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Abstract
The idea of the “Big Society” can be seen as culmination of a long-standing debate about the regulation of welfare. Situating the concept within governance theory, the article considers how the UK coalition government has justified a radical restructuring of welfare provision, and considers its implications for housing provision. Although drawing on earlier modernization processes, the article contends that the genesis for welfare reform was based on an analysis that the government was forced to respond to a unique conjunction of crises: in morality, the state, ideology and economics. The government has therefore embarked upon a programme, which has served to undermine the legitimacy of the social housing sector (most notably in England), with detrimental consequences for residents and raising significant dilemmas for those working in the housing sector.
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1. The concept of a wicked problem has been used in public policy to denote an issue which is regarded as intractable, open ended and complex. It is the result of a combination of problems and has a range of different potential solutions. The development of “joined-up government” under the 1997 Labour government was an attempt to tackle such problems.