Co-op News (August 2019)

AUGUST 2019 

CO-OP CULTURE 

What is it – 

and why does 

it matter? 

Plus … 100 years 

of the Channel Islands 

Co-operative ... Coop 

Exchange: addressing 

the issue of capital 

ISSN 0009-9821 

9 770009 982010 

01 

£4.20 

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CONNECTING, CHAMPIONING AND 

CHALLENGING THE GLOBAL CO-OP 

MOVEMENT SINCE 1871 

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Anca Voinea | anca@thenews.coop 

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WRITER 

Jen Banks 

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DIRECTORS 

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(vice-chair), Gavin Ewing, Tim Hartley, 

Beverley Perkins and Ray Henderson. 

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cooperativenews 

Whether it manifests itself through shared values, attitudes or assumptions, culture 

can play a key role in determining an organisation’s behaviour. In this issue we look 

at co-operative culture – what it is and how the values and principles of co-operation 

are reflected in diff erent sectors. How is it reflected in approaches to leadership, 

education or personal lives? 

Ed Mayo explains how there is no one identity across diff e rent organisations, 

since organisational culture is strongly influenced by factors such as environment, 

colleagues and the nature of a co-op’s work (p28). And in our feature on Cecop’s 

40th anniversary, we hear about some of the challenges its founding members 

faced when bringing together diff erent co-operative cultures under one European 

umbrella organisation (p36-37). 

Organisational culture is also influenced by the sector in which co-ops operate and 

the size of the business. A new report argues that Canadian federation of credit 

unions Desjardins Group has moved away from its original mission and co-op 

culture due to increased competition from other banks and new consumer trends 

(p38-39). 

Why does culture matter? As Ed Mayo writes, when values are reflected in 

genuine behaviour, co-operative culture can bring authenticity. Employees 

who work for organisations whose values they share are also more engaged 

and tend to accomplish more, which means that culture can help co-ops thrive. 

This issue we also look at the cross over in values between co-op culture and diff 

erent religions, hear about a university course looking specifi cally at co-op 

culture, and how their unique way of organising helped co-ops to survive the 

fascist regime of Mussolini’s Italy. 

ANCA VOINEA - INTERNATIONAL EDITOR 

Co-operative News is printed using vegetable oil-based 

inks on 80% recycled paper (with 60% from post-consumer 

waste) with the remaining 20% produced from FSC or PEFC 

certified sources. It is made in a totally chlorine free process. 

AUGUST 2019 | 3

of the Channel Islands 

Co-operative ... Coop 

Exchange: addressing 

the issue of capital 

ISSN 0009-9821 

01 

9 770009 982010 

THIS ISSUE 

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT 

Interview with Claire McCarthy (p24-25); 

we speak to Andy Burnham about the Greater 

Manchester Co-operative Commission (p26- 

27); Channel Islands Co-op has turned 100 

(p46-47); has Desjardins compromised in its 

push for growth? (p38-39); leadership lessons 

from Suma (p40-41); George Jacob Holyoake, 

secularist and co-operator (p29-31) 

news Issue #7310 AUGUST 2019 

Connecting, championing, challenging 

AUGUST 2019 

CO-OP CULTURE 

What is it – 

and why does 

it matter? 

Plus … 100 years 

COVER: The co-op movement has a 

complex culture which is crucial to its 

development and to the effectiveness of 

its organisations. We take a look 

at different aspects, from religion 

and education to leadership and 

international unity Features: p28-43 

£4.20 


22-23 MEET... OLLY YOUNG 

Director at Chelmsford Star Co-operative 

24-25 CLAIRE MCCARTHY 

Interview with the outgoing general 

secretary of the Co-op Party 

26-27 ANDY BURNHAM 

We speak to the Greater Manchester 

mayor about his plans to include 

co-ops in the new regional economy 

28-43 CO-OPERATIVE CULTURE 

28 WHAT IS CO-OP CULTURE? 

There are crucial characteristics 

which shape a successful co-op 

29-31 CO-OPS AND RELIGION 

From Mondragon to Leeds’ Daily 

Bread, faith has been a driving 

factor in co-operation – but for 

other co-operators like Holyoake, 

secularism was just as important 

32 MARKETING CO-OP CULTURE 

Midcounties and Openfield share their 

perspectives at Congress 

33 CO-OPS AND YOUTH 

How can the movement bring young 

people to co-op culture? 

34-35 LESSONS OF THE PAST 

Co-op culture and the Victorians 

36-37 CECOP AT 40 

How the European body for industrial 

and service co-ops found a single voice 

for a range of national cultures 

38-39 PERILS OF GROWTH 

As Canadian finance giant Desjardins 

goes for growth, does it risk 

compromising its co-operative nature? 

40-41 LEADERSHIP 

How can effective leadership stay in 

line with co-operative culture? Suma 

and Lincolnshire co-ops share their 

perspectives at Congress 

42-43 MUSSOLINI’S ITALY 

The fascist dictatorship tried to wipe out 

he country’s co-ops – but this 

oppression prompted survivors to 

develop of a strong postwar movement 

44-45 COOP EXCHANGE 

A new app is being developed to help 

people invest in co-operatives 

46-47 CHANNEL ISLANDS 100 YEARS 

Celebrating the retail society’s centenary 

REGULARS 

5-13 UK updates 

14-20 Global updates 

21 Letters 

48-49 Reviews 

4 | AUGUST 2019

NEWS 

RETAIL 

Campaign urges UK government to set the target 

of one million worker-owners by 2030 

A new campaign by Co-operatives UK 

and the Employee Ownership Association 

(EOA) is calling on the UK government 

to invest £2m in its upcoming spending 

review to support a voluntary expansion 

of the employee and worker-owned 

business sectors. 

Due to be published this autumn, the 

spending review will cover the 2020-2021 

period, setting detailed departmental 

allocations. Co-operatives UK and 

EOA believe that increasing employee 

and worker-ownership can help the 

government achieve its objectives for a 

more productive, inclusive and balanced 

economy, supporting its own aims in the 

Good Work Plan and playing a key role in 

the Industrial Strategy. 

The #1MillionOwners campaign calls 

for £2.17m to be allocated over the next 

three years, with an ambition to create 

one million worker and employee-owners 

by 2030. Through the scheme, five local 

enterprise partnerships (LEPs) would work 

to address the biggest barriers to employee 

and worker ownership, such as raising 

awareness, practical understanding and 

advice among entrepreneurs, business 

owners, workers and advisers. 

In Scotland, the government is investing 

£500,000 through Scottish Enterprise to 

support employee ownership and tackle 

these barriers. The campaign highlights 

how an independent evaluation for 

Co-operative Development Scotland 

found a tenfold return on investment 

in gross value is added for every pound 

invested in on-the-ground support to grow 

employee and worker-ownership. 

The Scottish government aims to 

increase the number of employee and 

worker-owned businesses from 100 to 500 

by 2030. The campaign suggests the UK 

government set a similar target. 

Ed Mayo, secretary general of 

Co-operatives UK, said: “When it comes 

to reducing wealth inequality, driving 

employee engagement and tackling 

regional resilience, employee and worker 

ownership offers a proven solution. 

“The UK’s best employee-owned 

businesses and leading worker co-ops 

can be the answer to a more inclusive 

economy at a time of great economic 

uncertainty. We’re urging Westminster 

to match the Scottish government’s 

ambition for a fivefold increase in the 

number of employee and worker owned 

businesses by 2030.” 

Deb Oxley, chief executive of the 

EOA, said: “Now is the time for UK 

government to invest in creating more 

businesses that have a proven record 

of accomplishing and sustaining higher 

productivity, greater economic resilience 

and having a wider impact on the regions 

they operate in.” 

She added: “Not one dissenting voice 

has followed recent high-profile employee 

ownership transitions such as Riverford 

Organic, Aardman Animations and Richer 

Sounds. In fact, there was unilateral 

political support as well as a positive 

endorsement by commentators in tabloids 

and broadsheets. 

“We have great examples from across 

the UK of employee and worker-owned 

businesses of doing well while doing good 

– it is very clear the UK would benefit from 

having more of them.” 

Also backing the campaign is Julian 

Richer, founder of Richer Sounds, who 

recently handed control of the business 

to its staff by placing 60% of the company 

into an employee ownership trust (EOT). 

He said: “To me, the decision to sell the 

company to my colleagues was an obvious 

one. Nobody knew my business better 

than the people in it and we’d created a 

culture together. 

“To sell to the highest bidder would 

have created wealth for one or two 

people. Instead, using the EOT model, we 

will sustain the value we create for the 

individual, the business and the economy 

for the longer term.” 

One of the largest worker co-ops in 

the UK, Suma, is also supporting the 

campaign. Ross Hodgson, Suma member 

said: “Worker ownership has been the key 

to our success over the last 40 years. 

“All our members are paid the same 

and are given an equal say in how the 

business is run, with each carrying out 

a range of jobs across our co-op. We 

support the campaign to create and 

support more worker-owners and urge the 

government to commit funding to grow 

the sector.” 


RETAIL 

Sheffield Co-op Group 

store brings back milk 

in glass bottles 

A Co-op Group store in Sheffield is bringing 

back the glass milk bottle in response 

to demand from customers and the war 

on plastic. 

The Ecclesall Road store is selling glass 

pint bottles from local farm Our Cow 

Molly, four miles away. Customers can 

return the bottles to the shop to be re-used 

by the dairy. 

Store manager Pete Cooper says the 

glass bottles are proving to be a hit – and 

he’s planning on increasing his order to 

meet demand. 

Mr Cooper said: “We’re the first Co-op 

store in the country to sell milk in glass 

bottles and we believe we’re the first 

supermarket in the country to do so too. 

“It fits in with the Co-op’s ethos as an 

environmentally friendly company keen 

to do what it can to reduce plastic waste. 

And the response shows just how close 

the issue is to people’s hearts. It’s also 

great to be supporting a local farm only 

a few miles away.” 

Our Cow Molly already supplies a local 

convenience store with milk in glass 

bottles – where customers get a discount 

on their next pint when returning their 

used bottles. Other stores in the city are 

now planning to follow suit. 

Director of Our Cow Molly, Eddie 

Andrew, said: “It’s great that the Co-op 

has become the first major supermarket 

in the UK to listen to environmentally 

conscious consumers asking for milk in 

glass bottles, and to give them what they 

want. We’re really proud we’ve been able 

to get our milk on the shelves there and 

help reduce plastic waste.” 

According to recent research, a glass 

bottle needs to used at least 13 times before 

becoming better for the environment 

than a plastic one. Mr Andrew said this 

was easily the case with the bottles it 

p Ecclesall Road Co-op store manager Pete 

Cooper (left) with Our Cow Molly’s Eddie 

Andrew (Image: Our Cow Molly) 

delivers, some of which he claimed have 

been in circulation for 20 years. 

ECONOMY 

Community-owned assets contribute £220m a year to England’s economy 

New research shows that England’s 6,300 

community-owned assets contribute 

nearly £220m to the economy every year. 

The Our Assets, Our Future report is 

written by researchers from the Centre for 

Regional Economic and Social Research 

(CRESR) at Sheffield Hallam University 

and the Institute for Voluntary Action 

Research (IVAR). 

The team interviewed eight funders 

and support organisations, conducted 

an online and postal survey of potential 

community asset organisations, and made 

case studies of 27 assets in community 

ownership in five local authority areas. 

p The Kings Head, a community owned pub 

in Pebmarsh (Photo: the Plunkett Foundation) 

They found that, despite limited 

resources, three quarters of communityowned 

assets say they are in good 

financial health. The majority of provided 

a ‘micro’ (32%) or ‘small’ (48%) revenue of 

less than £100,000. 

And the sector is growing, with nearly a 

third of its assets coming into community 

ownership in the last decade. Communityowned 

assets are also pumping nearly 

£150m a year of spending directly into the 

local communities where they are based. 

But one in five community assets made an 

operating loss of 10% or more of revenue 

in the last financial year. 

Poorer areas are less likely to have 

community-owned assets, with the 

most deprived 30% of neighbourhoods 

containing just 18% of assets. Rural 

areas tend to have higher numbers of 

assets in community ownership – with 

the exception of some urban areas, 

particularly Liverpool, Manchester, 

Birmingham and Southwark. The authors 

of the report believe the trend shows the 

importance of a supportive environment. 

The cost of maintenance was the most 

common factor cited for the financial 

health of community assets in the last 

three years, at 46%, with other barriers 

including the scale of expenses, poor 

revenue, lack of a full volunteer base and 

limited access to grant funding. 

Ian Wilson, lead author and principal 

research fellow from the CRESR, said: 

“Although 31% of these assets are in 

excellent financial health, the sector 

needs more financial support in order to 

fulfil its economic potential.” 

The report says it should be easier to 

transfer assets into community ownership, 

calls for more business planning and 

general support for the sector, and wants 

more reliable access to cheap finance. 

The research was commissioned 

by Power to Change and the Ministry 

for Housing, Communities and Local 

Government. 

Vidhya Alakeson, chief executive 

of Power to Change, said: “When 

communities directly own land and 

buildings, they can start to meet the 

real needs of people in their area. That’s 

why we need concerted action from 

policymakers at all levels to support 

community ownership.” 


RETAIL 

GMB union slams John Lewis transfer 

of maintenance staff to US outsourcer 

Employee-owned John Lewis Partnership 

has restructured its maintenance 

functions, transferring nearly 300 staff 

members to US-based outsourcer CBRE. 

The decision, put into action on 1 

July, affected around 360 maintenance 

employees across the organisation’s 

two brands, John Lewis & Partners and 

Waitrose & Partners. Some retired, took 

redundancy or resigned while others have 

been redeployed to work in other areas 

of the Partnership. 

The 278 staff who moved to the new 

provider did so under Tupe regulations – 

but GMB, the trade union that represents 

the staff, warned the move would result in 

wage cuts for employees. 

The union says staff are “deeply 

unhappy” about the move and estimates 

employees could be thousands of pounds 

a year worse off through the loss of their 

benefits as employee-owners. 

Nikki Dancey, GMB regional organiser 

in Berkshire, said: “CBRE are currently 

refusing to honour the defined benefit 

pension scheme, the store discounts, 

bonuses and other employee benefits that 

workers have received from John Lewis.” 

She said staff have to either take 

redundancy or do the same work for lower 

overall pay, terms and conditions. 

“Many members tell us how John Lewis 

used to be a great company to work for, but 

that now their pay, terms and conditions, 

health and safety, and respect for the 

workforce is being steadily degraded,” 

said Ms Dancey. “Staff no longer feel 

valued by John Lewis and Waitrose, 

and the company branding of being 

a ‘co-op’ and workers being ‘partners’ are 

fast becoming a bad joke for many.” 

She confirmed the GMB would support 

the staff through the transition and 

represent them as future CBRE employees. 

She hopes that in the long term the 

Partnership bring them back in house. 

The GMB added that the trade union 

had “reason to believe that the transport, 

drivers and logistics employees may be 

the next ‘partners’ that the directors wish 

to ‘divorce’” – a move which has been 

denied by the Partnership. 

A John Lewis Partnership spokeswoman 

said the move to single maintenance 

provider would “create a Partnershipwide 

maintenance function leading to 

improved service levels while maintaining 

our high standards of health and safety 

[...] We have been working hard with 

CBRE to ensure Partners receive beneficial 

transfer terms”. 

ENERGY 

BEIS allocates £10m 

to green community 

energy projects 

The Department for Business, Energy and 

Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has announced 

changes to the Rural Community Energy 

Fund, which will provide £10m to support 

green community energy in the UK. 

The funding is aimed at rural 

sports clubs, schools and churches 

looking to power their buildings with 

clean electricity, cut their bills and 

reduce emissions. 

New community projects – including 

co-ops – can apply for feasibility grants 

of up to £40,000 for green initiatives, 

including solar battery storage, 

wind, hydro and geothermal heat 

projects. Viable proposals will also be 

considered for further grants of up to 

£100,000 for business development and 

planning applications. 

Mark Billsborough, head of trading 

and renewables for Co-op Energy, which 

purchases energy from 79 community 

energy sites across the country, said: 

“We welcome any additional funding in 

this area – but there is much more that 

government can do to support successful 

community energy projects.” 

He said the sector had been hit by the 

closure of the Feed-in-Tariff, prohibitive 

planning rules and weak obligations on 

suppliers to pay fair prices for electricity. 

“We would call for the government to 

go further still,” he added, “and take a 

more strategic approach to supporting 

this sector, starting with reinstating social 

investment tax relief for community 

energy schemes as soon as possible.” 

Emma Bridge, chief executive of 

Community Energy England, welcomed 

the announcement but said: “the 

government has yet to demonstrate how 

it will ensure community groups receive a 

fair market rate when it sells energy back 

to the grid, and this scheme does nothing 

to support groups in more urban areas. 

“We call on the government to reinstate 

Social Investment Tax Relief for those who 

are willing to invest in community energy 

– helping local groups generate their own 

green energy, supporting the transition to 

a decentralised smart energy system and 

lowering energy bills.” 


POLITICS 

MPs praise co-ops and 

mutuals in session for 

Co-op Fortnight 

MPs praised the contribution of 

co-ops and mutuals to the UK economy 

in a recent Commons session to mark 

Co-op Fortnight. 

And they passed a motion brought by 

Labour/Co-op MP Gareth Thomas: “That 

this House welcomes the contribution of 

co-operative and mutual businesses to 

the UK economy; notes that they provide 

substantial jobs in Britain, generate 

significant tax revenues and involve 

consumers and employees in decision 

making; and calls on the government to 

review what further steps it can take to 

help grow that sector.” 

This included a call for a more 

favourable financial and regulatory 

climate for credit unions and start-ups, 

and support for community land trusts to 

address the housing crisis. 

Co-op, Labour, Conservative, SNP and 

DUP MPs made supportive remarks about 

various sectors of the movement, and 

there was a salute to its radicalism from 

Labour/Co-op MP Barry Sheerman who 

said: “Co-ops are, in fact, dangerous. 

They undermine the existing order, and 

empower people to take charge of their 

own lives. They are dangerous, and they 

should be.” 

Conservative Steve Baker noted a global 

“lack of faith” in institutions and said 

there was a need to recapture some of the 

radicalism of the co-op movement: “It is 

about free individuals in society standing 

up not only for themselves but against 

entrenched interests and entrenched 

power better to serve their families and 

their communities.” He added that, as a 

Conservative, he had “something to learn 

from the traditions of the left”. 

MPs also highlighted efforts to deliver 

support for co-ops in Wales, with Labour/ 

Co-op MP Stephen Doughty pointing 

to the new £3m round of funding for 

Social Business Wales; and in various 

cities, with Labour/Co-op MP Gareth 

Snell praising the Co-operative Councils 

Innovation Network, and his colleague 

Luke Pollard detailing community wealth 

building efforts in Plymouth, including 

the development of a regional bank. 

And Labour/Co-op MP Jim McMahon 

highlighted last month’s launch of Co-op 

Party manifesto for Northern Ireland. 

In response to the debate, economic 

secretary to the Treasury John Glen said 

the government is committed to ensuring 

capital requirements do not unfairly 

impact on smaller lenders like building 

societies, and said 15 credit unions have 

been selected for a two-year pilot of a new 

prize-linked savings scheme. 

The government is also conducting 

a comprehensive review of social 

investment tax relief. And in July Treasury 

officials hosted a mutuals workshop 

with Co-operatives UK to investigate the 

barriers faced by mutuals. 

POLITICS 

Joe Fortune takes helm of the Co-op Party 

Joe Fortune, the Co-op Party’s national 

political and policy manager, has been 

promoted to the role of general secretary. 

He takes over from Claire McCarthy, who is 

leaving the organisation after four years to 

work in local government. 

