Cameron also outlined three strands of what he called the “Big Society” agenda:

• Social action: “Government … must foster and support a new culture of voluntarism, philanthropy, social action.”

• Public service reform: “We’ve got to get rid of the centralised bureaucracy that wastes money and undermines morale.”

• Community empowerment: “We need to create communities with oomph – neighbourhoods who are in charge of their own destiny, who feel if they club together and get involved they can shape the world around them.” Nicholas Watt, The Guardian.

Services aren’t going to be run by the proverbial man or woman in the street we haven’t the free time we’re too busy desperately trying to make ends meet – those of us lucky to have jobs that is – those of us who haven’t are going to finding themselves having to work for the pittance that the Com-Dems call unemployment benefit.

This is nothing but the rich dishing out charity to the “deserving poor” whilst companies like Capita are quivering with anticipation at the profits they’re going to make.

Richard Marchant, head of local government strategic partnerships at Capita, an FTSE-100 company which already works for councils in Harrow, Swindon, Southampton and Sheffield, said: “A major problem for the public sector is, we feel, a significant opportunity for us. Opportunities are at their highest level in two to three years. This year we have probably seen a 100% increase in opportunities [compared with 2009] and I suspect we will see another 50% increase in the following year.”

Such an increase could deliver a £60m boost to Capita’s revenues while councils are anticipating a 30% budget cut over the next four years. Other firms vying for town hall contracts include Serco and Mouchel. Robert Booth, Richard Wachman and Jeevan Vasagar, The Guardian.

What on earth possessed people to vote for these arch- Thatcherites? And how many of these bastards are shareholders in these outsourcing companies?