Playground Cuts

Certainly nobody can accuse Michael Gove of being a hesitant cutter. Playgrounds, part of some grandiose initiative by Labour in its twilight hour, are the latest victim of his axe. The problem, as always, with so many of the spending plans of the fallen government, is that it lost the connection between launching programmes and having the money to fund them.

Very disappointed organisers, parents and children is the certain result of an inevitable, but unpopular, decision. However, it occurs to me that if the Big Society is to show its mettle, this is a good place to start. Setting up a fun playground is just the stuff for a local community to get stuck into. Playgrounds really never had anything to do with central government. Its job is to organise the economy, defend the realm and so on and so forth. The people can be trusted to work in partnership with local government and fundraisers to fix their own children’s playgrounds surely?