Mr Fortune has been with the Party 

since 2010. From 2014-15, he served 

as a political advisor to the shadow 

secretary of state for transport. He has 

been an executive member of the Socialist 

Environment and Resources Association 

(Sera), the only environmental group 

affiliated to the Labour Party, since 2008. 

He has a degree in politics and 

parliamentary studies from the University 

of Leeds. After graduating he joined the 

secretariat of the All Party Parliamentary 

Rail Group. As the party’s transport 

expert, he has played a key role in 

campaigning and developing the party’s 

policy proposals for mutual models for 

rail and bus services. 

Mr Fortune said he was “greatly looking 

forward” to the role, which he will be 

taking up this month. 

“Claire McCarthy has been a fantastic 

general secretary and a great colleague to 

the whole team at the Party – we 

all wish her well,” he said. “It’s an 

exciting time for the Party and for the 

co-operative movement, we have huge 

opportunities ahead of us. I look forward 

to working with our new chair, NEC, 

staff, the entire Party and movement 

in the new role.” 

In June the Party’s executive committee 

elected Anna Turley as chair. She replaces 

MP Gareth Thomas, who stood down after 

nearly 20 years. 

p Co-op Party secretary general Joe Fortune 

Ed Mayo, secretary general of sector 

body Co-operatives UK, said: “Joe is 

a wonderful appointment. He knows 

parliamentary politics backwards and 

has a long and deep commitment to 

co-operative action. The Co-op Party is in 

very good hands.” 

u Interview, Claire McCarthy, p23-24 


CO-OP GROUP 

Co-op Food is a top supermarket for customer satisfaction 

The latest UK Customer Satisfaction 

Index (UKCSI) reveals Co-op Food as the 

top bricks and mortar food retailer for 

customer service. 

Only online supermarket Ocado was 

ranked above the Group in the index, 

which rates customer satisfaction across 

13 sectors, incorporating the views of 

10,000 consumers and over 240 brands. 

Published by the Institute of Customer 

Service (ICS), the index takes into 

account five factors: experience with 

organisations; complaint handling; 

perceptions of customer ethos; emotional 

connection; and ethical behaviour. 

The index praised the Group for making 

improvements in customer satisfaction 

and convenience sales growth, where it 

has enjoyed five years of consecutive likefor-like 

growth. Co-op Food achieved sales 

growth of 4.5% in 2019, outperforming 

the sector average of 2.0%. 

According to the index, Co-op Food is 

the most improved supermarket in the 

food retail sector, despite the average food 

retail sector customer satisfaction falling 

year on year by 1.1 points, to 80.1. 

The report adds that in January 2019, 

Co-op Food exceeded the sector average 

customer satisfaction for the first time. 

A total of 11 companies in food retail 

received a UKCSI score but only Co-op 

Food improved its score (by 2.5 points) 

compared to a year ago. 

Chris Whitfield, chief operating officer, 

Co-op Food, said: “Our ambition is for all 

of our stores to be at the heart of local life, 

connecting communities, creating value 

locally and bringing people together. 

Our members and customers expect us 

to deliver what they want, need and care 

about – and we are dedicated to doing just 

that. We are delighted with the findings, 

and while there is always more that needs 

to be done, they illustrate outcomes of 

continued investment in our people, 

product development, store improvement, 

supplier relationships and communities.” 

Joanna Causon, CEO of the ICS, said 

that in a highly competitive sector where 

service levels are on the whole declining, 

focusing on delivering a brilliant end-toend 

experience is increasingly important. 

She added: “Our previous research 

shows a correlation between sustained 

levels of high customer satisfaction 

and increased sales, market share and 

repeat custom. Co-op Food is showing 

the benefits of getting service right for 

customers – with a strong performance in 

the UK Customer Service Index also being 

reflected in its financial performance.” 

The Co-op Group was also one of the top 

rated organisations for ethics, along with 

employee-owned John Lewis. 

The index looked at the reputation, 

openness and transparency and the 

extent to which an organisation is deemed 

to “do the right thing”. 

The way we look is changing. 

But what we stand for is staying the same. 

We deliver vegetarian, natural and 

responsibly-sourced products to businesses 

and communities across the UK, and worldwide. 

And as a worker-owned, equal pay co-op, we’ve 

been doing it differently for more than 40 years. 

We are Suma. 


FINANCE 

Mutuals among the most-trusted financial firms for customer service 

Mutuals and building societies were 

among the winners at the 2019 Moneywise 

Most Trusted Customer Service Awards. 

Mutual society Benenden Health was 

named most trusted provider in the health 

insurance via employer category, and was 

a highly commended in the individual 

health insurance category. 

Based in York, the non-profit mutual 

provides healthcare services for over 

810,000 members across the UK, including 

employees of 545 businesses. 

Chief commercial officer Helen 

Smith said: “We’re so proud that our 

members have taken the time to vote 

for us as their most trusted employerprovided 

healthcare product. Members 

are at the heart of our decision-making 

as an organisation and it’s great to 

be recognised by them. It was also 

amazing to be highly commended in 

the poll of those who have a personal 

healthcare product.” 

The Co-op Bank won in the most trusted 

mainstream bank award category, and 

was highly commended in the best branch 

service, best contact centre service and 

most trusted current account categories. 

While no longer owned by the Co-op 

Group, over the last four years the Bank 

has invested of £1.3m in the Hive, a co-op 

business support programme provided by 

Co-operatives UK. 

Nationwide Building Society won 

the best current account provider for 

branch service and best provider for 

children’s savings categories. It was 

highly commended in the most trusted 

financial provider, most trusted mortgage 

provider and best provider for regular 

savers categories. 

Coventry Building Society won most 

trusted savings and cash Isa provider. 

NFU mutual won most trusted insurer 

and was highly commended in the most 

trusted car insurance provider. 

Employee owned John Lewis won best 

credit card provider for rewards and was 

highly commended in most trusted credit 

card provider. 

Around 32,000 members of the public 

voted in the awards. 

Rachel Rickard Straus, editor 

of Moneywise, said: “Customer service 

matters. So much so that 32,000 readers 

took the time to share their views with us. 

“Great customer service and trust 

remains as important now as ever. You 

can have the whizziest apps, websites and 

products in the world, but if a customer 

can’t easily get a complaint resolved, or 

speak to a human if they need to, that’s 

what will stick in minds.” 

DEVELOPMENT 

Stir to Action grants 

will fund study of 

community business 

leadership 

“While mental health and wellbeing 

are rightly becoming a priority, there 

is still pressure for communities to put 

their best face forward,” said Stir to 

Action’s director Jonny Gordon-Farleigh. 

“This fellowship will initially build more 

awareness and also support individuals 

and communities to more effectively share 

new and inspiring approaches across 

the UK.” 

Worker-owned magazine Stir to Action is 

funding research into the pressures faced 

by community business leaders. 

Supported by independent trust Power 

to Change, the Beyond Here fellowship 

will explore wellbeing in community 

leadership. 

“Recognising yourself as a community 

leader can have profound positive effects, 

but the experience can be challenging 

and isolating,” said Fergus Arkley, 

development manager at Power to Change. 

Fellows will work with community 

leaders across the UK to explore, and 

find solutions to, these challenges. Stir to 

Action’s coordinator Stephanie Gamauf 

will help them find community business 

partners, undertake place-based research, 

and share their findings through Stir to 

Action’s magazine and events. 

u Stir to Action is offering four fellowship grants of £2,000 through the scheme, which 

will fund a week-long fellowship and cover loss of earnings, accommodation, and a host 

contribution. Applications close on 1 September. For more details visit s.coop/23f9w 


DEVELOPMENT 

EU puts £3m into Welsh 

social business sector 

p Heather Powell of Denbighshire Music 

Co-op, a leading light of the sector 

EU funds totalling £3m will support a new 

project to create 200 social businesses 

over the next three years. 

The Social Business Wales New Start 

initiative, which will be led by Wales 

Co-operative Centre, was announced by 

Welsh deputy minister for economy and 

transport, Lee Waters. 

“Co-operatives and mutuals add real 

value to the Welsh economy and labour 

market,” he said, “by creating jobs, 

improving educational attainment, 

providing social care in people’s houses 

and reducing inequality, particularly in 

our most deprived communities. 

“We see growing the co-operative 

sector as part of our broader ambition to 

tackle the ‘missing middle’ in Wales – 

and increasing the number of grounded 

indigenous firms in our communities – 

helping the Welsh government achieve its 

goal of prosperity for all.” 

Glenn Bowen, enterprise programme 

director at Wales Co-operative 

Centre, added: “The social business sector 

is an important and growing part of the 

Welsh economy. 

“Social Business Wales New Start will 

help people come together to set up new 

social businesses across west Wales and 

the valleys, providing important services 

and creating much needed jobs. 

“Wales Co-operative Centre will deliver 

the new start service alongside its existing 

Social Business Wales growth programme 

and will be delivered as part of the 

Business Wales family of support.” 

Social Business Wales is funded by the 

European Regional Development Fund 

and Welsh government. 

According to the Welsh government, 

EU-funded projects in Wales have created 

more than 48,000 jobs and 13,000 new 

businesses, while helping 86,000 people 

back into work. 

Top ABTA role for Midcounties’ specialist business chief 

The Midcounties Co-operative’s Alistair 

Rowland has been elected chair of the 

Association of British Travel Agents 

(ABTA). Mr Rowland, who is currently 

chief retail officer for specialist business, 

has been with the society for more than 

seven years. Prior to this role, he was 

group general manager for specialist 

retail and group general manager for 

travel services. 

Energy4All co-op makes Fair Tax Mark commitment 

Renewable energy co-op development 

organisation, Energy4All, has been 

certified as a Fair Tax Mark business. 

The Fair Tax Mark certification scheme 

was launched in February 2014 to allow 

businesses that are paying tax in a 

responsible way to demonstrate this 

commitment to their customers, suppliers, 

investors and employees. 

College brings it back home to Rochdale for centenary 

The Co-operative College will continue 

to mark its 100th anniversary with 

a centenary conference in Rochdale, 

the birthplace of the modern-day 

co-operative movement. The three-day 

event will take place on 26-28 November 

2019 at Rochdale Town Hall, featuring 

five plenary sessions, seven keynote 

addresses and 12 workshops. 

Housing co-ops open their doors to spread the message 

Housing co-op and tenant management 

organisations (TMO) across Greater 

Manchester opened their doors to the 

public in July for the first ever county-wide 

Community Led Housing Open Homes 

Weekend. Members of the public were 

given tours and information on how to set 

up a community led housing. 

Channel Islands Co-op trials new plastic-free initiative 

Channel Islands Co-op is trialling the sale 

of a number of local fruit and vegetable 

products unwrapped, in response to 

concerns about plastic packaging. The 

trial is taking place at the society’s Grand 

Marché stores in Jersey and Guernsey. 

Products in the pilot include baking 

potatoes, tomatoes, courgettes and leeks. 


CO-OP GROUP 

Results announced 

for National Members’ 

Council elections 

The Co-op Group’s National Members’ 

Council held its annual elections on 

6 July, with Nick Crofts re-elected president 

for another two-year term. 

Lesley Reznicek was elected as vicepresident 

for democratic processes, co-op 

performance and member voice. 

Council members can also stand for the 

senate, which is made up of 15 people who 

co-ordinate activity for council and act as 

p Nick Crofts and Lesley Reznicek were re-elected to their posts 

a link between council and the board. 

In the senate elections, five new council 

members secured one and two year terms. 

An elected member of the Co-op Group 

since 2009, Mr Crofts also represents 

the Knotty Ash ward on Liverpool City 

Council and is office manager for Stephen 

Twigg MP. 

He said: “Council elections hustings is 

the Co-op’s internal festival of democracy 

and always an exciting time. I’m delighted 

to have been re-elected as council 

president and am proud to play such a role 

in the Co-op – a member-owned business 

that strives to change the world and 

show that there’s a better way of doing 

things. Congratulations to my fellow 

successful candidates, I look forward 

to working with you all and achieving 

change together.” 

The 100 council representatives serve 

up to three years before facing re-election. 

Their role is to represent the membership, 

safeguard the values and principles and 

hold the Group board to account. 

PRESIDENT ELECTIONS 

Nick Crofts, Elected for a two-year term 

VICE-PRESIDENT ELECTIONS 

Lesley Reznicek, Elected for a two-year term 

SENATE ELECTIONS 

Sue Smith 

Elected for a two-year term 

David Stanbury 


Debbie Williams 


Ruth Barrow 


Danny Douglas 


Jeevan Jones 

Elected for a one-year term 

New commitment to curbing 

greenhouse gas emissions 

The Co-op Group has committed to 

further reductions in its direct greenhouse 

emissions, with a 50% reduction by 2025. 

The retailer said it has halved its emissions 

in the 10 years from 2006, with a 20% cut 

last year. It says short-term targets are 

crucial elements to longer-term strategies 

for tackling climate change. The Group 

plans to achieve the target by using natural 

refrigerants and responsible sourcing, such 

as its commitments to sustainable soy. 

All its stores, offices and funeral homes 

already use 100% renewable electricity. 

Retail chief commercial officer Michael 

Fletcher said: “The world is experiencing a 

climate crisis and we need to work together 

to avoid it. Accelerating action is the only 

way to mitigate and reduce impacts on our 

natural world, and to ensure stable food 

supply chains in the future. 

“A rolling set of publicly available and 

reviewed stretching, short term targets, 

are imperative if we are to hold ourselves 

to account. Making sure we have a natural 

environment we are proud to pass on to 

future generations needs action now.” 

Slavery survivors need benefits 

reform, says Bright Future review 

An independent review of the Group’s 

Bright Future programme, which supports 

victims of modern slavery, has called for 

greater flexibility in the benefits system to 

help survivors gain work experience. 

Bright Future provides job opportunities 

for people rescued from slavery. Candidates 

are offered a four-week paid placement 

before a non-competitive interview, but this 

risks them losing benefits. This can lead to 

financial hardship, especially if it does not 

lead to a permanent job. 

The review by the University of Liverpool 

and makes several recommendations, 

including a clarified position on benefits. 

Speaking at a summit of charity and 

business leaders in Manchester – attended 

by anti-slavery commissioner Sara Thornton 

– the Group’s director of campaigns, Paul 

Gerrard, said: “The benefits system remains 

a challenging area but there have to be 

ways to mitigate some of the disadvantages 

... Could a Bright Future placement be 

considered ‘therapeutic work’? If so, it 

would be exempted from affecting benefits 

until the candidate is in a stable position.” 


OBITUARY 

Radical Routes loses two of its leading lights 

Two wonderful West Yorkshire co-operators 

from the Radical Routes network of co-ops 

died in the last few months – Sean Moran of 

Catfish Housing Co-op and Dave Brooks of 

LED Fantastic Workers Co-op, both in their 

early 50s, writes Cath Muller. 

Dave, who died on 14 June, was a founder 

member of Zion Housing Co-op (now 

Nutclough Housing Co-op), acquiring the 

Nutclough Tavern, Hebden Bridge, in 2001. 

Sean, who died on 21 March, lived at 

Townhead Housing Co-op near Holmfirth 

with partner Cath, their four sons and a 

circle of friends; they fought for years to 

get a house for Catfish and in late 2018 

they succeeded. The co-op now houses the 

younger members in Marsh, Huddersfield. 

Dave’s partner in crime, Em, moved into 

Nutclough and they set up Weirdigans Cafe, 

before leaving Nutclough to run Mama 

Weirdigans (Hebden Hostel) and help 

produce the Green Gathering festival. 

Sean and Cath were a regular fixture 

in the Permaculture Area at Green 

Gathering, extolling the virtues of co-ops 

and communal living. Meanwhile, Em and 

Dave catalysed the festival’s Co-op Camp, a 

space to promote radical co-ops. Sean was 

the secret source of 12V phone and laptop 

charging, keeping the Co-op Camp online, 

while Dave’s workers co-op, LED Fantastic, 

provided twinkly night-time illumination. 

Dave loved cricket, beer and music, so he 

joined the committee of the Hebden Cricket 

Club, the Fox & Goose co-op pub and the 

Trades Club Co-operative Society – and put 

on ‘Crickstock Festival’ to celebrate his loves. 

He believed that if a thing is worth doing, 

it’s worth getting other people to do it too. 

He was committed to developing Hebden’s 

co-op identity and was an organiser of the 

Calderdale Bootstrap initiative. I remember 

one midnight walk into the cemetery to 

check out the grave of Joseph Greenwood, a 

founder of Nutclough Fustian Society. 

Sean was larger than life, curious and 

caring. His affinity with those excluded 

from society led him to drug and alcohol 

support work. And his enthusiasm for 

Radical Routes and for making the set-up 

p Dave Brooks (left) and Sean Moran 

of co-ops accessible to all was infectious. 

He had an unstoppable desire to learn and 

to communicate that learning to others. He 

joined the RR Legal Group and Rootstock 

Committee, challenging himself with legal 

documents and spreadsheets. At one RR day, 

he insisted we explain things in intelligible 

language – then he and Cath produced the 

Jargon Busting Guide to RR Meetings to help 

folks new to co-op development. 

At Extinction Rebellion’s Spring Uprising 

in April, he took a mic for the first time, to 

talk about radical co-ops as solutions for 

housing, inequality and social change. 

Two big-hearted, inspiring men, who 

lived with integrity, commitment and fun. 

Philip Jones, stalwart of the retail co-op movement 

Philip Jones was best known in co-op 

circles as secretary of United Norwest and 

then United Co-operatives, having started 

his career as a management trainee, 

writes Cliff Mills. He served under Martin 

Beaumont from 1994, and subsequently 

under Peter Marks following the Yorkshire 

merger until his retirement in 2008. 

Less well known was his nine-year 

stint as a director of Progress Housing 

Group, latterly as chair; his 10-year spell 

as a trustee of St Catherine’s Hospice in 

Preston, ending as vice-chair; and setting 

up and chairing community foundation at 

his Wigan Warriors Rugby League, where 

he was a lifelong supporter. 

He also played tenor horn, starting up 

Wigan and District Brass before joining the 

Royal Doulton Band, which took him to 

Nashville, the Royal Albert Hall, the Silver 

Jubilee and Charles and Diana’s wedding, 

as well as recording 14 albums. 

Phil carried out a remarkable number 

of senior roles out with enormous energy, 

commitment and competence. Former 

president of United, Bill Hoult recalled: 

“He took us through three mergers, with 

Sheffield, Leeds and Yorkshire, introduced 

a pioneering employee share scheme, 

and oversaw the establishment of the 

Co-operative Charitable Foundation.” 

Stephen Greenhalgh from St Catherine’s 

Hospice added: “Philip had a laser-like 

ability to get to the heart of what mattered.” 

Jacqui de Rose at New Progress Housing 

said: “There was never any doubt who was 

in charge. Phil did it in such a nice way, 

bringing just the right mix of support and 

challenge to make sure we were grounded 

and properly focused on our practical 

purpose – he is one of the most generous 

people I have ever met.” 

And Ian Lanegan, chair of Wigan 

Warriors, said: “He had a real selflessness 

and passion for helping people, as his 

charitable work throughout his life proves. 

His work and efforts have enabled Wigan 

Warriors to enact a positive and lasting 

change by ... motivating, educating and 

inspiring our local community.” 

Phil was warm-hearted, generous, caring 

and fun, but outspoken when needed. 

He knew when to stand up to a CEO, and 

when diplomacy was the way forward. He 

was hard-working, 

courageous, and 

committed to doing 

the right thing. 

He died on 21 

April from the 

same cancer as his 

beloved wife Lois 

15 years earlier. 

With their two 

boys, Chris and 

Rob, he nursed Lois p Philip Jones 

at home until the 

end, and this played a part in his 

subsequent commitment to the hospice 

movement. He was a devoted family 

man to all generations, especially to his 

granddaughter Kaci. In his later years, he 

found great happiness with Barbara, with 

whom he travelled extensively. 

