If the polls are correct, an era is about to come to an end. What have 14 years of Conservative government done to the country? Jonathan Freedland reports

When a fresh-faced David Cameron made his pitch to the country in 2010, he promised to mend what he called “broken Britain”.

In this first episode in a two-part series, Jonathan Freedland and Helen Pidd discuss how Cameron introduced the idea of the “big society”, arguing that it would be communities, rather than government, that would improve the country. He promised a kinder, gentler Conservative party that would give real power to charities and neighbourhood groups to change the UK for the better.