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How my top government job left me almost penniless and unable to support my family
David Cohen 4 Feb 2011
It has not been a good week for the Big Society czar Lord Wei. The news that he has reduced his voluntary hours from three days a week to two to pay his household bills has threatened to turn him into a laughing stock, the joke being that if Mr Big Society is unable to find time to volunteer, who can?
"No Wei!" snorted the Wall Street Journal, "it's straight out of the farcical 'you couldn't make it up file'." Then came the bombshell that Liverpool City Council, one of four councils chosen to pilot the scheme, has withdrawn its support because of £100 million in cuts to the very community groups that the Big Society is supposed to support.
But social entrepreneur Nat Wei, 34, is surprisingly candid when he shows me into his room at the Cabinet Office in Whitehall. "Look," he says, "before I took on this job last May, I was earning more than £100,000 a year. The idea was that I'd come on a paid basis, but because the quota for paid government advisers was full, at the last moment it turned out to be unpaid. I committed myself to two days a week and ended up doing three, but in the autumn I asked to go back to two days."
"My income had plummeted to virtually zero because I'd given up my paid jobs to avoid conflicts of interest and I was getting into debt. I had moved with my wife Cynthia, a full-time mother, and our two sons [aged four and two] onto an estate in Shoreditch where we rent a council flat so as not to worry about a big mortgage, but, even so, I still had to pay the rent."
He shakes his head. "It was a hugely stressful time. Racking up unsustainable debt made it hard to focus on my job. I've since got some paid consultancy work, though not enough to support the family. Some people think I must be independently rich because I was given a peerage and became the youngest member in the Lords, but I come from a low-income family and need to make a living. My net worth is probably negative now, I have just a few thousand pounds to my name."
The irony slaps you in the face. The man charged with driving forward Mr Cameron's revolution in citizen activism, which seeks to empower people, has himself been disempowered. Does he feel he's been set up to fail? That his job should be paid?
"No," he says firmly, "it's right that I should juggle making a living, seeing my family, and helping to change society, because that's what makes me like everyone else and not in a Whitehall bubble. Yes, I got the balance wrong, but I've rectified that. The Big Society is about all of us putting in the time we can."
Wei reflects on the "hypocrisy" of his critics. "They might mock me because I'm not independently rich enough to do the job without worrying about an income, but I was given this job because of my record as a social entrepreneur, not because I'm super-rich or want to be a politician. Not that I'm complaining," he laughs, "I've got broad shoulders, I've learned to take it on the chin."
Born in Watford to Chinese immigrants from Hong Kong, Wei grew up in a rough, predominantly poor-white part of Milton Keynes. His father was a pastor and they were pretty hard up, he says, though never on the dole or starving. At Sir Frank Markham Community School, which has since closed down, Wei was "hit and punched" by fellow pupils for taking his studies seriously. "Pupils would snort cocaine off the art table and one year they burned down a wing of the school," he recalls. "It was not uncommon for teachers to run out of lessons crying, and I often taught myself because classes were so disruptive."
But Wei's diligence paid off and he was the only pupil in his year to go to Oxford before embarking on three years of management consulting at McKinsey. "I could have become a partner at McKinsey and been a multi-millionaire today," reflects Wei, "but I was passionate about doing something for society and becoming a social entrepreneur."
He worked for the international children's charity Ark and later launched his own successful social consultancy, but it was his pioneering role as a member of the founding staff team of charity Teach First - which trains high-fliers to be inner-city teachers - that brought this young talent to Mr Cameron's attention.
Some say that Wei, who reports directly to Mr Cameron once a fortnight, is too young and timid to drive through the Big Society agenda but it hasn't stopped him making strident criticisms of the City.
"There needs to be a complete culture change in the City where bankers who get bonuses are encouraged to give and it becomes the norm," he says. "For bankers to rebuild trust, they must be proactive, and if they are not, there are things we can do to nudge them along, if you like, and to create transparency."