Two days before he died, Philip received 

a letter telling him he had been awarded 

the Order of Mercy. This prestigious 

national award from the League of Mercy 

has just a handful of recipients a year. 

Barbara read the citation to Philip and he 

understood it. 


GLOBAL UPDATES 

USA 

Give credit unions a role in international 

development, sector leaders tell Usaid funders 

Credit unions should be included when 

international development money is 

allocated, say sector leaders. 

The call came from the Credit Union 

National Association (Cuna) and World 

Council of Credit Unions (Woccu) at a 

meeting with Mark Green, administrator 

of the US Agency for Development (Usaid). 

Among those present were Woccu 

president/chief executive Brian Branch, 

Cuna president/chief executive Jim Nussle 

and House Foreign Relations Committee 

chair Ed Royce. 

Mr Branch said Woccu’s network 

reaches more than 260 million members 

in 117 countries. The organisation 

provides training and support to credit 

union members, he added, helping them 

to face challenges and make a difference 

in their local communities. 

After the meeting, Mr Nussle 

said: “Woccu has a long history of 

using the financial co-operative 

model to foster international development 

and increase access to financial services. 

With continued engagement with 

Usaid and other policymakers, credit 

unions can do even more.” 

Mr Branch said: “This year, Woccu 

is successfully leveraging Usaid funds 

to allow more small farmers to secure 

loans and grow their yields in Africa and 

Eastern Europe. 

“In Haiti, we’re helping to finance 

affordable green-housing initiatives and 

boost financial literacy programmes. 

“None of that would be possible 

without the assistance and buy-in from 

p Community members in Colombia at a Woccu training event 

‘Support co-ops’, NCBA-Clusa urges US presidential candidates 

our partner credit unions on the ground. 

Administrator Green seemed very open to 

the idea that this type of model could be 

replicated across the world.” 

Over recent months, Cuna and Woccu 

have also asked Usaid to ensure a level 

playing field for smaller development 

contractors, such as credit unions, when 

prioritising its procurement reforms. 

In April, Cuna and Woccu wrote to 

the House Appropriations Committee 

asking for increased funding for the 

Cooperative Development Program, 

a Usaid-funded initiative that 

focuses on building the capacity 

of co-operatives. 

The National Co-operative Business 

Association (NCBA-Clusa) has launched 

a campaign to encourage US presidential 

candidates to back the sector. 

With the 2020 presidential election 

approaching, the apex body published 

an open letter asking those running to 

recognise the co-operative business model 

as a tool for the economic success and 

self-determination of their constituents. 

Arguing that “co-ops should be on 

the policy platform of every presidential 

candidate,” the letter says the co-op 

model empowers people to champion 

their own successes by working together. 

“And while the member-owners of 

co-operatives are the drivers of this 

success, a policy framework that supports 

the robust development of co-operatives 

is imperative.” 

The letter, signed by NCBA-Clusa 

president and CEO Doug O’Brien, suggests 

co-ops should be an essential part of 

the solution to growing challenges for 

workers in the gig economy. And they 

play important roles in sectors such as 

homecare, rural broadband, finance, 

energy, housing, food and childcare. 

It also calls on presidential candidates to 

engage the co-op community and discuss 

ways to incorporate policy solutions into 

their platforms. 

NCBA-Clusa says policy solutions 

should encourage co-operative 

businesses through increasing access to 

capital for start-ups, and for expansion 

and innovation. There is also need for 

technical assistance, interagency 

coordination at the federal and state 

levels, and increased investment in 

research and development. 

As part of the #CoopsFor2020 campaign, 

NCBA is encouraging co-operators to write 

to their local newspapers, asking them to 

publish its open letter. Those wishing to 

take part can use the sample letter and 

social media posts available on NCBA- 

Clusa’s website, ncbaclusa.coop 


REI enters the newspaper trade to shout its eco message 

Seattle-based outdoor gear retailer REI 

Co-op is launching an environmental and 

outdoor magazine – and a new partnership 

to fund local non-profit newsrooms covering 

environmental issues. 

The co-op will retire its mail-order 

catalogue in favour of print magazine, 

Uncommon Path, published by Hearst 

Magazines in collaboration with an 

in-house team of journalists and editors 

at REI. 

The first issue will be available in the 

autumn at all 155 REI stores and selected 

news stands across the USA. It will feature 

articles on the outdoors in Atlanta, the 

US/Mexico border and northern Florida. 

There will also be stories about outdoor life 

and culture, product recommendations, 

gear reviews and more. 

“Uncommon Path tells the stories of 

the experiences, the events, issues and 

ideas that shape the relationship between 

people and life outside,” said Ben Steele, 

REI’s executive vice president and chief 

customer officer. 

REI is also launching a new partnership 

with NewsMatch, a nationwide campaign 

to strengthen local journalism, which 

will see the co-op invest in 10 local 

news organisations to support local 

environmental and outdoor coverage. 

The move comes as research has found 

that coverage of climate change on major 

broadcast networks declined by 45% from 

2017 to 2018. It also revealed that nearly 

1,800 local newspapers in the US have 

closed since 2004 – and corporations 

pollute more when there aren’t local 

newspapers to hold them accountable. 

“Today, the average American spends 

more than 70 years of their life indoors. 

We have to reverse that trend,” said Alex 

Thompson, REI’s vice president of brand 

stewardship and impact. 

“But how do you get someone outside 

who has never set foot on a hiking trail? Or 

inspire them to try a new activity they’ve 

never done before? Often, getting someone 

to take that first step outside is as simple 

as offering a tiny spark of inspiration. We 

believe that spark can be powerful enough 

to change someone’s worldview – and 

that’s what we’re trying to do through our 

own stories, films and podcasts.” 

p ‘Today, the average American spends more than 70 years of their life indoors’ (Photo: REI) 

Ethical kitemark 

expands Stateside to 

boost social business 

Social Enterprise Mark CIC, the 

international social enterprise 

accreditation authority, has expanded its 

reach by introducing the Social Enterprise 

Mark in the USA. 

The organisation awards accreditations 

based on a robust assessment process – 

to ensure the social enterprise business 

model remains ethical, credible and 

commercial. Its goal is to build the 

capabilities of social enterprises as 

competitive, sustainable businesses, 

dedicated to maximising social impact 

above shareholder profit. 

The expansion sees Social Enterprise 

Mark agree its first franchise by granting 

Society Profits an exclusive licence to 

award the mark in the USA. Society Profits 

is a social enterprise with a mission to 

scale other social enterprises and create 

social impact across the country. 

The agreement means social enterprises 

in the USA can gain international 

recognition for their operation as a 

genuine social enterprise, with a core 

motivation of creating social impact. 

Lucy Findlay, managing director of 

Social Enterprise Mark CIC, said: “We 

are delighted to work with Society Profits 

and its CEO Rebecca Dray on this new 

adventure for Social Enterprise Mark. 

“We hope we can test and refine how our 

mark works overseas, to provide a model 

for the future. Rebecca really understands 

the benefits that accreditation can bring 

to social enterprises and we look forward 

to a fruitful partnership.” 

Ms Dray said: “I have admired the 

work of Social Enterprise Mark for many 

years and I am excited to be bringing 

such a trusted name to the US social 

enterprise sector. 

“We need transparent and trusted social 

enterprise sellers that can have greater 

impact in our communities to support 

those most in need. 

“The Social Enterprise Mark will give 

us this strong foundation on which we 

can build supply chains for social minded 

corporations and individuals to buy 

with confidence.” 

p Rebecca Dray and Lucy Findlay 


RWANDA 

Co-operative development global conference opens for registration 

Registration is open for the Co-operatives 

for Development Global Conference in 

Kigali, Rwanda (14-17 October). 

The global event is organised by the 

International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) 

under the auspices of the government of 

the Republic of Rwanda, with the support 

of the Rwandan’ co-op movement. 

It will see co-ops share their experiences 

in sustainable development, and celebrate 

their vital contribution to the United 

Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development 

Goals (SDGs). 

Alongside co-operators from around 

the world, the four-day event will bring 

together civil society actors, development 

agencies, policy makers, institutional 

partners, government officials, 

representatives from international 

and regional organisations, researchers, 

and others concerned with development. 

Themes explored over the four 

days include female empowerment, 

preservation of the environment, 

eradication of hunger and poverty, decent 

work, ethical value chains, affordable 

housing, and equality and peace. 

Delegates will be welcomed to the 

conference by Ariel Guarco, president of 

the ICA, and Hon Soraya Hakuziyaremeye, 

Rwanda’s minister of trade and Industry. 

Among the keynote speakers is 

environmental activist Dr Vandana 

Shiva, who will talk about how co-ops 

can help to achieve a more solidaritybased 

and participatory society. 

Delegates will also hear from president 

Paul Kagame, Japheth Magomere 

(ICA-Africa president) and Augustin 

Katabarwa, (president of the National 

Cooperative Confederation of Rwanda), 

among others. 

The ICA General Assembly (for ICA 

members only) takes place on Thursday 

afternoon, with the conference ending 

that evening with a gala dinner where 

the Rochdale Pioneer Awards winners 

will be announced. This recognises, 

in the spirit of the contribution of the 

Rochdale Pioneers, an individual or 

p Dr Vandana Shiva 

organisation who has contributed to 

innovative and financially sustainable 

co-operative activities that have 

significantly benefited co-op members. 

u More information and the provisional 

programme is available at kigali2019. 

coop. Registration for the event is open at 

register.kigali2019.coop 

EUROPE 

Agri-co-ops take their sustainability 

story to MEPs to win support for the sector 

European agri co-ops have launched 

a campaign to showcase the sector’s 

role in meeting the United Nations’ 17 

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

The campaign, launched on the 

International Day of Co-operatives (6 

July), will see sector body Copa-Cogeca 

showcase 100 success stories on its new 

online platform, and use the hashtag 

#17Reasons2Coop on social media to 

highlight the work of co-ops, as a new 

political cycle starts in Brussels. 

Cogeca president Thomas Magnusson 

said: “I have noticed in exchanges with EU 

stakeholders that examples are better than 

long speeches. In a time of permanent 

agri-bashing, it is time to show that our 

rural areas are creative and resilient and 

this is thanks to agri co-operatives. We 

benefit our farmer owners, we champion 

our employees, we work to understand 

and satisfy our customers, consumers and 

society. We innovate, invest and work on 

long-term sustainable projects.” 

Welcoming the move, EU agriculture 

commissioner Phil Hogan said agri-co-ops 

are “successful businesses that unite 

farmers around common economic, social 

and environmental goals”. 

Mr Hogan sent a video message to Copa- 

Cogeca to congratulate the sector on the 

International Day of Co-operatives. 

He said: “This wonderful occasion is an 

important opportunity to highlight how 

European agri co-ops benefit farmers, our 

rural economies and our consumers. 

The commissioner said he believes 

co-ops are the backbone of rural areas, 

helping to create and sustain quality 

employment and viable communities. 

He added: “They support our farmers in 

improving their production and position 

in the food supply chain, ensuring fair 

incomes and long-term investments.” 

MEP Paolo De Castro, who was recently 

re-elected to the Agriculture Committee, 

also praised agri co-ops. “It is essential 

to recognise the role of agri co-operatives 

that guarantee incomes to our farmers 

while being protagonists in supporting 

the achievement of the UN Sustainable 

Development Goals,” he said. 

u Visit www.17reasons2coop.eu to see the 

Copa-Cogeca campaign 


SWEDEN 

New governance code for co-operatives in Sweden 

Sweden’s apex body for co-ops has 

published a governance code for 

co-operative and mutual enterprises. 

Adoption of the code is voluntary 

but once adopted, it becomes binding. 

It provides guidelines for the governance 

of co-operative and mutual enterprises 

based on ethical values and principles. 

The code aims to promote member 

dialogue and democratic decision-making 

in modern co-operative and mutual 

enterprises, and to increase transparency 

and openness at board level. 

The code is based on the principle 

of comply and explain, which means those 

adopting it must explain how they comply 

with its principles and report on their 

implementation. It is particularly aimed 

at large co-ops and mutuals. However, 

according to Co-op Sweden, smaller 

co-ops should also be able to comply with 

some parts of the code. 

Tommy Ohlström, chair of Co-operatives 

Sweden, says the code helps to explain 

the specificity of the co-op enterprise 

model, which places members at the heart 

of the business. 

“We’re proud that we’re now increasing 

transparency even further and making 

it even clearer to our members and the 

world around us how co-operative and 

mutual enterprises actually function. 

The new code is a consolidating 

document that explains and clarifies 

the special features and business logic 

of co-op and mutual enterprises,” said 

Mr Ohlström. 

The governance code is based on the 

following principles: 

• business objectives benefit members 

and follow their wishes 

• openness, transparency, democracy 

• members participate in the business 

• general meetings where members can 

exercise rights and be informed 

• election committee to ensure 

transparency and safeguard interests 

of enterprise and members 

• competent, independent board of 

directors to establish framework and 

processes for risk management and 

internal control 

• guidelines for remuneration, terms 

and conditions for senior executives 

• framework and processes for risk 

management and internal control 

“This form of enterprise is now being 

framed even more clearly through 

the newly established code, which 

is designed to ensure transparency,” 

said Mr Ohlström, adding that he 

hoped the code would contribute to 

global efforts to raise awareness about 

the model. 

With a turnover of more than SEK 400bn 

(£34.08bn) and 100,000 employees, the 

100 largest co-operative and mutual 

enterprises account for a significant share 

of the labour market and social economy 

in Sweden. 

GLOBAL 

Woccu credit card scheme will fund global financial inclusion 

The Worldwide Foundation for Credit 

Unions has launched a credit card 

programme to fund its financial inclusion 

projects across the world. 

The foundation – the international 

charitable arm of World Council of 

Credit Union (Woccu) – launched the 

Global Good Card in 2017 in partnership 

with Summit Credit Union in Madison, 

Wisconsin. Other credit unions can now 

offer the card, and are sharing success 

stories from various Woccu projects 

around the world. 

“A percentage of each purchase made 

with the card benefits Woccu development 

projects,” said the foundation’s executive 

director Mike Reuter. “Our mantra is ‘Do 

Good. Do Global Good.’ 

“Credit union members who use a 

Global Good Card will be a part of that 

by contributing to people’s financial 

empowerment through the movement.” 

Mr Reuter added that any credit union 

is able to join the scheme. “A credit union 

can integrate it as it would any new card 

programme, or one that replaces an 

existing card,” he said. 

Since 2017, Summit Credit Union has 

issued 2,000 Do Global Good cards, 

helping to generate more than US $51,000 

(£40,568) in support of the Worldwide 

Foundation. It donates $10 (£7.95) for each 

Global Good Card opened and 15% of all 

interchange fees on purchases made with 

the card. Members can make additional 

cash donations to the foundation via their 

reward points. Summit charges no annual 

fee for the card and offers members the 

same benefits as with its existing Visa 

Platinum Rewards card. 

The foundation has also partnered 

with Ser Tech, which will help credit 

unions to market the Global Good Card 

to members. It expects the card to be 

particularly popular among socially 

minded millennials. 


CANADA 

Housing co-ops hail federal plan 

to tackle affordability and homelessness 

The Canadian government has announced 

the second phase of its federal plan to 

protect housing affordability for 20,000 

low-income co-op households. 

The Federal Community Housing 

Initiative is part of the National Housing 

Strategy, launched in 2017. The two-phase 

CA$55bn (£33.16bn) programme aims to 

remove 530,000 families from housing 

need and cut chronic homelessness by 

50% over the next decade. 

Phase one extended rental assistance 

for federally administered community 

housing to 31 March 2020, while phase 

two extends this assistance to 31 March 

2028. A total of $462m (£278.56m) will be 

allocated over the eight years. 

The government will also fund 

other forms of community housing, 

providing similar security of tenure for 

55,000 households. 

Adam Vaughan, parliamentary 

secretary to the minister of families, 

children and social development, said: 

“For decades the co-op housing sector has 

been an important partner in the delivery 

of federal housing investments. 

“Sustaining this relationship is critical 

to the success of the National Housing 

Strategy ... Phase two aims to strengthen 

the co-op housing sector, help providers 

achieve greater efficiencies and better 

respond to residents’ needs. Both 

phases are intended to work together to 

strengthen the co-op housing sector over 

the long term.” 

Frank Wheeler, president of the 

Co-operative Housing Federation of 

Canada, said: “Today’s announcement 

will provide these vulnerable households 

the comfort of knowing that their housing 

is secure for many years to come.” 

p Athletes Village Housing Co-op in Vancouver 

(Photo: Co-op Housing International) 

CHF Canada executive director Tim 

Ross added: “We commend the federal 

government for confirming this important 

step, and we look forward to further 

strengthening our partnerships to 

tackle the housing crisis. We know that 

1.7 million Canadians are still in core 

housing need, and they want the 

affordability, security and communities 

that co-ops provide.” 

NEW ZEALAND 

Setback for movement as leading dairy co-op demutualises 

Dairy co-op Westland – which last 

year won the national movement’s top 

accolade – is to demutualise. 

On 4 July, Westland Milk Products’ 

shareholders approved by 2,494 to 165 

the sale to Hongkong Jingang, a wholly 

owned subsidiary of Inner Mongolia Yili 

Industrial Group. The Chinese company 

will pay NZ $3.41 (£1.80) per share. 

Under the sale, shareholder farmers 

who are also existing suppliers will have 

their contracts guaranteed by Yili, at a 

price comparable to the minimum rate of 

NZ dairy co-op Fonterra, for 10 seasons. 

Westland chair Pete Morrison said 

Yili “provides a very strong route to 

market as one of the world’s leading 

dairy producers”. He added: “When the 

board initiated the strategic review, we 

did so with the full understanding that 

all Westland farming families needed 

a competitive milk payout.” 

Westland, formed in 1937, processes 

around 3% of NZ’s milk, but fell into 

serious debt and was unable to pay a 

competitive rate to farmers in recent years. 

In 2002 Fonterra made a merger offer to 

Westland, which was rejected. It held talks 

with Westland more recently to explore 

co-op solutions but no deal was reached. 

Craig Presland, CEO of Co-operative 

Business New Zealand, said co-ops 

continue to play a key role in the economy. 

In 2o18 the apex body named Westland its 

Co-op of the Year. 

In a blog post, he said: “The challenge 

here is to balance capital retentions with 

annual payouts appropriately, while 

prudently investing in capital projects 

such as new or upgraded plants. 

“Placing too high a portion of earnings 

into annual milk payouts, and not 

retaining enough for future capital 

projects and/or investments, can only 

lead to increased bank borrowing, which 

can prove to be disastrous.” 

This is the latest bad news to hit the 

dairy co-op sector, following the sale last 

year of Australia’s Murray Goulburn. 


USA 

A Green New 

Deal ‘can help electric 

co-ops kick fossil fuels’ 

p A coal-fired power plant in the USA 

Researchers in the US want a government 

programme to help rural economies 

through the move to renewable energy. 

In their report, Rural Electrification 2.0, 

they say: “The US public is increasingly 

demanding clean energy to pursue energy 

independence and reduce greenhouse 

gas emissions.” 

Written by Erik Hatlestad, from Clean 

Up the River Environment Minnesota; 

Katie Rock, of the Center for Rural Affairs; 

and Liz Veazey, of Omaha non-profit We 

Own It, the report says electric co-ops 

source 67% of their energy from fossil 

fuels – despite the fact that the falling cost 

of renewables could save them hundreds 

of millions of dollars by 2030. 

This is partly because the sector is stuck 

with financial commitments to the coal 

power stations which supply them. 

“Rural communities could better 

pursue a clean energy future if current 

debt on existing coal plant infrastructure 

could be eliminated in exchange for a 

requirement to invest in clean energy and 

energy efficiency,” said the report. 

“Incoming cash from ratepayers is 

being used to pay off debts from old, 

uneconomic coal plant infrastructure. 

