Theresa May has unveiled her vision of a “shared society” in a departure from David Cameron’s fabled “big society” project.
The Prime Minister said the state had a role to play in tackling "everyday injustices" faced by those who feel they have been ignored by Westminster and are struggling to get by.
Mrs May has made helping those who are "just about managing" a key goal in her administration and she has promised a significant shift in the way government acts.
The PM was writing in the Sunday Telegraph ahead of a speech in London on Monday, the first of a series of interventions on domestic policy over the coming weeks aimed at showing that Mrs May's term in office will not be defined by Brexit.
Her mission statement will mark a decisive break from Conservative predecessors Margaret Thatcher - who once declared that "there is no such thing" as society - and David Cameron, whose own Big Society agenda relied on voluntary organisations rather than state intervention.
Mrs May said that previous administrations had focused too narrowly on the very poorest through the welfare system, while people just above the welfare threshold felt the system was "stacked against them".
The imbalance, paired with short-sightedness among some in Westminster, has let "resentments grow" and divisions become entrenched, the PM said.
"Overcoming these divisions and bringing our country together is the central challenge of our time.
"That means building the shared society. A society that doesn't just value our individual rights but focuses rather more on the responsibilities we have to one another; a society that respects the bonds of family, community, citizenship and strong institutions that we share as a union of people and nations; a society with a commitment to fairness at its heart.
"This must be the cause that animates us - the end towards which we work as we leave the EU and make the most of the opportunities ahead.”