Is he talking about publishing league tables to embarrass banks and show how little they give? Goldman Sachs recently admitted it had cut back on charitable giving despite paying £10 billion in bonuses. "A lot of the info we need to do it is already out there," he says, nodding. But why not simply raise taxes for the super-rich to 50 per cent?
"You could, but the super-rich are very mobile and might leave." Similarly he opts for a softly approach on tax avoidance. "We should laud businessmen who choose to pay, rather than conduct a witch-hunt of the tax avoiders," he says.
Wei denies the common criticism that the Big Society is ideologically driven and a Trojan horse for smaller government, and he gamely argues that it's "no fig leaf to cuts", but he struggles to answer the charge that the groups the Big Society is meant to be "enabling" are also the ones the Government is "destroying" through cuts.
In essence, this is what Liverpool City Council chief Joe Anderson said when he wrote to Mr Cameron this week and asked: "How can the council support the Big Society and its aim to help communities do more for themselves when we will have to cut the lifeline to hundreds of these vital and worthwhile groups?"
Wei calls Anderson's decision "a real shame for the people of Liverpool". But the fact is: the £80 million the Big Society bank will dole out to community groups from this summer is a drop in the ocean compared to the billions in cuts.
He shrugs: "We have a choice: we can either go the way of Ireland and Greece, or decide to do things differently. Really, the Big Society is about going back to the early days of the welfare state when social reformers like William Beveridge expected a more shared responsibility between citizens and the state than we have now."
Asked to define the Big Society in lay-man's terms, he says: "It's the belief that local people can come together to solve problems they care about better than government or anyone else, and supporting them to do so financially and by cutting bureaucracy, but it's about more than volunteering and it includes public sector reform, like giving power to GPs and free schools. We're still in the launch phase - as Cameron has said, it's a culture change that will take two parliaments, if not a generation."
Does he worry that unless people start to "get" the Big Society soon it will lose momentum and be scrapped? "Not really," he says. "It's one of the Government's top three priorities, after the economy and Afghanistan."
I look around his strangely bare office - with not a single photograph on the desk or even a picture on the wall to indicate he works there - and wonder aloud whether he spends time here any more at all. He laughs and assures me that he's been here a full eight months, adding: "One of the problems with Labour was that they were so attached to their offices they lost contact with the people."
But, realistically, can he succeed in doing this job for just two days a week? He smiles, somewhat ruefully. "This job needs eight days a week, but I haven't got eight days a week. The Big Society is about doing the impossible, and also about everyone doing their share. Much of what we're doing is behind the scenes and can't yet be seen by the public. But I am confident the penny will drop when people begin to experience it for themselves. Already polls are encouraging, showing that 46 per cent of people, which is quite a lot, think it's a good idea."
And with that he's shooting off to see "an aristocrat in Lambeth" to talk about social enterprise. I tell him that I think the Big Society czar must be an optimist and believer in the essential good in human nature but that he has a hard sell - and not to be paid, quite galling! He stops, momentarily, looks me in the eye. "Ultimately it's not about me, it's about ordinary people deciding: 'I'm in!' These are not easy times. You have to take what life throws at you and run with it, right?"
Reader views (26)
Being a Lord at the ridiculous age of 34 and all the advantages it gives seems to be more than payment in kind.
- Terry, Hennebont France, 08/02/2011 14:59
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In his blog Nat Wei explains that he is renting a flat on a council estate from a private landlord, so it must be ex-council: http://natwei.wordpress.com/2010/10/30/why-we-need-big-society-in-shoreditch/
- Ellen Doran, London, 07/02/2011 15:59
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Aren't there massive waiting lists for council houses? I didn't think one could just bowl up and get one, dependents or not, especially as he'd voluntarily given up a very well-paid job.
- BH, London, UK, 07/02/2011 13:10
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"Lord at 34"Wei's story seems to be shot full of holes...On £100k which collapsed when he gave 2 days a week,moving into a council property.