By being relieved of these debt-laden 

assets, co-operatives would have more 

resources to invest in clean energy, 

although there is a need to ensure that 

member-owners see economic benefits 

of these policies.” 

It argues that this goal can be met 

through federal regulatory action, debt 

bailouts, credit asset swaps, securitisation 

or Rural Utility Service refinancing. 

Such mechanisms would form part of 

a Green New Deal, which could also find 

ways to help coal-producing communities 

hit by the transition, the report added. 

New chair at the helm of NCBA-Clusa 

US apex body NCBA-Clusa has elected 

Erbin Crowell as chair of its board. Also 

executive director of the Neighboring 

Food Co-op Association, he takes over 

from Andrew Jacob, who served two terms 

in the role. Mr Crowell initially joined the 

co-operative movement through Equal 

Exchange, a worker co-op pioneering 

Fairtrade products. 

Co-op Bank of Kenya rescues struggling credit union 

Kenya’s Co-operative Bank has agreed 

to bail out one of the country’s largest 

credit unions, which is having liquidity 

issues. The savings and credit co-op 

Metropolitan Sacco was facing difficulties 

due to non-performing loans amounting 

to KES1.2bn (£9.3m). The credit union 

has 100,00 members and assets 

of KES13.6bn (£105m). 

Woccu charity launches monthly donation scheme 

The charitable arm of the World Council 

of Credit Unions (Woccu) has launched a 

monthly donation scheme to a choice of 

credit union related causes: the Priority 

Fund, Project Storm Break, the Global 

Women’s Leadership Network, the Global 

Classroom, and World Council Young 

Credit Union Professionals. Regular 

donations can be set up online at: 

doglobalgood.org/give 

Joint China venture for Land O’Lakes and Agrifirm 

Two agri co-ops are starting a joint 

animal feed venture in China to leverage 

existing market knowledge, insights, 

technologies and research capability. USbased 

Land O’Lakes and the Netherlands’ 

Agrifirm have more than 20 years’ market 

experience in China. The new business – 

Agrilakes – will be based in Tianjin. 

Co-ops contribute 3.4% to Canadian economy 

The co-op sector represents 3.4% of 

Canada’s economy and 3.6% of its jobs, 

according to a new study quantifying the 

direct, indirect and induced economic 

impacts of co-ops and credit unions. 

Research shows the value-added GDP 

impact of the co-op sector in Canada is 

CA $61.2bn. (£36.98bn) a year. 


EUROPE 

In an uncertain future of work, co-ops 

are the answer, Cecop tells the EU 

• 15 member states have improved the 

quality of their measures encouraging 

registration of those unemployed; 

• 12 have enhanced the quality 

of measures for individual 

assessments; 

• long-term unemployment within 

the EU fell from 5.2% in 2013 to 3.5% 

in 2017; 

• in more than half of public 

employment services, the long-term 

unemployed receive more tailored 

assessments and guidance than 

other groups; 

• 17 member states have improved 

the quality of their employment 

measures; 

• 14 member states have improved the 

quality of their measures to increase 

employer involvement. 

The European confederation of industrial 

and service co-ops (Cecop) has published 

a paper highlighting the sector’s work to 

tackle long-term unemployment. 

Cecop said many of its member co-ops 

work to integrate disadvantaged 

groups – and not just by providing jobs. 

Social co-ops in its network, such as 

those in Italy, invest in training and 

provide tailored jobs for people with 

specific needs, including those with 

disabilities or facing social exclusion. 

Italy alone has around 4,000 social 

co-ops that facilitate labour integration, 

employing 60,000 people – 30% of them 

disadvantaged workers. 

And by joining a co-op, Cecop added, 

employees can become worker owners 

and have a stake in the business. Such 

worker co-ops are often set up by workers 

who have been made redundant. 

The paper is a reaction to an evaluation 

published by the European Commission 

(EC) in April. In 2015, the EC proposed 

a consultation to the Council of the 

European Union, which included 

government ministers from each EU 

country, focusing on the provision of 

services to the long-term unemployed. At 

the time, Cecop responded with a reaction 

paper detailing the work of co-ops. 

The EC’s suggestions were later reflected 

in a council recommendation on the 

integration of the long-term unemployed, 

published in February 2016. 

This called on member states to 

encourage registration of the longterm 

unemployed with an employment 

service, increase individualised support 

and ensure delivery of a job-integration 

agreement within 18 months. It also 

suggests coordinating services through a 

single point of contact and encouraging 

the development of partnerships between 

employers, social partners and services, 

authorities and training providers. 

In April 2019, the EC reported to the 

Council on the state of play at member 

state level. Since the adoption of the 

recommendation, it said: 

The evaluation also suggests ways to 

strengthen implementation, including 

intensifying employer involvement and 

supporting the development of social 

enterprises offering job opportunities. 

In response, Cecop argued that while 

the general trend was positive, figures 

did not take into account the type and 

duration of contracts of those formerly 

unemployed who manage to secure jobs. 

It welcomed the EC’s recommendation 

to intensify the involvement of employers, 

particularly by supporting social 

enterprises, but added that the role of 

co-ops and social economy enterprises 

had not been specifically taken into 

account in the evaluation framework. 

Meanwhile, at Cecop’s 40th anniversary 

conference in Manchester in June, 

Liina Carr from European Trade Union 

Confederation (Etuc) urged co-ops and 

trade unions to work together to protect 

workers in the gig economy. 

Some studies predict 45%-60% of all 

workers in Europe could see themselves 

replaced by automation before 2030. 

Etuc is campaigning to ensure that the 

protections built in to traditional forms 

of work are maintained in new ones. 

With a new European Parliament and 

Commission, Etuc will work with Cecop to 

ensure the social dimension is taken into 

account when the economy undergoes 

the green transition. They are also 

collaborating to make sure the European 

Pillar of Social Rights is implemented. 

u Cecop’s 40th anniversary: page 36-37 


YOUR VIEWS 

DEFENCE OF CLAIRE MCCARTHY – AND THE 

NEED TO BRING EXPERIENCED PEOPLE TO 

THE CO-OP MOVEMENT 

We write on behalf of Central England 

Co-operative and wish to take part 

issue with Vic Parks’ views concerning 

the position of general secretary of the 

Co-op Party (letters, Co-op News, July). 

While it might be ideal to have someone 

from within the movement in the role, 

it limits the field as the successful leader 

needs to have experience both in lobbying 

and with parliamentarians in order to put 

the interests of the co-operative business 

model on the Westminster agenda. 

We do not feel that electing someone 

probably on the strength of a written 

address, a video and a photo would 

be appropriate. 

We elect a National Executive Committee 

from within the movement and have 

trust in them to select someone worthy 

of this office through interviews and 

rigorous questioning. 

We also feel there’s some unfairness 

by Vic towards previous holders and 

would wish to pay tribute particularly to 

the departing Claire McCarthy. At Central 

England Society we have worked very 

closely with Claire and she has done a 

sterling job of liaising with the funding 

societies and setting a strategy into 

which we can all buy. She has listened 

and she’s visited, she has presented 

and she’s socialised and she has taken 

people along with her and created 

credibility and common sense along 

the way. 

We at Central England wish her well in 

her new role actually delivering services to 

people – Claire is a ‘people person’ – but 

we are also extremely sorry to see her go 

and she leaves very big shoes to fill. 

Claire leaves the Co-operative Party 

in excellent shape and we should all 

of us thank her for her commitment and 

dedication over the last few years. Far from 

being a stepping stone on a career path, 

we believe Claire has left a legacy 

of organised systems and popular policies 

which will set the foundations for her 

successor to take even further forward. 

Good luck Claire for the future – and 

thank you ! 

Elaine Dean and Jane Avery 

President and vice president 

Central England Co-operative 

WE NEED SOME REALISM IN OUR PLANS TO 

GROW THE CO-OP MOVEMENT 

Sometimes it seems that the co-op sector 

is very good at talking to and praising 

itself. This is only helpful as long as it does 

not believe its own hype, as it were. 

An example relates to the goal of 

doubling the size of the UK co-op economy, 

as laid out by the Co-operative Party. 

Taking the number of co-ops as 

but one metric, a figure of 7,000 

co-operative businesses in the UK (News, 

July 2010, page 3) may seem in isolation 

to be impressive. Yet according to the UK 

government’s Department of Business, 

Energy & Industrial Strategy there were 

some 5.7 million private sector businesses 

in the nation in 2018. 

At around one thousandth of the 

proportion of all such enterprises, clearly 

the co-operative sector has a very long way 

to go on that basis. 

This is not to decry the aim. Merely to 

suggest a degree of realism as to the scale 

of the task. Which consideration may turn 

out to be helpful on the way to success. 

Geraint Day 

Swindon 

NEW FUND IS WELCOME, BUT THERE’S 

MORE TO DO 

The Relaunch of Rural Community Energy 

Fund is very welcome and a huge help for 

#communityenergy, but more needs to 

be done to support urban development, 

innovation and investment. 

Thanks to @coopnews for covering 

this issue. 

Emma Bridge 

(@emmabridge_1) 

via Twitter 

WILL THE #1MILLIONOWNERS CAMPAIGN 

MAKE A DIFFERENCE? 

[The problem with employee-ownership 

is that] the worker-members have no 

right of ownership, individually, on the 

equity of their co-operative – equity which 

was financed and established by the 

members’ economic participation in their 

co-operative activities. 

Rik Riklar 

(@RRiklar) 

via Twitter 

Have your say 

Add your comments to our stories 

online at thenews.coop, get in touch 

via social media, or send us a letter. 

If sending a letter, please include 

your address and contact number. 

Letters may be edited and no longer 

than 350 words. 

Co-operative News, Holyoake 

House, Hanover Street, 

Manchester M60 0AS 

letters@thenews.coop 

@coopnews 

Co-operative News 


MEET... 

Meet … Olly Young, 

director at Chelsmford 

Star Co-operative 

Olly Young was elected to the board of directors at 

Chelmsford Star Co-operative in May – and, at 26, 

he is the youngest person to ever take up such a 

role at the society. Here he talks about his journey 

with Chelmsford Star, his work in the third sector 

and the crossover of co-operative values. 

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE 

CO-OP MOVEMENT? 

My initial involvement in the co-operative 

movement was aged 16, working for Chelmsford 

Star as a part-time general assistant while 

I was studying at college. I was then fortunate to 

be part of the society for a further seven years, 

working across various business streams in 

the co-operative. 

Very early on I was committed to a greater 

understanding of the co-op movement, particularly 

the sense of shared ownership and strong values 

underpinning the movement. I was one of the 

founding members of Chelmsford Star’s Youth 

Council, which allowed younger members of the 

co-op to have a voice and learn more about the key 

elements of the movement. 

HOW DO CO-OPERATIVE VALUES FIT IN WITH 

YOUR OTHER ROLES? 

I am currently a regional manager for the Royal 

Voluntary Service, where I oversee all of the 

charity’s retail activity across the south of England 

(from Cornwall to Kent). 

Within this role I manage a team of staff and 

volunteers, with the overarching aim to inspire 

and enable people within communities to 

give their time and talents to support society’s 

greatest challenges. 

The co-operative values almost mirror the values 

underpinning my role in the third sector – from 

both an ethical perspective in terms of how we 

operate, and a sense of a ‘shared purpose’ where 

we put community and members first in all of our 

business decisions. 

ONE OF THE WAYS CO-OPS CAN IMPROVE ENGAGEMENT 

WITH YOUNGER PEOPLE IS TO FIND SOMETHING THEY 

REALLY CARE FOR AND ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT – AND 

BRING IN THE CO-OPERATIVE VALUES AND PRINCIPLES 

BEHIND IT TO SUPPORT THEIR MISSION. 


01 

Issue #7288 OCT 

WHAT 

WHAT 

WILL 

CAN 

THE 

THE 

ROLE 

CO-OP 

INVOLVE? 

MOVEMENT AND THIRD 

SECTORS LEARN FROM EACH OTHER? 

There are three main strands to the role. Ensuring 

There are massive similarities and crossover, 

that: values, principles, our culture and ethos 

particularly from an ethical and communityare 

embedded and communicated in a consistent 

minded perspective. I believe one of the largest 

way; Midcounties’ DOES (democracy, openness, 

opportunities in society is the need for more 

equality and social responsibility) values are 

individuals of all ages to volunteer their time, 

integrated; and commercial decisions are made in 

talents and life experience to support their 

accordance with these values. 

local communities. 

We have a good track record of actively listening 

There are some fantastic examples of this 

to members. For example, 94% of members wanted 

happening within the co-op movement already, 

action on plastics, so in March we launched our 

with co-ops actively encouraging communities 

1Change 

to support 

campaign 

litter 

which 

picks, fundraising 

will see our 

for 

businesses 

local good 

reduce 

causes 

single-use 

and supporting 

plastic 

vulnerable 

consumption 

groups. 

while 

encouraging members, colleagues and the next 

generation WHAT WILL to do YOUR the same ROLE (see AT CHELMSFORD more on p36). STAR 

Members INVOLVE wanted AND WHAT more ARE products YOU HOPING sourced TO locally 

and ACHIEVE transparently, THERE? so we launched the Happerley 

App, which lets consumers scan QR codes to view a 

products My role validated as an ingredient elected director supply involves network. regular And 

we meetings have around with 20 the regional board communities, and the society’s where 

local management member select executive the local team, causes discussing they want us the 

to support. business performance as well as representing 

We’re the members good at what in all we strategic do. We decision are rated making. five Stars 

by BitC This and also were includes voted Leading serving on Co-operative a further of two 

the sub-committees Year in 2018, but which we can’t include stay still audit or rest and on the 

our employees’ laurels. superannuation trust fund. As part 

We of my have role, different I have businesses also been elected with members to serve in as a 

different trustee geographies of a local co-operative and of different school, ages to provide and 

we a need valuable to represent link and them promote and enable co-operation them to and 

influence values us. to students. Midcounties’ co-operative difference 

is that I we am consciously hoping to represent prioritise the member younger concerns members 

as a of basis the society of developing and support what greater we do. involvement This role is and 

a part interest of that. with youth in the movement. 

Social Saturday 

ISSN 0009-9821 

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OCTOBER 2017 

PLANNING 

Co-op buildings 

past, present and 

futuristic... 

Plus ... The Alliance’s 

2017 Global Conference... 

Co-op development in 

Malawi... Celebrating 

news Issue #7291 JANUARY 2018 

Connecting, championing, cha lenging 

£4.20 

news 

news 

JANUARY 2018 

LEADERSHIP 

Finding the route 

to collective 

decision-making 

Plus ... Helping 

Looking ahead to 2018 

... Working for gender 

equality ... Co-housing 

for homeless veterans 

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£4.20 

news 

news Issue #7290 DECEMBER 2017 


DECEMBER 2017 

TOGETHER 

Diversity hailed 

at Global ICA 

conference 

Plus ... How co-ops 

help refugees ... A short 

history of co-operation 

... Why Quakers didn’t 

go co-op in business 

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news Issue #7293 MARCH 2018 


£4.20 

news 

MARCH 2018 

CREDIT 

UNIONS 

Are credit unions 

ready to embrace 

new technology? 


Updates from the 6th Ways 

Forward conference ... 

Financial inclusion... The 

Fairtrade Shopper Report ... 

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£4.20 

sed Member Pioneers ... 

International credit union 

updates . 

news Issue #7289 NOVEMBER 2017 


NOVEMBER 2017 

IMPACT 

How much do 

co-ops give back 

to communities? 


tea farmers to unite 

... Jeremy Corbyn on 

co-ops ... Get set 

for Christmas 

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Issue #7294 APRIL 2018 Connecting, championing, cha lenging 

£4.20 

news 

Plus ... 150 years 

of East of England ... 

and updates from the 

Co-op Retail and Abcul 

conferences 

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ED 

Co-op 

Principle 

in action 

£4.20 

Issue #7295 

news 

MAY 2018 

GOVERNANCE 

A spotlight on 

w co-ops do 

fferently 

tainability 

ps s 

news Issue #7299 SEPTEMBER 2018 

Con 

WHAT HOW THE WELL BIGGEST ARE CO-OPS CHALLENGES CONNECTING AND WITH 

OPPORTUNITIES YOUNGER PEOPLE, OF THE AND ROLE? HOW CAN THEY IMPROVE 

THIS ENGAGEMENT? 

The main challenge is also the key opportunity 

and I is believe one faced co-ops by all are consumer doing a very co-ops: good ensuring job with 

the connecting views of our and engaging members with are younger reflected people in the and 

way I have we do seen business; first-hand and how ensuring this can we benefit showcase, younger 

celebrate people and through continually their education develop our and co-operative 

careers. 

difference I believe throughout one of the all ways our businesses co-ops can – improve from 

Childcare engagement to Phone with Co-op. younger We have people grown is to to over find 

700,000 something members they now, really so care ensuring for and they are are passionate at the 

heart 

about 

of our 

– and 

society, 

bring 

are 

in 

engaged 

the co-operative 

and rewarded 

values 

for 

and 

trading 

principles 

with us 

behind 

is of obvious 

it to 

importance 

support their mission. 

We’re 

I believe 

not 

the 

aware 

voice 

of 

of youth 

any other 

currently 

role 

is 

like 

very strong, 

this, 

particularly with the power of social media. 

but the world is changing and this seems like a 

There are lots of younger individuals in society 

natural progression. We’ve got customers and 

who are extremely passionate about key issues and 

members who are more empowered, and a younger 

causes. I believe embedding a co-operative way 

generation seeking ethical leadership looking 

of thinking to support younger people will ensure 

towards co-operatives. It makes sense for a role like 

massive success in society. 

this to be created. 

Co-op’s Julian Coles ... 

Updates from OPEN 2018 

... Social Business Wales 

Conference: a preview 

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SEPTEMBER 2018 

VALUES 

Are co-op values 

losing ground as 

businesses grow? 

Plus ... Meet Tamworth 

£4.20 

news Issue #7292 FEBRUARY 2018 


Meet new global co-op 

chief ... Get promoting 

Fairtrade ... History of 

community business 

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FUTURE 

OF WORK 

The challenges 

facing workers 

and co-ops 


£4.20 

FEBRUARY 2018 

news Issue #7298 AUGUST 2018 


What politicians 

are offering and 

what co-ops want 

Plus... ... A governance guide 

... Mixing co-operation 

and tech for strength 

AUGUST 2018 

GOING FOR 

GROWTH 

How to help the 

movement thrive 

Plus ... 150 years of 

Radstock ... Using spoken 

word to tell the co-op 

story ... Lessons from US 

worker co-ops 

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£4.20 

Issue #7295 

Plus ... Sustainability 

reporting ... Co-ops in 

Westminster ... and 

society results updates 

news 

MAY 2018 

GOVERNANCE 

A spotlight on 

how co-ops do 

it differently 

JUNE 2018 Connecting, championing, cha lenging 

fi 

Turn 

ahead 

Co-operat 

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www.th

Looking Back 

Interview by 

Anca Voinea 

Claire McCarthy looks back on her years at the helm of the Co-op Party 

After almost four years as general secretary of the 

Co-op Party, Claire McCarthy left the organisation 

in July. She initially joined the Party in 2013 as 

head of external and political affairs before being 

appointed to the top role in October 2015. Here, 

she tells Co-op News why she has chosen to move 

to a local government team – and gives her view 

on what the future might bring for the Party... 

What comes next for you? 

You look at national politics and the nation seems 

very divided – politics in Westminster seems to be 

almost in gridlock but at local level there is a lot going 

on. At this level of government, you can make a big 

difference – so I have been inspired to go and take up 

a role in a local authority. 

