Advertisement
Activism

John Bird: Social enterprise should be in the mainstream

Big Issue founder Lord Bird urges the government to follow Scotland’s example and nurture social enterprise in all areas of the economy

Big Issue founder John Bird has said the time has come for him to run a prison.

The Big Issue founder, who credited his spell in prison with teaching him to read, told the House of Lords that he “would do a better job than Group 4!”

The remark came as Bird urged the government to keep momentum going and push social enterprises into the mainstream in 2017.

He called on the government to commit to helping social enterprises – businesses with a social or environmental mission – become a widespread alternative to orthodox economics.

In his rallying cry for the sector, Lord Bird said he wanted to see “a social enterprise industry that actually gets to the parts of society that big business cannot get to.”

He asked the UK government to follow the Scottish Government’s lead in setting out a 10-year strategy to look at ways in which social enterprise can be encouraged to operate in every single area of the economy in every single part of the country.

Advertisement
Advertisement

He also suggested social enterprises could even be encouraged into running parts of Her Majesty’s Prison Service. “I would love to run one,” said Bird. “I would do it better than Group 4.”

Bird’s call for an expanded sector is grounded in greater-than-ever interest in the work of social enterprises. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Theresa May outlined her vision for a “shared society,” mentioning social enterprises several times in her big speech at the Charity Commission. May talked about “creating an environment in which our charities and social enterprises can thrive.”

Social Enterprise UK praised May’s “glowing” comments about the sector, but urged the government to go further and include social enterprises in its wider industrial strategy.

“It is refreshing to hear the Prime Minister reiterate her intention to lead a government which is active and which rejects a laissez-faire approach to social issues,” said a spokesman for Social Enterprise UK. “Government can and should help create the conditions for this movement to accelerate its growth.”

Social Enterprise UK estimates that there are 70,000 social enterprises in the UK, contributing £24 billion to the economy and employing nearly one million people. The Big Issue was one of the first social enterprises, and is still leading by example.

Advertisement

Change a vendor's life this Christmas

This Christmas, 3.8 million people across the UK will be facing extreme poverty. Thousands of those struggling will turn to selling the Big Issue as a vital source of income - they need your support to earn and lift themselves out of poverty.

Recommended for you

Read All
Malala Yousafzai on taking on the Taliban and why 'storytelling is the soul of activism'
Malala Yousafzai
Activism

Malala Yousafzai on taking on the Taliban and why 'storytelling is the soul of activism'

How Mexico's women hijacked Día de los Muertos to remember the missing and the murdered
The Day of the Dead Women protests in Mexico City in 2021
Activism

How Mexico's women hijacked Día de los Muertos to remember the missing and the murdered

TV legend Carol Vorderman on death, social media and why she's still voice of the opposition
Exclusive

TV legend Carol Vorderman on death, social media and why she's still voice of the opposition

I'm an Israeli who helped survivors of 7 October attack. Here's why we need a ceasefire in Gaza
War in Gaza

I'm an Israeli who helped survivors of 7 October attack. Here's why we need a ceasefire in Gaza

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue