(6) Ownership

And here's a third example of how are doing that - in extending ownership.

Conservatives instinctively believe in creating an ownership society.

We want people to have the security and independence that comes from having a real a stake in this country's future.

We believe when people own assets that are theirs alone, they have more power and control over their lives, are less dependent on the state, are more responsible and feel happier.

Yet today, ownership really is the privilege of the few - not the right of the many.

The bottom fifty percent of households own under ten percent of the total wealth in our country.

I don't believe turning this round means putting our entire faith in the free market - we have seen how a lack of starting capital locks millions of people out from the opportunity of owning something that is theirs.

But neither do I think ownership is something you can impose from on high.

We need to enable more ownership, for instance, offering local people who see a derelict building or a local service to think 'we can take that over and we can turn into something really special'.

So a thread that runs through so many of our plans is to create that sense of possibility by making ownership easier.

In some cases, this means helping individuals.

We are currently looking at ways to give everyone, especially the young and those on modest incomes, the chance to buy shares in the state owned banks at a discounted price.

Just as the 'Tell Sid' campaign of the 1980s attracted more than two million first time shareholders in the newly privatised British Gas...

...we want to create a new generation of shareholders in the 21st century.

One option is to make it more attractive to buy bank shares through savings vehicles like ISAs.

That way, we will not only give people a real stake in our economy.

By introducing them to the benefits of tax efficient saving for the first time, we will also be able to start creating a savings society.

But more often than not, we know it's far easier for people to club together than work alone - so we also want to encourage collective ownership.

Co-operatives are brilliant ways in which people can come together on a voluntary basis and run their own business...

...providing anything from food, banking or insurance at affordable prices to their local community.

So in 2007, we set up the Conservative Co-operative Movement, to help activists set up their own co-ops.

Last year, we announced our Community Right to Buy.

This policy will turn upside down the relationship between communities and the market or the state.

Whenever a publicly or commercially-owned community building or amenity faces closure...

...from libraries to parks, post offices or pubs...

...local people will get the first option to buy it, protect it, run it, own it and keep it open.

As long as they can raise the money and can show they'll be able to run it efficiently and effectively.

And as long as they are not-for-profit, with extra money re-invested in the asset - it's theirs.
Imagine the change this will bring.

Today, all people can do is rage when a far-off bureaucrat decided to close a well-loved library because it wasn't making enough money.

And when a local pub closes, and a developer wants to turn that building into a block of flats for executives, the community is powerless to do anything about it.

In the post-bureaucratic age, the future of that library and that local pub will be in the people's hands.

This is a control shift on a deep and profound level - and it has the potential to bring about a lasting change in the models of ownership and power in our communities.

And just last week, we announced plans to give every public sector worker the chance to set up employee-owned co-operatives.

This means that everyone working in a Job Centre, in the NHS, in social work - whatever - will have the chance to take over the service they provide, become their own boss and be free to offer the public a better service.

So instead of government controlling every aspect of public services in our country and our professionals feeling like some drones in a giant machine being told what to do and how to do it...

...we will say: "here's your budget, take ownership of the service, and if you deliver it better and more cheaply, you can keep some of the savings".

This is as radical for our public sector workers as the right to buy your council house for our families.

And it's a vital way of increasing ownership in the post-bureaucratic age.

CONTEXT(Help)
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The Post-Bureaucratic Age »The Post-Bureaucratic Age
PBAge.org Conference Participants »PBAge.org Conference Participants
David Cameron's PBAge.org Speech »David Cameron's PBAge.org Speech
(6) Ownership
Extend ownership, and the sense of ownership, within society »Extend ownership, and the sense of ownership, within society
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