I’ve been inspired by some of the exciting innovations 

taking place at local government level. We talk about 

the Preston model and the work being done there to 

drive forward community wealth building. The model 

has now spread far beyond Preston and there are local 

authorities all over the country using it. Some of the 

work on modern slavery has been really successful 

at this level, too, as have projects such as the Greater 

Manchester Co-operative commission launched by 

Andy Burnham (see interview, page 26). It shows that, 

actually, we can face up to these huge challenges. 

Would you welcome more devolution? 

Absolutely. The Co-op Party has always been an 

advocate of what we call subsidiarity – we believe 

that power should be at the lowest possible level. 

We are very supportive of devolution in Wales, 

Scotland and Northern Ireland. People have different 

views on metro mayors but, in general terms, we 

think that power should be much less centralised 

in Westminster and Whitehall than it is. When we 

think about Brexit, and some of the drivers behind 

it, some people who voted leave felt that Brussels 

was very remote from their everyday life; but 

actually, for lots of communities, Westminster and 

Whitehall feel very remote as well. We know that 

people have a sense of powerlessness about lots of 

things that go on in their lives – powerlessness in 

their communities, in their workplace, in the face 

of globalisation and huge multinational companies 

that don’t pay taxes – and they feel that these are 

not accountable to anyone. In part, we can challenge 

all of those issues through more devolution of all 

different kinds from Whitehall and Westminster, 

all the way down to communities and groups 

of individuals. 


What would you say have been the Party’s main 

achievements under your leadership? 

I think we have had three good years. We have grown 

in size, we’ve got more individual members than ever 

before, and we have grown our visibility. More people 

know about the Co-op Party and more people are 

engaging with us. I think we’ve grown our influence. 

We secured a commitment from the Labour Party 

in the 2017 general election manifesto that a future 

Labour government would work to double the 

size of the co-op economy. It’s the most ambitious 

commitment the Labour Party has ever given to 

the co-op movement. The centenary year has been 

a fantastic celebration of the Party. 

All this is at a time when some movement 

organisations that are about the same age have been 

lost. We lost Naco as an independent trade union for 

co-operators, and the women’s guild and national 

guild closed down as well. And yet the Co-op Party, in 

its 100th year, was able to say actually, we’re stronger 

than we’ve ever been. We got a real sense of purpose, 

of momentum and ambition. 

I think if you are the leader of an organisation as 

old as the Co-op Party, your job is to steward this 

organisation, to leave it stronger than you found it. 

I hope that people feel I’ve done that. 

Clearly, it wasn’t just me. The staff team is amazing, 

they’ve done a brilliant job and they work so hard. 

We’re a small organisation with around 13 people but 

it is one that punches above its weight. And also there 

is the NEC, our members, our volunteer officers – so 

many people are contributing to the Party. 

What are the main challenges for the Party? 

The nation is divided and Brexit is taking up a lot 

of people’s time and attention. When we’re so 

uncertain about so many of the fundamentals about 

our economy and society, it’s hard for an organisation 

to plan and to drive its work forward. But that also 

presents a lot of opportunities as well. 

As Ed Mayo and some others said at Co-operatives 

UK’s AGM, we’ve got to re-double our efforts because 

the need for our co-operative values has never been 

more urgent. People who are internationalist, who 

believe in an inclusive nation and an inclusive 

economy, who believe in solidarity and tolerance, 

we’ve got to fight for those values, maybe more than 

we’ve ever had to before because we see the rise of 

the far right and populism, not just in Britain, but in 

Europe and around the world. 

But while there are challenges ahead, there are 

also massive opportunities and a real need for 

co-operative values. That’s going to mean the Party 

working with other movement organisations to put 

our best foot forward. 

You’re only the second woman to lead the 

Party. Has this opened the door for others? 

I hope so. We are seeing some positive trends around 

women’s representation in the co-op movement. 

In terms of some retail society boards, there has 

been some really good progress. The appointment 

of Debbie Robinson means Central England Co-op 

has a female CEO alongside Ursula Lidbetter at 

Lincolnshire. But there is still more to do in the Party 

and in the wider movement. When I look around 

co-op movement events, including Co-op Party ones, 

they are not as representative as they should be, both 

in terms of gender and other ways like age and ethnic 

background. We’re not necessarily representative of 

society in the way we should be and that’s something 

the Party is committed to doing more about. We’ve 

re-launched our women’s network. We’ve got our 

first BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic people) 

conference coming up and we are doing more work 

with LGBT co-operators as well. But it is a challenge. 

What is your favourite memory of the Party? 

There are a lot. The centenary conference was 

really exciting. We held our AGM in the Methodist 

Hall, where the Party had been created 100 years 

earlier. After our AGM we marched our centenary 

banner, which we had specially commissioned, into 

Parliament Square and held a rally. 

I think that whole afternoon was quite special. 

It was celebrating the past while thinking about 

the future. It was the Party’s biggest conference in 

a number of years, with more than 500 delegates. 

There have been many other special events, 

which means you meet so many people in the co-op 

movement. In many ways, it’s like a family – when 

you go to things like Co-op Congress, you get to 

meet and know so many special people. It’s these 

relationships that I’ll miss the most. 

Claire McCarthy speaking at 

the Co-op Party Conference 

in 2016 


Andy Burnham: 

‘It’s time for co-ops to get ready – because the carbon transition and devolution 

will bring opportunities’ 

After his keynote speech to Co-op Congress in June, 

Co-op News caught up with Greater Manchester 

mayor Andy Burnham to discuss the role of co-ops 

in his plans for the devolved region, and the work of 

the Co-operative Commission he has set up. With a 

new industrial strategy and an ambition to make 

the city region carbon-neutral by 2038, Mr Burnham 

wants co-ops to help drive the economic transition… 

Interview by 

Anca Voinea 

& Miles Hadfield 

There have been issues of UK local 

authorities selling off valued public land 

and assets. Will the Co-operative Commission 

consider common ownership of such assets 

to protect them and use them in a way 

that adds social value? 

Certainly. That’s a logical thing to do rather than 

having a public body sell straight to the private 

sector. To protect the future use of the land you might 

consider a community co-op. That would be an idea 

I would be keen to hear from the Commission on, 

because there is work on the way to identify land 

across Greater Manchester that is publicly owned that 

might be released for housing development. 

But I think it’s important not to make the mistakes 

of the past, like with the right to buy – when you 

are trying to have a big effort to build, to have new 

policies, but then you find you are having the same 

problem 10 years down the line where you’ve not got 

the control over the new properties that you build. 

And you’ve not got that social ethos. So certainly, 

that’s an idea we can look at. 

We’re also exploring options for town centre 

regeneration, particularly through the Town Centre 

Challenge, where we are working with our 10 councils 

to identify towns where we can come in and hopefully 

stimulate a different town centre economy – perhaps 

more residential with more cafés, bars or restaurants. 

As part of that, we could create co-op and community 

spaces. Prestwich has a co-op there [Village Greens 

Community shop]. You see this more and more – 

co-ops using redundant retail space – but it’s whether 

or not we can factor that into some of our thinking 

around our Town Centre Challenge. We launched 

the first Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) 

in Stockport to lead the regeneration of the Town 

Centre West. It will be interesting to see how we 

might ensure that the co-op sector is represented in 

terms of the decision making and the thinking about 

the regeneration of the town centre, because it’s 

important in terms of building in that sustainability 

and that sense of new community – which might not 

be there if you simply leave it to the private sector. 

Lewisham and Bromley councils supported 

Lewisham Credit Union with grants to give 

interest-free loans to people facing eviction. 

Would you consider a similar homelessness 

prevention scheme? 

We’ve looked at that with regards to universal credit, 

recognising there is this gap of four to six weeks before 

people receive their money. We haven’t yet come up 

with any viable proposal but I’m still interested to 

see whether we could have a small-scale scheme of 

that kind. Of course, the Homelessness Reduction 

Act is now a law and it requires public bodies to take 

actions to mitigate risks of homelessness, and I think 

stop-gap funding, to help people between the point 

where they are eligible for universal credit and the 

moment when they get the money, is something we 

need to continue to look at. It could prevent the spiral 

into debt that can happen if people are left waiting 

three or four weeks for their money. 


Is there a need to redefine affordability? 

Yes. Paul Dennet, the city mayor of Salford, was very 

keen that we develop our own Greater Manchester 

definition of affordability linked to the real labour 

market here, as opposed to the national or London 

market. We have set the set the target of delivering 

50,000 truly affordable homes – according to the 

Greater Manchester definition on affordability. Work 

is ongoing on that but we want to link it to real wages 

and the regional economy, so that’s our commitment. 

Can planning processes leave room for 

heat and energy efficiency co-ops to help 

you meet the 2038 low-carbon target? 

This is a big deal, because you need a plan that 

accelerates progress in the next five years, and it’s 

going to require the whole society to change, not just 

councils. It has to involve everybody thinking about 

different ways of working and doing things. 

There is an opportunity for co-op renewable energy 

schemes, possibly solar and ground pumps. But what 

2038 means is that all ideas have to be on the table 

and all parts of society have to think how they could 

help. The key question for me is: can you do that 

while helping people bring down their energy bills? 

And how can you create new ways of financing that 

will allow people to borrow and to invest in these 

projects that then can be repaid back? 

We want these ideas brought to us and we’re hoping 

to get funding from the government. And my message 

for co-ops is to get ready – there is an opportunity and 

the co-op sector might be better placed than others. 

I also think there are opportunities in transport. 

We’re looking at clean air zones. We would want to 

create incentives for electric vehicles. You’ve got taxi 

companies that are going to have to acquire new 

vehicles because we want to move to much cleaner 

taxis that operate at consistent standards. And it 

might be that we encourage co-ops of taxi drivers to 

help people to borrow to buy these vehicles. 

There’s change coming through the climate 

imperative that might break things up and allow 

opportunities for new ownership models to emerge. 

We all love what the co-op movement stands for. 

It’s specifics that are right for that moment in time – 

finding that right spot that is going to be the key. 

More broadly, I would make an appeal through for 

the co-op movement to become quite full-throated in 

support for more devolution across the country, both 

in terms of more powers for a city like ours, but also 

to fill in the gaps around the country. What we are 

beginning to feel is that when you have power held at 

this regional level, bottom-up change becomes much 

more doable. Whitehall is too far from the ground to 

stimulate co-op ownership and development. 

If everywhere starts getting devolution, you create 

the conditions for much more bottom-up change – 

more capability at our level to borrow, to support 

new forms and new sectors of the economy. The 21st 

century is going to be driven more bottom-up, is going 

to be led by cities and that can be hand in hand with 

the co-operative movement. 

“There is an opportunity and 

the co-op sector might be 

better placed than others” 


BY ANCA VOINEA 

When a business’s culture is properly 

aligned with personal values, drives, and 

needs, it can help to unleash energy and 

help the organisation thrive. With co-ops 

driven by specific values and principles, 

it can be argued that their approach 

leads to the emergence of a specific 

organisational culture. 

Yet while organisational culture has 

been studied extensively around the 

world, that of co-ops has been overlooked. 

In February 2018, Harvard Law Review 

defined corporate culture as the tacit 

social order of an organisation, which 

shapes attitudes and behaviours. 

So what is co-operative culture? Ed 

Mayo, secretary general of Co-operatives 

UK, says: “If you ask people to think of a 

time when their co-op was at its very best, 

the answers are typically about co-op 

culture – how people pulled together, 

achieved something ambitious, took 

care of those in need. All of these reflect 

behaviour, attitudes and beliefs – and 

this is what we mean by co-op culture.” 

Mr Mayo thinks there is no one identity 

across organisations, but multiple 

personalities influenced by factors 

such as environment, colleagues and 

the nature of a co-op’s work. “What 

ties us all together are the underlying 

co-op values and principles,” he adds. 

The topic was explored in a 

2004 article in the Journal of Rural 

Co-operation, which looks at agricultural 

co-ops in the USA. It is based on 30 

interviews with regional and local co-op 

managers by author Julie A. Hogeland in 

the years 2000/2002. 

Examining the unified aspect of 

co-op culture, the research suggests 

these include altruism, not exploiting 

the business for a profit; emphasising 

service over making money; preferring to 

subordinate individual goals to the good 

of the whole; and valuing equality. 

The study found that this is stronger 

in older, multi-commodity co-operatives 

“SO MUCH OF 

BUSINESS IS 

HARDWARE … 

CO-OP CULTURE 

IS THE SOFTWARE. 

JUST TRY RUNNING 

A COMPUTER - OR 

A BUSINESS - 

WITHOUT IT” 

that were created in an era when altruism, 

a core co-op value, mattered greatly 

to producers; but it is of relatively less 

importance to members of contemporary 

new-generation co-operatives. 

“Culture represents shared systems 

of meaning, including values, priorities, 

and beliefs. A focused organisational 

culture gives a co-operative a sense 

of mission that makes it a formidable 

competitor,” reads the paper. 

Mr Mayo says co-op culture is also 

important for authenticity. “There are 

huge potential gains when people come 

together around shared values, but for 

so many companies, the gap between 

their values and reality is a gulf. This can 

create cynicism and disengagement. 

“It’s important values are not just 

a poster on a wall; they must be reflected 

in genuine behaviour. It’s the large and 

small actions taken every day that create 

a truly co-op culture – which becomes an 

asset and a point of difference.” 

While there has been a sea change in 

mainstream business towards culture 

and purpose, Mr Mayo thinks the most 

common mistake is to believe that 

executive leaders lead action on culture. 

He adds: “At their best, they facilitate. 

They help make it possible for people to 

act in line with their own values. What 

executive leaders can do, because they 

are so visible, is to mess things up, as 

we know from countless examples in the 

corporate world – so integrity matters. 

How can co-ops revive their culture? 

Mr Mayo says: “Think about which 

co-ops’ brand values and culture you 

respect and would like to emulate – 

many I’m sure would be pleased to help 

others learn and develop. We are always 

happy to make introductions. So much 

of business is hardware. Money, sales 

inventory, buildings…. Co-op culture is 

the software. Just try running a computer 

– or a business – without it.” 


CO-OP CULTURE & 

RELIGION 

BY ANCa VOINEA 

GEORGE JACOB 

HOLYOAKE 

Around the world, religious groups 

are setting up co-operatives to provide 

services for their local communities – 

which is fitting, because the co-op values 

of equality, social responsibility and 

caring for others resonate with the values 

of different faiths. 

In his 1996 Background Paper to the 

1995 Statement of Co-operative Identity, 

Ian MacPherson noted that co-operatives 

around the world “have developed 

within a rich array of belief systems, 

including all the world’s great religions 

and ideologies”. 

And while Christian or Muslim 

communities are setting up credit unions 

as ethical alternatives to traditional 

banking institutions or payday lenders, 

secularists are adopting co-operation as 

a substitute for religion. 

A 2016 report by the University of Bristol 

found that faith values are important to 

how and why faith organisations engage 

in providing assistance, activism or 

advocating alternative forms of finance, 

and these tend to drive holistic and 

personal approaches to addressing 

people’s needs. According to the research, 

faith values can overlap with other faith 

and ethical values to enable successful 

forms of collaboration with others in 

relation to welfare, campaigning and 

developing more ethical approaches 

t ofi n a n c e . 

Now famous all over the world for its 

federation of worker co-operatives, the 

Mondragon co-operative movement was 

founded by Jose Maria Arizmendiarrieta, 

a Catholic priest who wanted to help u 

32 | AUGUST 2019 


“ROGER’S 

FAITH GIVES 

HIM A STRONG 

BELIEF IN 

EQUALITY. 

CLEARLY, THERE 

ARE CROSSOVERS 

BETWEEN 

A RADICAL 

CHRISTIAN 

POSITION 

AND CO-OP 

PRINCIPLES” 

as a student at Cambridge, where he met 

an American missionary and experienced 

a transcendental moment. This made him 

realise that he had to find ways to put his 

faith into action. 

In later life, his experiences in the 

workplace convinced him there was a 

role for Christians in business; but the 

structures where he worked did not allow 

him to do what he felt was needed. He 

proposed changes but the shareholders 

disagreed with him. 

But then came a visit to Israel, where he 

worked on a kibbutz making tools – and 

developed his ideas about worker co-ops. 

He says the Quaker business method 

helped his thinking on consensual 

decision-making – and he decided the 

co-operative model was the most suitable 

for putting his values into practice 

because it lacked the paternalistic 

dimension of Quaker businesses. 

Mr Sawtell was also one of the 

co-operators who helped to draft the rules 

of the Co-operative Production Federation, 

later known as the Industrial Common 

Ownership Movement (ICOM) rules. ICOM 

would merge with the Co-operative Union, 

forming Co-operatives UK – and the new 

rules were put to test at the Daily Bread 

Co-operative, which Mr Sawtell founded. 

Daily Bread opened its store in October 

1980 and it has been seeking to live up to 

its original ideals ever since, providing 

quality, wholesome food at a fair price. Its 

continued success saw it win the Growing 

Co-operative category in the Co-op of the 

Year Awards 2017. 

Even today, almost 40 years later, Daily 

Bread has a strong Christian ethos, with 

u his congregation in Mondragon, 

the Basque Country, as the town tried 

to recover from the Spanish Civil War. 

In 1956, he created a social business based 

upon the principle of equality. He saw 

co-operatives as the perfect solution to 

the town’s unemployment crisis. 

Since then, Christian groups 

around the world have set up similar 

co-operative ventures. Among them was 

Roger Sawtell, founder of Northamptonbased 

Daily Bread Co-operative – recently 

given a Lifetime Achievement Award at 

the Co-op of the Year Awards 2019. 

Talking to Nick Matthews, chair of 

Co-operatives UK, he explained how 

after a 20-year career as an engineer 

at Spear and Jackson in Sheffield, he 

started looking for ways to put his faith 

into practice. 

“Roger’s faith gives him a strong belief 

in equality,” says Mr Matthews. “Clearly, 

there are crossovers between a radical 

Christian position and co-op principles.” 

An Anglican, Mr Sawtell lives in 

a Christian community with his wife of 61 

years, Susan, a Quaker. 

Although he attended church at 

Wortley, Yorkshire, during his childhood, 

the turning point in his faith came to him 


prayers most mornings before the store 

opens and communion at least once a 

fortnight. The co-op is committed to giving 

away a percentage of its annual turnover 

to causes ranging from educational 

projects in developing countries to local 

schemes such as Northampton Soup and 

the Hope Centre. 

John Clarke, a current member of the 

co-op, says: “Daily Bread was founded 

from a Christian group that was part of 

a local church. This was similar to how 

some of the early co-operative societies 

were formed, with concern about people 

rather than profit. Supporting members 

and working together for a common goal 

are good social and Christian values. 

“Since Daily Bread was founded in 1976 

and started trading in 1980, those values 

have always been present in our way 

of thinking and how we manage 

ourselves and conduct business. 

Of course, those values are not exclusive 

to the Christian faith, but our 40 years 

trading has been a demonstration that 

these values are strong enough for 

us – and many others in the worker 

co-operative movement – to survive the 

downs in the economy and enjoy the 

fruits in good times.” 

But if faith acted as an incentive 

for religious communities to develop 

co-operative businesses, so too did a lack 

of belief in religion. 

In his lecture at the opening of the 

Secular Hall in Leicester in 1881, George 

Holyoake talked about his vision of a 

secular society in which religion was based 

on “the simple creed of deed and duty”, 

with personal and society welfare at heart. 

Stephen Yeo, in his book Victorian 

Agitator – George Jacob Holyoake, 

tells how the co-operator’s outspoken 

secularism landed him with six months’ 

jail for blasphemy in Gloucester in 1843. 

Yeo describes how, for Holyoake, secular 

values of unity and tolerance could 

render co-operative efforts possible. 

Later in his life, Holyoake sought to 

engage with preachers, Quakers and other 

faiths in an attempt to involve them in the 

co-operative movement. An Owenite 

social missionary, he was also influenced 

by John Stuart Mill’s utilitarianism. He 

served as president of the first day of the 

1887 Co-operative Congress and wrote 

about the history of the movement. 

