“The King’s Speech was an opportunity for the new government to set out some of its big ticket intentions as it begins its work, and unsurprisingly much of what it included had already been outlined in the Labour manifesto published just a few weeks ago.
As we said at the time many of these ambitions can only be delivered successfully by including civil society as a key partner – whether it is in obvious areas, such as the welcome intent to reduce domestic violence by 50% and the moves to give true parity to mental health, or as part of a broader context of sustainable economic growth and greater devolved powers to benefit local communities.
I very much welcome the explicit commitment to rebuilding trust and confidence in the political system and strengthening the democratic process, and many of our members will be keen to use their legitimate campaigning voices to ensure that the good intents set out do not fall short of what their beneficiaries need or have unintended consequences for the people they serve.
While we still await the appointment of a minister with responsibility for civil society I am looking forward to meeting Secretary of State Lisa Nandy very soon and to discussing with her further the contribution civil society can make to the delivery of the government’s five missions. Keir Starmer, in January of this year, spoke eloquently of how civil society had been left out of key policy making processes for too long, and asked civil society to come to the table in partnership with his government. We stand ready to do so.”
