Finding ourselves in Strasbourg a couple of weeks ago, we decided to take one of the evening cruises round the City's canals. We shared the boat with about 180 other people from the UK. Early on we rounded a corner and the guide told us in reverently hushed tones that the extravagant, oh boy, was it extravagant, building before us was the European Parliament and next door was the European Court of Human Rights.

Well, the spontaneous eruption of jeers and catcalls had to be heard to be believed. I've no idea of the politics of anybody there but there was no doubt at all of the derision and contempt for these institutions, and politicians of all shades need to take note as they seek our votes.

What's to be done then to mend what's clearly broken beyond repair? I took an away day last year and was asked to take a session on David Cameron's 'Big Society'. At the time it was hard to flesh out what the Big Society actually was. A year down the line and it's clear to me that the Big Society is actually the only solution that stands any chance of working.

Jim Wallis argues that a healthy society is a stool with 3 legs. The State, private enterprise, and the community. When they are in balance the stool stands. When one leg grows at the expense of the others the stool cannot stand. Too much private enterprise and greed and vested interests take over. When the state dominates, enterprise becomes lazy, communities lose their voice, and a dependent mentality takes over, with the squeaky wheels getting the grease. Too long the state has dominated until the stool has finally toppled. It's time the local communities are strengthened and responsibility given back where it belongs.

Yes, we need the state to provide a safety net, but it's gone too far. Yes, we need private enterprise to create jobs and wealth, but not to enrich the few at the expense of the many. And yes, we need strong communities, strong families, working out their own solutions rather than have solutions imposed on them. And yes, I think we are at last beginning to 'get it'.

What we need now a sense of humility amongst our leaders. They got us into this, now they should lead us out, or stand aside and make way for a new generation willing to lead by example. In my travels I'm coming across a lot of young leaders working hard and thoughtfully changing the communities where they live. It'll take time, there will be pain, but change is coming. I'll give you one example. Had lunch today with a young pastor. He takes a team of people out onto the streets of Chichester every Friday night. They call themselves City Angels and they go out simply to make friends and care for people out enjoying themselves and drinking just a shade too much. The police wrote him this week to tell him that serious crime in the city centre on Friday nights is down 49%, with antisocial behaviour down 24%. Figures for Saturday night are unchanged.Big Society works.

There's a more detailed essay on my website www.afvs.org.uk

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