Time to Heal Divides...

We are a divided nation. A disunited kingdom. The referendum divide between Scotland, Northern Ireland, London and a handful of other English cities, and the rest of England and the whole of Wales, was deep. The divide between young and old was even deeper.
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We are a divided nation. A disunited kingdom.

The referendum divide between Scotland, Northern Ireland, London and a handful of other English cities, and the rest of England and the whole of Wales, was deep. The divide between young and old was even deeper.

People in the poorer half of the income scale do not trust the future being offered to them by government, opposition, experts, establishment....or the likes of us.

The poor, as ever, will be hit hardest by the economic consequences and uncertainty. Social cohesion has been hurt badly. We have a rough ride ahead, whatever the view you have about the long term.

If you are working in the social sector and voted remain, it's totally fair to have a rant about the people who have thrown spanners into all your hard won efforts. But right now our job is even bigger than before.

For us at Big Society Capital, that's helping charities and social enterprises in their vital task to address the poverty, the social divides, all the social issues you are passionate about. And I am very conscious that we are in a much more comfortable position than the charities and social enterprises who do the toughest work, and also the intermediary investors who work directly with them.

More specifically, we need to plan out how the economic and financial volatility, and the political changes, may impact on social investment, both bigger scale issues like currencies and inflation, and more immediate issues of uncertainty. And we'll be sharing these thoughts across the sector.

For all of us in the social sector, the question is what we can do: to help heal divides, tackle poverty, meet needs, find solutions.

So today, we redouble our efforts. I know that is what we will do, because the passion and talent in the social sector is extraordinary, and we know what our true purpose really is.