Is co-operation like a religion? Prof 

Yeo writes: “I have watched many 

co-operators during the last 50 years living 

out their attachment to their societies and 

their movement as if to a religion, with 

a dynamic faith – often against the odds 

and after many defeats – as freely chosen, 

as open and voluntary and as binding, as 

any other religious faith.” 

And he suggests that modern advocates 

on co-operative and mutual enterprises 

could promote not just an economic 

model, but also a co-operative ethic and 

even spirituality. 

When he considers the lessons today’s 

co-operators can take from Holyoake, 

he says: “The first thing to take away 

from Holyoake’s work is to respect other 

people’s beliefs and be sceptical about 

certainties, and to see co-operative 

societies as societies which include 

differences of opinion in religion and 

party political terms, combined with 

unity around actions. Holyoake was 

always very sceptical about worldly 

certainties – he said he did not know.” 

Prof Yeo adds: “Co-operation is not an 

ideology, it’s a set of practices – because 

what we’re actually committed to is a set 

of values and principles in practice. What 

we are trying to do is prefigure a different 

way of producing ideas and goods, bread 

and knowledge.” 

While opinions vary when it comes to 

the question of considering co-operation 

as a religion, there is general agreement 

on the role co-ops play in bringing 

together a diverse mixture of people for 

common goals. 

“It’s a good thing to be actively 

recruiting to a social and moral set 

“CO-OPERATION 

IS NOT AN IDEOLOGY, 

IT’S A SET OF PRACTICES. 

BECAUSE WHAT WE’RE ACTUALLY 

COMMITTED TO IS A SET OF 

VALUES AND PRINCIPLES 

IN PRACTICE. 

WHAT WE ARE TRYING 

TO DO IS PREFIGURE 

A DIFFERENT WAY OF PRODUCING 

IDEAS AND GOODS, BREAD 

AND KNOWLEDGE” 

of values,” says Prof Yeo. “Partly because 

our set of values is all about forms of 

association and forms of organisation, we 

have a commitment to a very particular 

way of producing a future society. 

Organisations and associational forms 

are crucial to us. Just using the word 

‘social’ doesn’t make you a co-op.” 

“We’re about a very particular way 

of arranging the powers of production, 

distribution, education and government. 

That was a Rochdale commitment and it 

puts education and government on same 

level as production and distribution – 

ideas as well as making and selling bread. 

So, if we are to be evangelical, then it has 

to be about particular forms of collective 

self-governing, not about ‘isms’ but about 

ways of getting together.” 


HOW DO YOU MARKET THE 

CO-OPERATIVE 

IDENTITY? 

BY MILES HADFIELD 

Questions surrounding co-op culture and identity are vital to current efforts 

to double the size of the UK movement: how do we preserve that culture during 

the growth process, and how do we make that culture inclusive to new people brought 

into the movement? This year’s Co-op Congress, held in Manchester in June, looked 

at how to grow the movement – and included a look at the implications of this for 

marketing the co-op identity, and questions on how to engage youth in co-op culture. 

Co-operative identity came under the 

microscope at a Co-op Congress 2019 

session when representatives from two 

leading co-ops discussed ways it can 

be marketed. 

Pete Westall, chief values officer at the 

Midcounties Co-op, whose operations 

include retail, funerals, energy, telecoms 

and childcare, said embedding the 

identity “at the heart of customer 

experience” is especially important, 

given the society’s range of operations. 

He gave the example of the Midcounties’ 

nursery business, Co-op Childcare. With 

all nurseries rated good or outstanding 

by Ofsted, the society had “licence to do 

something a bit different”. 

Firstly, Midcounties is using member 

insight, and encouraging every parent 

who has a child at one of its nurseries to 

become a member. 

“How do we reflect member needs and 

wishes in what we do in those nurseries?” 

asked Mr Westall. “We ask their priorities. 

They came back saying it was education 

– with education on the environment at 

the top.” 

In response, the society set up an ecoschool 

programme, showing children 

where food comes from, and ensuring 

food transparency in the nursery’s meals. 

This drive to put a message consistently 

across all nurseries is replicated 

throughout the society, with member 

experience the key to Midcounties’ 

co-op culture. “Putting members at the 

heart of what we do is important,” said Mr 

Westall, “and we have one person on our 

executive team whose job that is. 

“The culture is different – for the 

first time there is accountability at 

management level to make sure we stick 

to those values.” 

Different challenges in establishing 

a co-op culture among members is faced 

by Openfield, the UK’s only national grain 

marketing co-op – a large organisation 

with a turnover of £650m, supplying 

numerous high-profile customers. 

Marketing manager Richard Kaye 

described efforts to “get everyone on 

board with what we are”, including the 

farmers who own it, its customers and 

i t ss t a ff . 

To do this, Mr Kaye led efforts to clean 

up Openfield’s “muddled” messaging and 

branding, to explain simply the full range 

of its services and client base. 

He said Openfield is using the word 

“partnership” to stress its co-operative 

difference from foreign-owned grain plcs 

who send their profits overseas. 

All these messages are integrated, he 

added, so that “everyone can talk about 

how they add value to the Openfield 

Partnership”. 

Asked why he had opted for the word 

partnership, Mr Kaye said communicating 

the co-op identity is a “challenge”. 

“Partnership is my modern way of 

translating it,” he said. “We consulted the 

farmers and people didn’t understand 

‘co-operative’; but they did understand 

‘partnership’. As we move forward I want 

to go back to that. A line in the material 

does say we’re the only national grain 

marketing co-op.” 


TEACHING 

YOUNG 

PEOPLE 

ABOUT CO-OPERATION 

Another session at Co-op Congress looked 

at co-op education, where panellists 

tackled the difficulties of bringing young 

people into the culture of co-operation. 

Jonny Gordon-Farleigh from Stir to 

Action described his organisation’s New 

Economy Programme, which works 

with people aged 25-45, on issues such 

as crowdfunding, community wealth 

building and sustainability. 

Stir To Action is also training young 

people to host workshops, and helping 

18-35s in Brixton develop community and 

co-op enterprises to deal with local needs 

and issues. 

With its BAME partners giving 

referrals, Stir To Action has also set up 

international residentials, which included 

a visit from Mississippi co-op city project 

Cooperation Jackson. 

“We’re also working with book clubs 

… it’s a good way of engaging with youth 

looking for alternatives. Culturally, 

young people don’t like to identify as 

entrepreneurs, they are more interested 

in collaboration. Book clubs give them 

a chance to learn about this business 

model and get the skills.” 

He added: “I don’t think older 

organisations can repeat what we do by 

reading about millennials; more funding 

is needed for partnerships.” 

Asked why this was the case by Simon 

Parkinson, principal and chief executive 

of the Co-operative College, Mr Gordon- 

Farleigh said: “To a large degree it can't 

be authentically reproduced; it needs 

partnerships.” 

He added: “Some things are culturally 

native to younger generations,” pointing 

out that the Stir To Action team is now 

finding similar difficulties itself as it 

engages with the youngest generation as 

it enters the arena. 

“We need co-design and co-delivery 

with young generations,” he said. “Why 

is there such a lack of diversity? We invite 

people of colour but we are not involving 

them in the production of those events; 

it’s the same with young people.” 

He added: “Having younger members of 

staff helps but there’s still a huge cultural 

issue around older organisations.” 

Tanya Noon from Central England 

Co-op responded: “I do have to defend 

our work with young people; we bring a 

lot of expertise to the table. We found the 

youngsters did want to learn from us. It’s 

intergenerational work – it’s important to 

pass on our skills.” 

She told delegates how her society was 

helping young people set up co-ops. 

“We’re planting a seed to get them to 

look at co-ops … we connect them to the 

Hive, and students learn about consumer 

and worker co-ops. Students enjoy peer 

group working.” 

She said this means that students no 

longer saw the society’s stores as “just 

another shop” and now favour them over 

rival retailers. 

BY MILES HADFIELD 

Vivian Woodell, on the panel to discuss 

his role in the foundation of Student 

Co-op Homes, said: “The way generations 

relate to each other has shifted. As long 

as you approach people in an open way, 

don’t tell them how to live, they are 

willing to engage.” 

He said young people were keen to 

learn about alternative business models 

– giving the example of students in 

Sheffield, where these models are not 

taught; in response, they have set up their 

own forum. 

Mr Woodell also discussed his time 

at the Phone Coop, when he led the 

organisation's efforts to help students set 

up housing co-ops. 

A group in Birmingham was struggling 

to get a mortgage so the Phone Coop 

bought a house and leased it to 

them.“They’ve improved the property, 

added value and built two room,” said 

Mr Woodell. “We repeated the exercise 

in Sheffield, then a group in Edinburgh 

set up.” 

He called for more resources to scale 

up the model, including the development 

of secondary co-ops and the use of share 

issues to raise finance. 

“This is an opportunity to reach people 

at an important time in their lives, and 

open up the possibility of getting them 

involved in the co-op movement,” he 

said. “It’s an alternative to experiencing 

the cynical world of landlords and 

a chance to learn what they can achieve 

by working together.” 

He added: “Many of those founders 

are now working in co-ops. One is 

youth representative on the Co-op 

Group Members Council and working at 

Phone Co-op; others have gone and 

started co-ops.” 

JONNY GORDON-FARLEIGH 


CO-OP CULTURE AS A DANGEROUS IDEA IN 

VICTORIAN 

BRITAIN 

BY REBEcCa HARVEY 

There is much frustration within the 

co-operative movement that few people 

know about the model beyond food 

stores and funeralcare. It is not on the 

syllabus of most business schools, and 

unless you live near, work for, engage 

with or stumble across independent 

co-ops, they are hard to find. As the 

introduction to Co-operatives UK’s 

Co-operative Economy Report 2018 asked: 

“Despite providing solutions to so many 

problems, with record membership 

figures and demonstrating incredible 

resilience, why do co-ops remain the best 

kept business secret in the UK?” 

But they are more than businesses. One 

educational institution showcasing the 

impact of co-ops to students is Manchester 

University, which is running an English 

Literature module on Competition, 

Co-operation and Happiness: Dangerous 

Ideas in Victorian Britain. 

Led by Dr Michael Sanders, the course 

starts by looking at three key ideologies 

of the early 19th century – political 

economy, utilitarianism and Owenism 

– before exploring some of the ways in 

which ideas of competition were revised 

later in the 19th century as a result of the 

ideas of John Ruskin and Charles Darwin. 

The final third of the course 

examines the efforts of the co-operative 

movement to create an alternative to 

the individualistic, competitive culture 

fostered by industrial capitalism. It looks 

at how this was reflected in co-operative 

periodicals at the time, from Our Circle 

(aimed at co-operative youth) and 

Women's Outlook (the magazine of the 

Co-operative Women’s Guild) to Millgate 

Monthly (a cultural magazine aimed at 

a co-operative public) and Co-op News 

itself. 

“I grew up in rural Devon, and even 

there, ʻthe Co-op’ was always part of the 

landscape,” says Dr Sanders. His teenage 

years coincided with the anti-apartheid 

movement, which the Co-op backed. 

“You could shop in the Co-op safe in 

the knowledge that there was no South 

African produce there. And then the 

Co-op suddenly changes from being just 

another shop on the high street to being 

a shop on the high street that was a little 

bit different.” 

From that early political awakening, 

he became interested in the Chartist 

movement and other aspects of working 

class history. “The great working class 

success story of the 19th century is the 

co-operative movement,” he says. “That 

story of how 24 men from Rochdale 

changed the world is just mind blowing 

and it spins off in so many different 

“THE 

THING ABOUT 

VICTORIAN 

LITERATURE IS 

THAT IT'S NOT 

A REAR VIEW 

MIRROR,” SAYS 

DR SANDERS. 

"IT'S STILL WITH 

US, STILL SHAPING 

US AND ACTUALLY 

IT MIGHT BE THE 

FUTURE” 


directions. I thought: ʻI’ve got to find 

a way of teaching this’.” 

Dr Sanders wanted to do something 

positive, away from the ʻheroic defeat’ 

stories labour history events are, in his 

view, often relegated to – while making it 

contemporary and relevant. 

“The thing about Victorian literature is 

that it’s not a rear view mirror,” says Dr 

Sanders. “It’s still with us, still shaping 

us and actually it might be the future. 

Take precarity. Yes in a sense it's a new 

problem, but if you study 19th century 

working practices, precarity was the 

name of the game.” 

He was interested to see if there was 

a way of bringing classical Victorian 

literature into a meaningful relationship 

with the co-operative movement: “So 

much middle-class Victorian literature 

is imbued with the idea of competition 

and competitive culture – and on the 

other side we’ve got co-operatives and 

co-operative culture. Both of them make 

claims that they’re concerned with 

human happiness.” 

One of the publications students find 

most interesting is Our Circle, which ran 

from 1907 to 1960. It was a magazine 

aimed at young children and teenagers 

containing informative articles (for 

example on the lives of prominent 

co-operators) alongside short stories, 

puzzles and lessons in Esperanto – 

a universal language that was popular 

within the co-operative movement. 

Dr Sanders says: “The students had a 

really interesting discussion about what 

they thought the age range was. The 

very first issue looked like it was trying 

to cover ages 8-18. By 1926 it’s more 12-18 

and by 1936 it’s almost 14-20. There’s a lot 

of interactivity [between the magazine 

and its readers] – there's a real sense 

of Our Circle saying ʻWhat do you want? 

Tell us what you are interested in. 

We'd like to know.’ 

“In comparison, Millgate Monthly was 

almost aspirational, more concerned with 

the distribution of cultural capital: ʻThis 

is what we think co-operators should 

look like’.” 

He believes that a “whole, genuine 

culture around co-operative societies 

has been lost.” While a few examples 

remain, societies ran sports clubs, choral 

societies, brass bands and day trips for 

colleagues and members. 

“If you read some of the debates in the 

1950s, you can see the Co-op, in a sense, 

start to lose its way a little bit,” says Dr 

Sanders. “One of the ways I think it does 

that is that ceases to take culture – and 

that education mission – as seriously as 

it once did. 

“This coincided with the Co-op 

becoming aware that it needed business 

expertise from outside the movement. But 

it forgets that previously its management 

had risen through the ranks, and 

therefore imbibed co-operative culture, 

values and ethos from the start – they 

were steeped in it. The people coming in 

weren’t malignant or vindictive, they just 

hadn’t been raised in it. So the culture 

begins to change. 

“Another great missed opportunity was 

not having the Women’s Co-operative 

Guild on the board of the CWS, despite 

them saying on numerous occasions, ‘we 

are your main purchasers, we are your 

main customers, we can tell you about 

the products you're making’.” 

The course ends with the students 

undertaking an individual research 

project on some aspect of co-operative 

culture, such as looking at the extent to 

which gender and class intersect with 

the ideas of competition, co-operation 

and happiness. 

“The project requires them to find 

something in the co-op periodicals that 

they’re interested in. The brief is to take 

four issues and design a précis and an 

analysis to go alongside it.” The aim is 

for some of the précis to be added to the 

Co-operative Archive website. 

Why does he think that learning about 

co-operatives is still important today? 

“Because the Co-op, from its inception 

and throughout its history, asks the 

questions that nobody else in mainstream 

business asks. The Co-op has a duty to its 

customers and its employees. But it also 

has a duty to the neighbourhood and 

environment where it’s located – and it 

has to find a way of balancing that. Who 

else in mainstream economics is thinking 

in these terms?” 

Dr Sanders adds: “The initial 

proposition of the Rochdale Pioneers 

was: ‘we can do this ourselves’. And 

that's what I really want my students to 

take away. This isn't a history of highpowered 

intellectuals of incredible 

experts, this is a story of ordinary men 

and women. It's the everyday democracy 

and the sense that everyone has 

a contribution to make. 

“If a group of weavers in Rochdale 

deprived of formal education, in the 

1840s, can make a success of it, then 

given the advantages we enjoy in terms 

of education and basic prosperity, you 

feel we should be making a much better 

job of it than we are.” 

“THE CO-OP, FROM 

ITS INCEPTION AND 

THROUGHOUT ITS 

HISTORY, ASKS 

THE QUESTIONS 

THAT NOBODY ELSE 

IN MAINSTREAM 

BUSINESS ASKS” 


CO-OP CULTURE IN 

EUROPE 

How can we bring together different national cultures in one 

organisation? Cecop looks back during its anniversary conference 


Forty years ago co-op apex bodies from 

six European states met in Manchester 

where they agreed to set up Cecop, the 

European Confederation of co-ops in 

industry and services. 

At the time, the UK was governed by 

Margaret Thatcher, who was breaking the 

UK’s post-war political consensus. Her 

approach changed economic and fiscal 

policy at national and global level, while 

economic liberalisation changed the 

world of work and curbed union power. 

Cecop president Giuseppe Guerini 

says the world now faces similar 

challenges to those of 1979, with 

illiberal populism on the rise in 

Europe and elsewhere. In response, he 

sees co-ops as playing a key role in 

safeguarding democracy. 

Speaking at the organisation’s 40th 

anniversary conference in Manchester 

on 21 June, he looked at its achievements 

in bringing co-ops together to share 

experience and speak with one voice. 

Vice president Siôn Whellens said: 

“The purpose of us getting together is 

understanding one another, tackling the 

sometimes uneven development of our 

movement across Europe and being ready 

for global challenges.” 

Rainer Schlüter, secretary general 

of Cecop from 1985 to 2004, said that 

in 1979 other sectoral organisations 

were representing European co-ops in 

retail, agriculture or banking. But these 

organisations were focusing on sectorspecific 

issues, rather than lobbying for 

the co-op business model. 

Co-op bodies from across six European 

states joined Cecop not only to defend 

the worker co-op model, but also speak 

for the co-op concept with a single voice 

before European institutions. Cecop’s 

permanent secretariat was established in 

1982 in Brussels. 

Initial successes included getting 

co-ops for the first time on the agenda of 

MEPs in 1981 and securing a debate on a 

European co-operative code. But agreeing 

a common message proved a challenge 

for Cecop’s members as well as other 

co-op sectoral organisations. 

“The histories and cultures of co-op 

movements were very different and had 

very different rules,” said Mr Schlüter, 

adding that movements across different 

countries were worried their national 

co-op cultures would disappear under a 

European co-operative statute. German 

co-ops were worried the ability of their 

apex body to approve the establishment 

of co-ops would be eroded; Italian co-ops 

had multiple organisations and voices; 

and French co-ops were afraid indivisible 

reserves rules could change. 

If Italy and France had strong industrial 

co-ops, Belgium had co-ops operating as 

an alternative economy model – and the 

UK movement included many radical 

worker-owned businesses. Holland had 

loose forms of self-managed enterprises, 

said Mr Schlüter, adding that Cecop 

needed to keep an open mind. 

In the late 1980s the European 

Commission (EC) fully recognised the 

social economy sector through the 

creation in 1989 of a social economy unit 

in the DG Enterprise. Following multiple 

reorganisations, the unit was replaced 

by the autonomous European Standing 

Conference of Co-operatives, Mutual 

societies, Associations and Foundations 

(CEP-CMAF), which adopted the name 

Social Economy Europe in 2007. 


In the mid 1990s Italian social co-ops 

joined Cecop, posing new challenges 

when it came to finding a common 

political message. These co-ops had 

been created in 1991 as worker co-ops, to 

provide employment for disadvantaged 

people; the model started being replicated 

all over Europe. 

Co-op federations from former 

communist states in Eastern Europe also 

started joining in the 90s – including 

the Poland’s National Union of Worker 

Co-ops (NAUWC). Its president Janusz 

Paszkowski said: “The decision by the 

federation to join Cecop was one of the 

best the organisation made at the time.” 