The "super rich"might leave is a dubious argument...We have yet to se evidence of super talent or even average ability in the "super rich".
- peter doff, york uk, 07/02/2011 13:01
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The Big Society - "It's one of the Government's top three priorities, after the economy and Afghanistan" says Lord Wei.
Yes, that's why Cameron's not paying you, and you're working two whole days a week to make it happen.
- Jupiter J, London, 07/02/2011 11:56
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Lord wei needs to talk to Tony Blair who's motto is " Never do anything unless you are paid " Works well for Tony, you may want to try it.
- Ruckus, Myrtle Beach USA, 07/02/2011 05:18
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If he doesn't have enough nouce to get a salary sorted out when he needs a salary, unlike Cameron, Osborne et-al then surely he can't be any good. Ignorance on that level has gone over the line into stupidity.
- John Sinclair, UK, 05/02/2011 22:42
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Who is this nonentity? I have no doubt that he will soon find out how to enrich himself in some quango or other,or boards and committees inhabited by these non productive busy bodies. We could do without this Lord and his like. They contribute nothing.
- MiguelM, Old Isleworth, 05/02/2011 11:31
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It should be stated there is no issue of raising taxes to 50% for the super-rich as we already have a 50% top rate for the time being.
- HYUFD, Tunbridge Wells, 04/02/2011 21:24
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Poor naive nice man.
Cameron has enough public funds to pay for his photographer(s) but not enough to fund the head of "Big Society". We can take the hint about his priorities. Perhaps Lord Wei should too & shift parties.
- Giustina, London, 04/02/2011 20:25
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Nat is a social visionary, who has been heavily involved in projects to improve social conditions. He was given the opportunity to make a real change and took decisions to facilitate being able to take the position offered, such as giving up jobs on various organisations for social change so that he wouldn't be biased, and moving from owning to renting to reduce his outgoings. Then both the government's money and his own money ran out. He's genuinely committed to helping people, but also to his family, and I applaud his realism and his integrity. I hope he manages to achieve even half of his vision.
- Claire, London, 04/02/2011 20:11
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How exactly did he earn this peerage at 34? I don't agree with peerages but he can't possibly have done anything long enough to merit such an honour.
- Anthony Stewart, Wiltshires, 04/02/2011 15:41
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Seriously, the guy doesn't know howd to manage his money. If he was earning that amount of money (£100,000 pa)for a few years and his wife was proabably earning too, why hasn't he got any resources? If he's got a couple of directorships etc, that's probably paying him handsomely. Any way, I sum up the Big Society as what teh Americans call the Small State.
- Sue R, London, 04/02/2011 14:29
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He should ask how much was paid to consultant to come up with the "Big Society" tag line? It comes alongside " We are all in this together" as the most inane ever - Ok " no change to the value of the pound in your pocket " may come alongside.
Have you ever followed a Conservative MP through their days in their constituency? Usually at a few freeby dinners or garden parties surrounded by their cronies. Sadly it is a lot like royalty who look busy but spend their days having freebies with their own kind.
- Terry, Hennebont France, 04/02/2011 14:04
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Given the timescale in question - how did he manage to wangle a council flat in that time?? Some families, even with kids spend months/years in hostels.
What got him to the top of the list??
- Wispy Wonder, London, 04/02/2011 14:02
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Ironic that he had to resort to old-style public services like council housing (which the Tories tried to get rid of of course).
Maybe that part of the story is made up.
- Cyril, Kingston, UK, 04/02/2011 13:55
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Bob Irving, Cirencester. Nice house there? Champagne socialists are commenting. Wei should have asked about the salary conditions.
- Christine, London, 04/02/2011 13:34
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For big society read....
We have these jobs which weren't there before new labour. We want to off load them because we cant affford to pay but that would be politically embarrassing and our Lib Dem partners haven't got the balls to support us if we withdraw from them.
Ahh please suckers step up to the plate.
- Tel:, Chelmsford:, 04/02/2011 13:30
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Priceless.
