Harraby, Michael Boaden, doubts that can happen in an era of severe cuts.
He believes the Government's Big Society ideas will only benefit middle class people with lots of time and money.
He fears councils won't be able to afford the support it's offered Harraby in the future, making it harder for communities to follow in their footsteps.
It's a debate we'll be exploring in the Politics Show this Sunday on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ1 at 11.30, but let me know what you make of the Big Society idea.
Is it really people power, or just part of a cuts agenda?
I'm Richard Moss, the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's Political Editor for the North East and Cumbria. Welcome to my irreverent - but hopefully insightful - northern take on reporting politics for Look North and the Politics Show.
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