He said Cecop provided a platform for 

co-ops to showcase their role in other 

European countries. Back then co-ops 

in Poland were seen as the remnants of 

communism and authorities were looking 

to introduce policies to put an end to 

co-op enterprises. Around 18,000 co-ops 

(60%) were closed down. 

In 2004 Krakow was chosen to host the 

European Social Economy conference. 

“That conference gathered 800 people 

from Poland and different countries,” 

said Mr Paszkowski. “It was an important 

moment because it was the first time 

people in Poland heard about the social 

economy, what it stands for.” 

He added: “The reason why we 

joined Cecop was to show them that 

co-ops are important. 

“The experience from Cecop can be 

used to explain to politicians, and all 

those reluctant [to engage with co-ops] 

about what the sector can do.” 

Cecop continued to work with these 

countries to share other European states’ 

experiences and make the case for the 

co-op sector. It also played a key role in 

setting up Cooperatives Europe in 2005, 

which acts as the voice of all co-ops 

in Europe. 

“We are strong only when we are strong 

everywhere,” said Mr Schlüter. 

Currently, Cecop represents 40,000 

co-ops with 1.3 million members; these 

all come from EU countries, but Cecop is 

keen to have co-ops in non-EU states join. 

“Our mission is to go east of what is 

today the EU,” said secretary general 

Diana Dovgan. 

A 2016 survey collecting membership 

data revealed that 77% of Cecop members 

are worker co-ops and 22% are social 

“SOCIAL CO-OPERATIVES MUST 

PROMOTE A CULTURE OF SOLIDARITY 

AND RESIST. THEY MUST BE READY 

FOR EVERYTHING THE FUTURE HOLDS 

FOR US, WHATEVER IT IS” 

co-ops. The organisation is keen to engage 

more with freelancer co-ops, community 

co-ops, multistakeholder co-operatives, 

platform co-ops and youth co-ops. 

With transformations in the world 

of work, Cecop intends to provide new 

tools to offer workers access to social 

protection and financial security. 

“We have to think about building 

alliances with co-ops in other sectors 

as well as other organisations,” 

said Ms Dovgan. 

Diego Dutto, director of the Italian 

association of co-operatives and social 

enterprises Legacoop, added: “If I 

think of the Europe of 1979, I think 

of a Europe that no longer exists. We 

need to respond to current challenges; 

we are the first generation that 

accepts the world might end due to 

climate change – but the market has 

to continue.” 

He added: “Yesterday [20 June] was 

World Refugee Day – our movement 

can contribute a culture of solidarity. 

What future can we expect? We need 

to respond promptly and organise. 

Social co-operatives must promote 

a culture of solidarity and resist. They 

must be ready for everything the future 

holds for us, whatever it is. " 

In 2013, the EC established its Working 

Group on Cooperatives. Mr Guerini thinks 

co-ops and other social economy actors 

need to continue to work together to 

ensure the digitisation of the economy is 

done in a sustainable, ecological manner. 

“We are not trendy ecologists like 

those in Silicon Valley – we believe 

sustainability has to do with how wealth 

is distributed,” he said, adding that 

co-ops need to respond to challenges 

posed by the digital revolution. 

Some public procurement benefits 

were obtained in 2014 when the European 

Parliament adopted new rules on public 

procurement. CECOP welcomed the 

adopted EU rules, especially the new 

criterion of the “most economically 

advantageous tender”, which allows 

public authorities to place a stronger 

emphasis in the award procedure on 

quality, social aspects, environmental 

considerations or innovation. 

In a video message to the conference, 

Ulla Englemann, head of Unit 

Advanced Technologies, Clusters and 

Social Economy at the EC, said co-ops 

had already proven their resilience 

during the 2008 economic crisis 

and their ability to adapt to major 

economic transformations. 

She called on the sector to keep 

showing that economic performance 

is not incompatible with social 

benefits. She thinks co-ops are 

suitable models for digital innovation 

and platforms and developing 

disruptive technologies. 

Juan Antonio Pedreño, president 

of Social Economy Europe, who has 

been a member of a local co-op in 

Murcia for 37 years, said: “Co-operatives 

are the backbone of social economy. 

There is momentum for the social 

economy to thrive in Europe. We need 

to make sure that the Social Economy 

Intergroup in the European Parliament 

is re-established.” 

Intergroups are unofficial groupings 

of MEPs who are interested in a particular 

topic formed at the start of each 

parliamentary term. 

Mr Pedreño also called on co-ops to 

continue to work with social economy 

actors to speak with a single voice. 



FINANCIAL 

MARKET$ 

Has Desjardins lost its 

co-operative mission? 


Has Canadian co-op Desjardins Group 

moved away from its original mission 

and co-op culture? A new study by the 

Institute of Research and Socio Economic 

Information (IRIS) argues that changes 

in the banking sector have impacted 

Desjardins’ own approach to meeting its 

members’ needs. 

In its report, the Montreal-based 

research institute examines the evolution 

of Desjardins from the moment it was 

set up by Alphonse Desjardins to its 

current position. Desjardins is the largest 

federation of credit unions in North 

America. The local credit unions are 

known as caisses. 

According to the research, Desjardins’ 

first shift in approach occurred in the 

1960s when workers started to earn 

more and – finding themselves in a 

more prosperous economy – wanted to 

own more property and luxury goods. 

They started turning to banks for loans 

to acquire them – and, in response, 

Desjardins increased its number 

of consumer loans. 

In 1961, its loans accounted for only 

8.8% of total assets, the research says – 

but in 1971 this proportion reached 19.3%. 

Since 2002 mortgages and loans for 

consumption represent on average 50% 

of the group’s total assets. 

34 38 | | AUGUST 2019

The paper also highlights that 

Desjardins has set the target of being 

a leader in terms of credit cards and 

consumer loans. This erodes the 

incentive to save, says the study – and it 

warns that Desjardins is supporting mass 

consumption and indebtedness. 

Another change ushered in by the 

1960s was a move away from a desire 

to emancipate people to a desire for 

managerial efficiency. 

During this period, to free Quebec from 

its dependence on US capital, the leaders 

of the federation proposed the use of 

savings from depositors to stimulate local 

business development. Desjardins also 

started acquiring enterprises and created 

a number of financial subsidiaries. 

But while this approach offers 

a variety of services, the researchers 

say it also affects the co-operative's 

mission. Because they provide complex 

financial services, these subsidiaries 

are run by professionals who are not 

familiar with the co-operative movement 

– which means they might have 

problems integrating. 

To address this, the confederation 

has decision-making power for the 

whole movement of caisses, controlling 

the subsidiaries and centralising the 

resources of the individual caisses. 

The report claims the federation no 

longer aims to put in place measures that 

contribute to the economic emancipation 

of its members, but rather to maximise 

returns and surpluses. And those who 

run the federation now come from 

management schools or the banking 

community, it adds: and because its 

management is no longer politically 

active but paid professionals, Desjardins 

has lost its mission. 

The report says another big 

transformation took place during 

the 1990s due to legislative changes. 

Traditionally banks had been forbidden 

from combining traditional banking 

and market activities, such as securities 

issues, insurance, brokerage and fiduciary 

management. But in 1991, changes to the 

law enabled them to form large financial 

conglomerates, regrouping several or all 

fields of financial activity. 

Because Desjardins was classed as a 

local bank it never had to comply with 

the law. From the 1990s, the situation 

changed and it started facing competition 

from other banks; the movement had to 

enter new markets. 

Since it cannot acquire capital by 

issuing shares, Desjardins could not raise 

capital when it wanted, as other banks 

could. After lobbying the government to 

enable it to have access to funds, a change 

in legislation enabled it to issue securities 

to raise funds from investors. This also 

means that the yield (interest) offered to 

investors must be high enough for them to 

want to invest in the first place. 

To attract investment, the report says, 

Desjardins started adopting similar 

criteria to other banks. Remuneration 

also resembles that of traditional banks, 

focused on bonuses dependant on how 

the bank is performing. 

In its 2000 annual report Desjardins 

said that it chose to comply with capital 

requirements imposed by international 

regulators. The federation began to 

increasingly define itself by the credit 

ratings granted to it by the major rating 

agencies. And since 2013, Desjardins has 

been considered one of the banks that are 

“too big to fail” and has to comply with 

Basel III regulations. 

To improve performance, the federation 

started developing a culture similar to 

that of traditional banks. The report says 

this is noticeable across three different 

areas: the organisation of work inside 

the caisses; operating costs; and the 

organisational structure. 

In terms of changes within the 

branches, many services were automated 

while service became more personalised, 

with cashiers being replaced by advisers. 

Advisers also get financial incentives 

for selling the most beneficial financial 

products for Desjardins. 

The reducing of operating costs is 

visible in two ways. The first is the 

merger or closure of the caisses that have 

low growth potential. The movement 

went from 1,350 caisses in Quebec in 

1990 to 671 in 2002. It now has just 

238 caisses. 

“CONTRARY TO WHAT ALPHONSE 

DESJARDINS WANTED, CAPITAL IS 

NO LONGER A MEANS, IT HAS BECOME 

THE MAIN OBJECTIVE,” 

The second cut in costs came in the 

amount paid to members via rebates – 

which depends on how much members 

spend with the co-op. 

The amount spent on rebates in 2016 

decreased by more than two-thirds since 

2002: from CA $490m to $144m – or 58% 

of the surplus amount in 2002, falling to 

8% in 2016. 

The total amount returned to members 

in 2017 was $202m while in 2018 this 

amounted to $253m. While there has 

been an increase, these figures represent 

only 9.4% and 10.9% of the annual 

surplus, says the report. Members who 

have more financial products with the 

co-op are rewarded more than those who 

do not use all of its services. 

The research argues that the closure 

of branches and the lowering of rebates 

paid to members impacted the mission of 

the co-op, which was set up by Alphonse 

Desjardins to provide financial services 

to those who could not afford them. 

After outside investors were attracted 

in the 1990s, Desjardins’ structure 

with local branches, regional caisses 

and the national federation also 

changed. The regional caisses were 

abolished and the leading organisation 

is now the central federation of caisses 

of Quebec. 



LEADERSHIP 

The impact of co-operative culture 

on leading a business 


Suma, the UK’s largest independent 

wholefood wholesaler, has recently 

embarked on a leadership development 

journey – and doing this in a co-operative 

way can be a challenging process. 

Jenny Carlyle, strategic HR officer at 

Suma, shared some of the co-op’s key 

learnings during a session at Co-op 

Congress in Manchester in June. 

Suma was converted into a co-op in 

1977, after its founder sold it to staff 

two years after setting it up. Since then, 

the business has been run as a worker 

co-op, operating an equal pay policy. 

Ms Carlyle surveyed colleagues to find 

out what they thought about leadership. 

She found that worker owners wanted 

leadership and although they did not 

know what that might look like, they 

all pointed to the idea of collective 

leadership. This approach means that 

anybody can be a leader at any time; 

individuals step into leadership roles 

when appropriate or when there is a need 

in the organisation. When that need is 

over they will step back and continue 

what they were doing before. 

“The idea of collective leadership 

resonated with our values and principles 

and our structure,” said Ms Carlyle. 

Meanwhile, the co-op’s equal pay 

policy meant people chose to take extra 

roles for the good of the organisation 

rather than for financial incentives. 

Ms Carlyle started looking at how Suma 

could develop collective leadership, and 

asking what was stopping people from 

stepping into leadership roles. The survey 

revealed the main barriers were a lack 

of support and role clarity, with people 

stepping in and filling in roles as needed, 

without guidance. 

In light of this, Suma started 

a governance restructure to give people 

very clear responsibilities. It is now run 

by a board of nine people, replacing its 

former management committee of six. 

Those who wish to stand for the board 

have to complete a skills assessment in 

relation to the job description. Colleagues 

also need to second the application and 

explain why they think the person is 

suitable. The new process was devised 

to balance legal responsibilities, good 

competence and democratic rights. 

Suma has also set up a learning 

and development team, looking at 

membership skills within the co-op 

and trying to incorporate elements 

of coaching and reflective practice. 

While still at a very early stage 

of leadership development, the co-op is 

focusing on involving and supporting 

everybody wanting more responsibilities. 

Ms Carlyle says a key lessons is that it 

is important to identify what leadership 

means for an organisation and what 

leaders are expected to do. 

“Tailor existing leadership 

development literature to your skills and 

organisation,” she told delegates. 

Elsewhere in the movement, 

Lincolnshire Co-op is recruiting people 

at mid-career stage, particularly in food 

store and managerial roles. 

“They come from the plc world with 

the expectation to invest massively in 

technology, not necessarily in people or 

values,” said Heather Lee, the society’s 

head of people and performance. 

With its purpose in mind, Lincolnshire 

developed a nine-box talent matrix 

to define what they are looking for in 

employees. “Developing people is key to 


us and how we go about delivering our 

purpose,” she added. 

Three years ago, the society launched 

a Learn, Engage, Apply and Perform 

programme (LEAP) to help colleagues 

step up to store manager roles. Through 

the scheme, staff members can apply for 

an 18-month training process to develop 

their skills further. 

Some choose not to be store managers, 

while others opt for the promotion and 

go on to complete a level 3 retail team 

leader diploma in partnership with 

a local college. 

Those who come through the scheme 

can do a chartered manager degree 

apprenticeship BA through the University 

of Lincoln. As an apprenticeship 

“SOMETIMES WHEN TRADITIONAL 

PATHWAYS ARE NO LONGER AN 

OPTION YOU JUST HAVE TO LOOK 

FOR DIFFERENT WAYS” 

levy-paying employer, Lincolnshire 

Co-operative is using some of levy 

funding for these projects. 

Gavin Wilson, one of regional managers 

in the food business, was one of the first 

Lincolnshire staff members to apply for 

the LEAP programme. He started with 

an initial chat to his line manager, who 

asked about his development and where 

he wanted to be in the future. He said the 

scheme had boosted his confidence and 

given him the opportunity to network and 

make new contacts within the business. 

Other colleagues have chosen to move 

into head office roles through the scheme. 

Richard Bickle, a director at Central 

England Co-operative, pointed out that 

retail societies’ junior-to-senior schemes 

do not exist in the way that they used 

to, particularly due to the advancement 

of the national living wage. 

“Are there lessons that the retail 

societies can learn from people like 

Suma – who by definition are a flat 

organisation?” he asked. 

Ms Carlyle argued that while the job 

rotation approach worked for Suma, it 

might prove to be wrong for a co-op with 

a traditional hierarchy. 

“Sometimes when traditional pathways 

are no longer an option, you just have to 

look for different ways,” she said, adding 

that working in the frozen section for 

a few days a week can give workers an 

insight into what to want from a buyer. 

“The advantage is that there is no 

financial penalty in Suma when moving 

within different roles,” she added. 

Ms Lee said that LEAP helped those 

working in stores who wanted to 

become store managers. Meanwhile, the 

chartered management degree helped 

people who were in mid-career roles. 

“It is about the line manager having 

regular conversations with individuals to 

identify their aspirations,” she said. 

Lincolnshire store managers who have 

come through these schemes have much 

have higher retention and success rate. 

The society’s current chief executive, 

Ursula Lidbetter, was herself a trainee 

when she joined the organisation. 



LONG LIVE 

C0-OPERATIVES 

Mussolini could not kill the co-ops 

BY DaViD THOMPSON 

In April 1945, during Mussolini’s final 

days, he was hunted from town to town 

until he was seized, summarily executed 

and hanged publicly. 

His two decades in power had given 

him a long time to hone his murderous 

strong-arm tactics, which he used to rid 

himself of his enemies. 

Italy’s co-operative movement was 

among those to suffer his attacks: as 

beacons of democracy, self-help and 

communal economy – aligned with 

socialist, communist, Catholic or 

republican groupings – they were a strong 

voice with values that fascism wanted to 

wipe out by force. 

Whether at the hand of the Blackshirt 

Fascisti squadristi street gangs or, later, 

the courts, police and army, the co-ops 

of Italy were destroyed by the regime. At 

rallies such as in Udine in 1921, Mussolini 

called for his followers to “demolish the 

entire social-democratic superstructure”. 

Everything the co-ops owned was 

seized and turned over to the Fascisti 

government. Rome or Death: The Story of 

Fascism, a contemporary account from 

1923 by US writer Carleton Beals, depicts 

physical intimidation and the systematic 

destruction of democracy and civil 

society – with scores of pages recording 

the violent takeover of co-ops, with 

leaders murdered, beaten or intimidated. 

Not even the Catholic co-ops were safe. 

One notorious case was the Blackshirt 

assassination in 1923 of Fr Giovanni 

Minzoni, a popular priest who organised 

co-ops in Emilia Romagna and was an 

early member of Catholic social action 

party Partito Populari Italiano (PPI). 

Also targeted was Fr Luigi Sturzo, 

secretary general of the PPI, who saw rural 

co-ops as a tool to bring Christian dignity 

and community to the people and spoke 

strongly against fascism at the party’s 

national conference in 1923. Mussolini 

pressured the Vatican to remove him 

as head of the PPI; fearing for his life, 

Fr Sturzo fled Italy in 1924, seeking exile 

in London and later the USA. 

Fr Sturzo would become a father 

of the long-governing post-war Christian 

Democratic Party in Italy – and the Church 

now has him on the path to sainthood. On 

27 March 1946 – a year after Mussolini’s 

execution – he signed the editorial of the 

first issue of Co-operative Italy, published 

by sector body ConfCooperative. 

“My wish is that Cooperative Italy is not 

only the title of the weekly that reaffirms 

the idea and practice of co-operation 

between Italians, but the sign for the 

future of our country,” he wrote. 

After the war, three national co-op 

federations re-started; ConfCooperative 

to serve the Catholic-aligned co-ops, 


Legacoop to serve the socialist and 

communist aligned co-ops, and the 

smaller AGCI to serve the secular and 

republican aligned co-ops; all three 

have worked to build better co-ops – and 

when they unite on an issue, they have 

a platform which obtains political 

support across most political parties. 

To reverse the fascist eradication 

of co-ops, the three federations came 

together in 1946 to reassert their practice 

and promise. Together, at the start of 

national reconstruction, they supported 

adoption of co-ops directly into the new 

constitution, “as a form of mutual aid 

devoid of all private speculative intent. 

The law promotes and encourages the 

expansion of co-operation by means 

of the most suitable means, and provides 

suitable checks designed to guarantee its 

character and purpose.” 

Piero Calamandrei, a revered professor 

of law, spoke about the massive impact 

of World War II on the formation of 

the Italian constitution. “If you want 

to go on a pilgrimage to the place 

where our constitution was created, go 

to the mountains where partisans fell, to 

the prisons where they were incarcerated 

and to the fields where they were hanged. 

Wherever an Italian died to redeem 

freedom and dignity, go there, young 

people, and ponder: because that was 

where our constitution was born.” 

In 1947, the Basevi Law was adopted to 

regulate the affairs of co-ops and formed 

an important element in the success 

of the movement – including housing 

co-ops, as it legalised indivisible reserves. 

This allowed co-operatives to transfer the 

totality of their surpluses to a reserve. 

Exempt from corporate tax, these reserves 

have been the main source of capital 

for co-operatives 

The new constitution reaffirmed that 

co-ops were an economic and social form 

to be protected and supported by the state 

– a status unique to Italy, with parliament 

later adding more ground-breaking laws 

to support them. 

In 1985, the Marcora Law 

allowed redundant workers to use 

accumulated unemployment benefits 

to buy their old firm as a co-op. 

This has seen many firms saved as 

co-ops, and protected numerous jobs. 

In 1991, a law gave legal standing/ 

tax status to a new form of social and 

service co-operative. These co-ops were 

encouraged to provide services in health, 

social welfare and public service. Today, 

they employ over 400,000 people, serve 

over five million clients and achieve 

a turnover of €9bn. 

From 1992, a law required every co-op 

in Italy to contribute 3% of net profits to 

a national co-op development fund. There 

are now two national co-operative funds: 

Coopfond affiliated with Legacoop, 

(€440m) and Fondosvillupo affiliated 

with ConfCooperative (€120m). 

