Stop moaning and get local!

If Britain’s news media - and its tabloid press in particular - were a person it would probably be diagnosed with several or all of the following disorders: Clinical Depression (for its negative thinking), Schizophrenia (finding it hard to concentrate on a single topic for a sustained period, delusional thinking), Anxiety (constant worrying, irritability) and Bipolar Disorder (extreme mood swings, an inability to learn from past episodes). It would also be the most powerful person in Britain, with the ability to influence the way the majority of people understand the world and what they think about it more than almost anyone else. Of course the news media and even the tabloid press are not monolithic, and are riven with differences of opinion and interpretation. Nonetheless the tendency to focus on the negative and the inability to sustain concentration, at the very least, are structural and pretty much universal.

So what are the consequences of this troubled individual having such a profound impact on our lives? According to an article in the Economist this week, it is that people tend to perceive dramatic social and moral decline when most evidence suggests otherwise, and to sense threats where none exist. In a Times poll whose results were published today, 70 per cent of people agreed with David Cameron’s assertion that British society is ‘broken’. Yet on most of the issues that people tend to point to to support this claim - crime, alcohol and drug consumption, teenage pregnancy - statistics suggest continuity or slight reductions over recent years, rather than dramatic growth. Horror stories like the recent child torture case in Edlington may give pause for thought, but sadly they have always occurred (as the Economist points out, citing a similar case in 1968), and do in every country (does anyone ever point out that we have not had any ‘Columbines’ or ‘Joseph Frizls’ in Britain?) At the very least these extreme incidents should not be used as a political football.

So what are the implications of the ‘perception problem’ for those involved in neighbourhood working?

1) A bit of local perspective helps to counteract national gloom. In a country of 60 million people there will always be something terrible happening somewhere, but it will rarely be in your area (even if it does face serious social problems.) So look local and celebrate the successes or even just the normality of everyday life, and try and get residents to do the same!

2) Rather than pointing to real social and moral decline, the belief in a ‘Broken Britain’ probably represents something less tangible and more profound - a general feeling people have of losing power, and a loss of faith in those they feel do have power (which the media has also significantly contributed to!) Both of these conclusions may be justified, but there is still plenty that people can influence, particularly at a local level. Making people believe this is the challenge, which is where neighbourhood management comes in…

3) The areas in which evidence does suggest a real deterioriation over the past few decades - income, health and other types of inequality, the educational attainment of certain groups, engagement in local politics and services - are challenging problems which affect society as a whole. But while they can’t be solved by local solutions alone, they also can’t be solved without them. After all change starts at home!

Calls for greater localism are increasing in volume and it might be time for local enthusiasm to drown out national pessimism. I think we’d all feel better as a result.

Let us know what you think!