David Cameron gave a speech to the Party's Social Action Conference today, highlighting the work done by the party's social action why people in politics should engage in social action projects. A lot of people don't buy some of the rationales given for social action projects. Honestly I don't, either - but my co-editor may have something to say about that!

If we want to help charity, we can do on the side, rather than distracting from the political task of undoing all of Labour's misdeeds in government. Certainly, politicians and wannabe politicos would serve their constituents and compatriots better be learning how not to shaft them when in office (by, say, reading some Mises) than by playing with goats in Gateshead.

But, in today's speech, DC did (eventually) identify the right reason the Party coordinates social action, as his final of four flings at the right answer:

We don’t automatically think about what the government should be doing in a top-down way - we start from a position of asking what each of us as individuals, as communities, should be doing.

Damn straight. If we believe that private charity will pick up where government is rolled back, we have to be there to prove it with our own hands: goats optional.