ICE

Most readers will be aware that at ICE we conduct lots of social research through the Research wing of our company. When recently examining social norms at a school in the North East, the young people were asked “Which non-celebrity do you look up to outside of your family?”

As you might expect, answers varied to include family friends, “big bill from down the road”, “James, he won the lottery” and so on. The one that caught me off-guard was “Raual (sic) Moat”.

Initially I assumed this was the response of some wag trying to be funny (such as the other kid who, when asked “Where do you get your alcohol from”, replied: “I hijack alcohol delivery trucks”). For those who have managed to avoid the media circus surrounding him, Raoul Moat shot Samantha Stobbart, 22, killed Chris Brown and wounded Pc David Rathband. After days on the run from the police, and a dramatic standoff broadcast live on TV, he died last Saturday.

However, one of our Executive Directors, a noted expert in social research and behaviour change, pointed out to me that characters such as Moat did indeed cut popular anti-hero figures within some communities. And it seems that, particularly his native North East (he used to live in Fenham, Newcastle), she was right: dozens of bouquets of flowers materialised outside his house with heartfelt messages of support describing him as a ‘legend‘. And there are now around 35,000 tributes to him on Facebook, news which shocked the Prime Minister David . Cameron into making a statement about it. Downing Street has approached the social media company to take down the posts. Facebook has, quite rightly, refused.

Cameron’s actions – and indeed my own immediate views on the young person’s survey response – are typical of a white middle class reaction to working-class communities we don’t always fully understand (that’s why I’m not an expert social researcher, and we hire people much cleverer than myself to carry out the work and patiently explain to me the results). The media is today full of condemnation of those who show any sympathy for Moat in any form.

There is, of course, much hand-wringing in the comment pages about the ‘moral vacuum at the heart of Britain‘. This apparent conflict, between those who regard Moat as a ‘legend’ and those who regard him as a ‘maniac’, reminded me of what we advocate to our clients: MacFayden, Stead and Hastings back in 1999 suggested that a customer-centred approach asks not ‘what is wrong with these people, why don’t they understand?’ but ‘what is wrong with us and what don’t we understand about our target audience?’

Cameron’s Big Society values are credible, but this whole sorry episode should serve as a warning shot. He will not witness Big Society bringing about effective change within communities and improving health and wellbeing if he advocates shutting out the voices of those who need to be heard most rather than seeking to understand them.