I like his idea of earning a living to go and get a couple more company directorships.
How does one go about that?
Are they advertised in the job centre?
- Weybridge Resident, Weybridge, Surrey, 04/02/2011 12:51
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If the man who is supposed to organise the so-called big society can't manage to work for nothing, how are the rest of us supposed to do it. With respect to Mr Wei who talks about taking us "back to the early years of the welfare state," I would suggest that he knows little or nothing about those days. I am of an age when I can remember that in 1944, in my home town, there was still a workhouse hospital for those who could not afford medical bills. In fact the father of my best friend, after suffering a severe industrial accident, was discharged from our town's general hospital, because his family could not pay the bills, and sent to the workhouse hospital where he died in great pain.
No Mr Wei, there was nothing romantic or even remotely nostalgic about those grim days, where only the monied classes could afford a decent education, or good medical treatment. Our NHS is not perfect, but it is provides an excellent service to everyone, including people who cannot afford to pay for treatment, or even comprehensive medical insurance.
- Neil M, Cheltenham, 04/02/2011 12:50
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>he appears to think that everyone has enough income to give up working full-time to help with his Big Society<
Where does he say that? Everybody doing a bit, and those people that have the time, and yes the money to do more can do more. People want services? They can take part. Don't want to have things in your area, don't support it. Look at all the big society stuff that already exists, volunteers doing everything from helping out the National Trust, to reading books for the blind, to helping out at homless shelters. The point people are and have been doing this ANYWAY! I see the Big Society as being about recognising this fact and seeing personal responsibility as a major issue. You can't expect things to be on a plate for you. It's not fair but lifes not fair, get used to it. This is true with or without the mental cuts made by this (or any government in this position)
Lord Wei got screwed as it was supposed to be a paid role. And for anything you need some paid roles (the amount you get paid is a seperate issue) to run everything. I don't know why he didn't just walk away to be honest. He didn't as he's a good man but he still had the choice.
It's sad but incredibly true that the people with money also have the time to help. So accept that help, just because they are rich doesn't make their contribution any less important. If anything it makes it possible!
- Kevin, Cambridge, UK, 04/02/2011 12:41
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Having worked for a charity earlier in my life and saw the enormous salaries that were paid to senior staff, the charities should stop bleating about the cuts and put their own house in order. Publishing what they are paid would be a good start and then ordinary people can decide if a contribution is to a worthwhile cause or simply helping to keep another fat cat.
- James, Gateshead UK, 04/02/2011 12:39
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He is one of a kind, a breath of fresh air isn't he? I wish him luck, for too long people in the UK have had their hands out expecting the Govt to do everything for us and now we are paying the consequences.
- CJ, London, 04/02/2011 12:03
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No, Lord (jasus) Wei,
We do not mock you because you are not independently wealthy enough to do your job. We mock David Cameron, because he appears to think that everyone has enough income to give up working full-time to help with his Big Society, at the same time as taking away many people's job through spending cuts.
- Bob Irving, Cirencester, UK, 04/02/2011 12:00
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For "Big Society" read "Servitude!"
- Bleeding Heart Liberal, London, 04/02/2011 11:56
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The long and short of it is, "You have to balance the demands of Big Society with the small needs of your family".
I agree, to an extent, with Nick Clegg when he says, "We need to get basics right for economic growth strategy" (coalition wants to establish 'new model of sustainable economic growth')
However, the link between Lord Wei's setback and Nick Clegg's observation is just a simple observation below:
"We need to lift our SME sector towards growth and take it to a competitive level" and why is that important? Simply because "SME sector generally contributes 33% of GDP and 40% of employment in developed market"
I would suggest a consolidation of all business promoting quangos, government bodies and groups into a single "SME Centre of excellence"
The big boys (MNC's) know how to look after themselves so the Govt needn't waste time and resources there. It is the SME sector which needs Govt. help and support and it needs it now
- Rahul, London, 04/02/2011 11:44
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