- It might work in Ambridge, but not in the real world
- The idea is essential. People need to work together more to provide the services they would like to see
- It's a covert way devised by the Tories to shrink the state
- If our sector were mature enough to see past the politics of its originators, we would realise it is a laudable aim
- On balance it is a good thing, but many people think it's just a mask for spending cuts
- Great idea, not thought through
- To create a big society, there needs to be big infrastrucure to support it
- We tried this in Victorian times and it led to the conclusion that we needed a welfare state
- The big society might be an angry one with the spending cuts that we're expecting
- It's a bit like heaven - different things to different people
- It appears to be all smoke and mirrors, and people are mistrustful of it
- Big this, big that - so far, this is just a big pile of words with little meaning
- People will be under increased pressure from lack of jobs and slow recovery, so where does the government think this surge in voluntary activity is going to come from?