TAFKAR

Radio 4's Today programme this morning has a feature discussing the pros and cons of regional planning )starting around 0855). The Coalition government is agin it, favouring its Localism agenda. Other voices on the programme argue in favour of it, that it will need to be brought back sooner or later. A correspondent states that opposition to regionalism become so ingrained in the Department for Communities and Local Governemnt that staff there have been instructed to use the acronym TAFKAR: "The Areas Formerly Known As Regions". Nuff said!

David Cameron's Big Idea

Steve Richards (Chief Political Commentator with The Independent, Presenter of BBC's Week in Westminster and host of Rock 'N Roll Politics) explores the Prime Minister's quest to reshape the state and society in this new three-part series on BBC Radio 4. Beginning in May 2010, Richards follows the policies on health, education and localism through the reality of coalition and the austerity regime, and asks whether the original vision is now in retreat.

David Cameron's Big Idea: Episode 1 

When David Cameron became the Conservative leader in 2005, he memorably declared "There is such a thing as society; it's just not the same as the state."

Steve Richards presents a three-part series telling the story behind that famous phrase, tracing David Cameron's vision of a reformed state and a "Big Society" from the early days of opposition to the reality of government.

The first programme explores the period from the beginning of Cameron's leadership in 2005 to the decision to place the Big Society at the heart of the 2010 general election campaign.

Through interviews with Cameron's friends and advisers, such as Danny Kruger, Ian Birrell and David Willetts, and with critics such as Polly Toynbee and Maurice Glasman, the programme shows how the idea was formed and how it was tested, even in the early days.

We go back to the discussions among excited young politicos at Policy Exchange and the dinner tables of Notting Hill. We recall key moments such as the presentation of the Big Society idea in 2009 and the decision to place that theme at the heart of the Conservative general election campaign the following year, a plan which was later heavily criticised.

We show how the idea was difficult to pin down and explore the different versions of the "Big Society" which emerged.

And we examine the impact of the financial crash, revealing the tensions which surfaced between David Cameron and George Osborne.

Available on the BBC iPlayer till midnight, Saturday 14 January 2012.


Follow Steve Richards on Twitter: @steverichards14