TOURING ITALY’S CO-OPS 

At the invitation of Walter Briganti 

of Unipol (an insurance company majority 

owned by several Legacoop-affiliated 

co-ops), I visited co-ops in Rome and 

Bologna in 1978. I have returned to 

Bologna and Emilia Romagna on three 

times, visiting co-ops and meeting 

leaders. Always at the back of my mind 

was the over 20-year history of Mussolini’s 

attack on the sector. 

In September of 2018, I toured round 

co-ops in the Lake Como area – which 

include consumers, workers, beekeepers, 

olive orchards, dairy farmers, fishermen, 

social services, health and a local guides’ 

co-op – Cooperativa Turistica Imago. 

Tours on its website, wimagolario. 

com, include one of the locations 

where Mussolini spent his last 

hours, on the northwestern shore of 

Como. It seemed fitting that it was 

a co-operative which led me to Mezzegra 

neighbourhood near Tremezzo, where 

Mussolini was executed. 

Cooperativa Social Azalea is just a few 

streets away. Created in 1985, it is a social 

co-op with 25 working members who 

create employment for disadvantaged 

youth and for disabled people. What a 

different world these new co-operatives 

seek to build. Italy’s co-operators are to 

be commended for building a thriving, 

expansive movement from the ashes 

of fascism. 

I am forever grateful to the Italian 

co-operators who did not let Mussolini 

kill their spirits or their co-ops. With 

all their organisational infrastructure, 

policies, objectives, reciprocity and 

strategies, the Italian co-operatives 

are probably the best national model 

of co-operative development in the world. 

THE COOPERATIVE 

MOVEMENT THAT 

MUSSOLINI COULD 

NOT KILL* 

70,000 

Co-operatives in Italy 

13 MILLION MEMBERS 

of Italian co-ops 

1.3 MILLION 

employees/worker owners (not 

including co-op 

insurance companies) 

137,000 

employees/worker owners 

of co-operatives in 1951 

7% 

of all Italians work 

at/for a co-op 

136.5 BILLION EUROS 

Turnover (not including 

co-op banks and insurance 

companies) 

1 OUT OF 3 

Italians buys goods or 

services from a co-op 

1 OUT OF 5 

Italians are members 

of a co-op 

1 OUT OF 8 

Italians uses a social/ 

health co-op 

*2017 STaTISTICS FROM THE 

ALLIaNCE OF THE ITALIAN 

COOPERaTIVES. A COMBINaTION 

OF THE STaTISTICS OF AGCI, 

CONFCOOPERaTIVE aND 

THE LEGaCOOP. 


COOP 

EXCHANGE: 

THE FUTURE OF CO-OPERATIVE GROWTH? 

A stock exchange is 

a place where the public 

can buy and sell securities, 

such as shares of stock, 

bonds and other financial 

instruments. What if there 

was such an exchange 

specifically for co-operatives? 

This was a question Stephen Gill 

began to think about last year: how can you 

grow the number of co-ops, while at the same 

time putting the ability to generate wealth into 

the hands of those who need it most? 

The solution? Coop Exchange, a mobile app that 

allows anyone in the world to invest in co-ops. 

A CO-OPERATIVE BACKGROUND 

The team behind Coop Exchange know co-ops. 

Stephen Gill, CEO and CTO, started out at Scotmid 

Co-operative, and has been running a successful 

software business for almost 20 years. VME is in 

the process of converting to a multistakeholder 

co-operative. Its chair is Ben Reid, who was the 

CEO of Midcounties Co-op for over 10 years, 

and now sits on the board of the International 

Cooperative Alliance (ICA). 

Coop Exchange seeks to solve two problems that 

many co-operatives face, says Stephen. 

“Firstly, it’s hard for small co-ops to operate on 

a loss while developing innovations. Uber lost 

$891m in 2018. It can do this by covering the losses 

with venture capital investment. It’s harder for a 

worker co-op of taxi drivers to do the same: because 

everyone owns one share, equity investment to 

cover the losses is trickier. 

“Secondly, the withdrawable share capital 

doesn't appreciate, which can make founders who 

put a lot of initial effort into a company reluctant to 

adopt the co-op model, as it makes repaying sweat 

equity harder.” 

A CO-OPERATIVE FUTURE 

Stephen believes the solution to both of these 

problems is to enable co-operatives to issue a new 

type of share: investor shares. These would give a 

dividend of the profits, but no voting rights. The 

members have full and democratic ownership, but 

they can accept investment from anyone across the 

world and reward the investors. 

The idea for this comes from the FairShares 

model, espoused by Rory Ridley-Duff at Sheffield 

Hallam University. FairShares is a philosophy for 

creating and sustaining networks of solidarity 

enterprises that share power and wealth among 

stakeholders. It integrates founders, producers, 

employees, customers, service users and investors 

– and it was this integration that inspired Stephen. 

“Investor shares would make it easier for driverowned 

co-op alternatives to Uber, for example, 

to operate on a loss while they grow, as they can 


shift the initial losses from workers to investors 

– and in exchange, give a share of the profits to 

them when they become profitable,” he says. These 

shares would be ‘traded’ on a ‘Coop Exchange’. 

“We have spoken with co-operative lawyers 

to address questions raised and make sure the 

legislation around investor shares is watertight 

while remaining true to the co-operative principles. 

And other co-operatives are on board too, from 

worker co-ops and retail societies up to the ICA.” 

Stephen gave a presentation on Coop Exchange 

to the ICA board in June. “Ben Reid introduced 

the agenda point and explained his role in the 

organisation,” he said, “and we demonstrated 

how Coop Exchange addresses many of the calls to 

action in the ICA’s own official documents.” 

These documents include The Capital Conundrum 

for Co-operatives paper (2016) and the Survey of 

Co-operative Capital (2015), which said: “Nonvoting 

shares can be used to preserve member 

democratic control while creating one or more 

classes of shares that can attract member or nonmember 

investment.” The document went on to 

predict a mechanism similar to the one proposed by 

Coop Exchange: “With advancing technology, this 

can be easily provided through an online platform, 

creating a private electronic marketplace.” 

The ICA’s Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade 

also highlights that co-ops need capital if they are 

to be established, grow and flourish – and that the 

end aim should be secure reliable co-operative 

capital while guaranteeing member control. 

Stephen adds: “The ICA was very receptive to 

the idea, and agreed to create a working group 

to fully evaluate Coop Exchange under the ICA 

audit committee. We hope the audit committee will 

report back to the board at the General Assembly in 

Rwanda in October.” 

Coop Exchange is itself a co-operative, based 

in Malta, and takes a small commission from 

investments above a certain threshold. To put Coop 

Exchange into practice, it has built an app. “Unlike 

any other co-operative financial institution, the 

app allows participation across time and space, 

from everywhere in the world at any time of the 

day, with a few clicks,” says Stephen. 

“At the end of the day, we want an economic 

system where stakeholders can democratically 

hold accountable those who make decisions 

affecting them. 

“We want to turn business from a force that 

suppresses democracy into a force that supports 

it, and we want the internet to be a space where 

users own the value they create, instead of being 

products that are sold. Our mission is to beat the 1% 

at their own game and do so in a way that changes 

the rules by making it fair for the 99%.” 

DAME 

PAULINE 

GREEN 

[Former MEP, president 

of the ICA, And Secretary 

general of Co-operatives UK] 

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED 

IN COOP EXCHANGE? 

I met Stephen in Malta – I’m a Maltese citizen and was 

already doing work with the Maltese co-op movement. One 

of the key issues during my presidency of the ICA was how 

to secure capital for existing, and start up co-ops, so Coop 

Exchange was immediately of interest to me. I am now on 

the board. 

WHY DO YOU BELIEVE IN THIS PROJECT? 

Because for both new and existing co-operatives, finding 

the capital to grow is hard. Managing the tension between 

finding investors and ensuring the rights of member-owners 

aren’t eroded is a balance, and many co-ops around the 

world have foundered when they haven’t got that balance 

right. All co-ops struggle with this. How do you make sure 

someone putting money into a co-op doesn’t remove 

members’ right to decide? I firmly believe the development 

of Coop Exchange is a significant opportunity to find 

a way to ease that tension. 

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES IN MAKING IT A REALITY? 

The challenge is making sure the co-op movement knows 

what Coop Exchange is and understands it. I’m really 

delighted to have a chance to help with that. 

The issue of capital will always be a dilemma, but Coop 

Exchange addresses this. It’s a modern, clever, innovative, 

digital approach that keeps co-op ownership in the hands 

of members while allowing a co-op itself to raise capital 

and grow. It’s a great project and product and Stephen 

himself is committed and determined. He believes he can 

make a contribution to co-op growth – and to poverty 

reduction too, as it is also a way of supporting working 

people to invest small amounts in co-ops, giving them 

a return that will enable them to grow their own incomes. 

u Find out more at WWW.COOP.EXCHANGE 


CHANNEL ISLANDS 

CO-OP CELEBRATES 

By Anca Voinea 

This year marks a milestone anniversary for the 

Channel Islands Co-operative, whose story began 

with the opening of a small St Helier corner shop 

in June 1919. 

Now one of the largest retailers in Jersey 

and Guernsey, the co-op traces its roots to the 

establishment of the Jersey Co-operative Society, 

which opened its first store at 41 New Street on 

30 June 1919, selling confectionery and bakery 

products. Two years later the society opened 

another store at 24 Charing Cross. 

The Jersey co-op carried on expanding the 

business and acquiring new buildings until the 

start of World War II, when the territory fell under 

German occupation. 

The Channel Islands were the only part of the 

British Isles to be occupied by the Nazis during the 

war. The Jersey co-operative was able to survive 

the challenges faced during this period – and came 

out of the war strong enough to enable payment of 

a dividend of 5p and a bonus of 1p. After the war, 

the Guernsey Society was established in 1947, with 

its first shop at No. 2 Market Street. 

At the time, both the Jersey and the Guernsey 

societies were supported by a CWS supervisory 

committee, which meant they were subject to 

UK taxation. They decided to merge in 1955 and 

registered an office in Jersey. The new Channel 

Islands Co-operative Society was no longer subject 

to UK taxation. 

Following the merger, the society continued 

to expand and venture into new sectors. Today it 

spans a range of businesses, running food stores, 

funeral homes, pharmacies, and healthcare 

centres. It boasts 125,000 members, the equivalent 

of 76% of the total population of the islands, 

to whom it returned a total of £7.97m in 2019. 

To celebrate its milestone anniversary, the co-op 

carried out a number of activities and promotions 

bringing together suppliers, customers and the 

local community to showcase how it has been 

making a difference over the past 100 years. 

“It’s important to look back at where we’ve 

come from,” says Carl Winn, head of marketing, 

membership and travel. 

“Many companies now have CSR policies but 

this has been the backbone of the co-operative 

model and what we’ve been doing for 100 years ... 

We are at the heart of the community and we will 

continue to be so.”

As part of its year-long centenary celebrations, 

the society set up a 100 Year Community Fund 

and 100 hours’ colleague volunteering. Launched 

in April, fund invited applications from local 

charities, schools and community groups needing 

funding for a project that will help them make a 

real difference in their community, and can be 

completed in 100 days. The 10 successful projects 

will each receive £1,000 to carry out the work. 

Colleagues also volunteered to support 

community projects and initiatives that are close 

to their hearts, while customers were invited to 

take part in a competition run in partnership with 

Jersey Dairy to create a new flavour of ice cream. On 

the week of the anniversary, the society hosted an 

event at the Jersey Zoo attended by 350 members 

and colleagues. Another initiative saw colleagues 

and members plant 100 trees. 

Customers also benefited from promotions with 

£100 off a selected range of goods in non-food 

stores and double dividend days. 

The society shared stories from past decades 

in local press, trying to raise awareness about 

its contribution to the local community. The 

celebratory activities were highlighted on social 

media using the hashtag #CICOOP100. 

“Like the founding members in 1919 we are 

temporary custodians of the business,” said 

Mr Winn, “and we need to ensure we plan for 

future generations so we are around for the next 

100 years. In terms of what’s next, it is doing more 

of the same and sharing our stories a lot more.” 

Right: Families enjoy the celebration at 

Jersey Zoo. Below a Channel Island Co-op 


REVIEWS 

How do we give economic power to the people? 

The making 

of a democratic 

economy: 

Building 

prosperity for 

the many, not 

just the few 

Marjorie Kelly 

and Ted Howard, 

Berrett-Koehler 

Publishers, US 

$26,95 (£21.60) 

“We’re radicals with our feet on the ground,” write 

Marjorie Kelly, executive vice president, and Ted 

Howard, president and co-founder of the Democracy 

Collaborative, a non-profit acting as a research and 

development lab for the democratic economy. 

Their latest book focuses on creating a democratic 

economy, which they describe as “one of the people, 

by the people, for the people”. 

Leading with the premise that state socialism 

will not work but neither will corporate capitalism, 

the two argue that while society democratised 

government long ago, it never democratised 

the economy. 

They identify capital bias, or favouritism 

towards finance and wealth-holders, as one of 

the issues with the current economic system. 

And they believe the emerging democratic 

economy is in stark contrast to today’s 

extractive economy: “There’s a role for everyone in 

nourishing this potential next system.” 

In addition to research, the Democracy 

Collaborative has focused on community wealthbuilding 

projects in Cleveland, which had fallen 

from being one of the USA’s wealthiest cities to 

one of its poorest after deindustrialisation. In 

collaboration with other local institutions, the 

Democracy Collaborative helped to set up Evergreen 

Energy Solutions, Green City Growers and Evergreen 

Cooperative Laundry, all known as the Evergreen 

Cooperatives. Evergreen Laundry’s clients include 

large local non-profits, such as the Cleveland Clinic, 

called ‘anchor institutions’ because of the way they 

are anchored in the local community. 

The book identifies seven principles of the 

democratic economy: community; inclusion; place; 

good work; democratic ownership; sustainability; 

and ethical finance. Its chapters then look at how 

these principles have been put into action. 

The book traces the emergence of the democratic 

economy in different communities, with case studies 

about various actors, including a former drug dealer 

from Cleveland who got a second chance when he 

got a job at the Evergreen laundry, and an ecological 

scientist behind an employee-owned environmental 

consulting firm in Hunt Valley, Maryland. 

Matthew Brown, Preston Council’s leader, 

also features in a chapter on how the town took 

inspiration from the Cleveland model to develop its 

own version of a democratic economy. 

However, Kelly and Howard warn that what works 

in Preston may not be the same as in Cleveland 

and what resonates with one community may not 

resonate with another. 

They also fear that the democratic economy has 

too many names – stakeholder capitalism, the 

solidarity economy, the new economy, the sharing 

economy, the regenerative economy, the living 

economy – which makes it harder for the different 

democratic businesses to speak with a single voice. 

“There’s a role for everyone in nourishing this 

potential next system,” they add, explaining that the 

book is aimed at everyone concerned about the fate 

of the planet and civilisation, rather than targeting 

just political scientists and economists. 

p Marjorie Kelly and Ted 

Howard. Below: Workers at 

the Evergreen Cooperative 

Laundry. Credit: Evergreen 

Cooperative 


Ted Howard: Architect of the Cleveland Model 

On 9 July 2019, Co-operative Futures and 

Co-operatives West Midlands hosted an evening 

with Ted Howard, at the co-operatively owned 

Warehouse Cafe in Birmingham. 

Mr Howard, who co-wrote The Making of 

a Democratic Economy with Marjorie Kelly (see 

review, left), has spent his career working in 

social justice advocacy and campaigning for 

a democratic economy. He co-founded the Democracy 

Collaborative in 2000 (he remains executive 

director) and was the architect of the green jobs and 

wealth-building program in Cleveland, Ohio, known 

as the Evergreen Cooperatives (or the Cleveland 

Model), which was based in part on the Mondragon 

Cooperatives in the Basque region of Spain. 

In 2010 he was named one of ‘25 Visionaries Who 

Are Changing Your World’ by Utne Reader magazine. 

“I am convinced that there is a very interesting, 

dynamic dialogue between the UK and the US,” 

he said. Mr Howard highlighted how, in the 1970s 

and 80s, UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher and 

US president Ronald Regan ushered in a bold 

neoliberal agenda that swept the globe. But, but 

added, “I am hopeful a new expression is emerging 

for our countries and for the world – that of 

a democratic economy”. 

Co-founding the Democracy Collaborative was a 

significant turning point for him. “That was when 

I began to make the journey beyond politics and 

policy reform to look at the key structural issues that 

are embedded in our capitalist economy,” he said. 

“What are alternative ways of organising 

enterprise that are more democratic, committed 

to and rooted in community, that produce greater 

benefit for people? That journey has led me into 

an inquiry about how can we envision a political 

economy that is neither centralised state socialism 

[...] nor this hyper-corporate capitalism that 

we have now.” 

A second turning point was the experience 

of Mondragon, which he has now visited six times. 

“It has influenced the work we’re doing in Cleveland. 

It’s illuminating to see highly democratic worker 

ownership done at scale. But as they say there, this 

is not paradise and we are not angels. There are 

still challenges.” 

The third part of his journey came when he was 

challenged to actually build a co-op structure after 

years of researching and writing about the model. “This 

is our work in Cleveland,” he said. “When we started, 

I said ‘how hard can it be, this isn’t rocket science…’ 

Eventually a friend of mine said ‘no, it’s not rocket 

science, it’s much harder than that’. The reality has 

been a transformative experience in my life.” 

In the 1950s and early 60s, Cleveland, Ohio was 

one of the five wealthiest cities in America, and one 

of the largest with a population of nearly 1 million. 

JD Rockefeller, the industrialist, was born there, 

and at one point it was home to 50% of the world’s 

millionaires. But then came the deindustrialisation 

of the 70s and 80s. Today Cleveland is one of the 

country’s five poorest cities, with a population 

of just 385,000. 

“There had been a sense of great futility,” said Mr 

Howard. “I was invited to come there by a number 

of institutions to try to find a new way to develop 

the economy. What we hit upon was to emphasise 

worker ownership rather than just a salary; 

emphasise decent work, not just a job; and we 

created a strategy, working with legacy institutions 

(universities, hospitals, cultural centres, etc) to 

encourage them to buy locally, while at the same 

time setting up worker co-operatives in the city to 

provide the services they need.” 

One of the challenges was to find people to run 

these services – often technical and complex, such 

as with industrial laundries – while remaining true 

to values. Bringing in co-operators and training 

them in this work didn’t work. “What did work was 

bringing in corporate experts and training them in 

co-operative culture,” says Mr Howard. 

“We made every possible mistake in the book, 

but we’re still standing.” 


DIARY 

Radical Routes 

FROM FAR LEFT CLOCKWISE: 

Radical Routes’ Summer Gathering takes 

place in Derbyshire on from 9-11 Aug; 

Energy4All holds its AGM and Conference 

in Lancaster, 20-21 Sept; Rochdale Town 

Hall hosts the Co-operative College 

centenary event on 26-28 Nov; and Ariel 

Guarco of the International Co-operative 

Alliance will welcome delegates to its 

global conference in Rwanda on 14-17 Oct 

9-11 Aug: Radical Routes 

Summer Gathering 

Radical Routes is a network of radical 

co-ops whose members are committed 

to working for positive social change. 

Anyone interested in finding out 

how worker co-ops and housing 

co-ops can work for positive social 

change is welcome to attend. 

WHERE: Belper, Derbyshire 

INFO: radicalroutes.org.uk 

20-21 Sep: Energy4All AGM 

& Conference – Lancaster 

This annual event is a chance to share 

learning and opportunities and help 

set Energy4All’s direction as a group 

of co-ops. The formal AGM takes place 

in the morning, hosted by chair Mike 

Smyth, followed by keynote speakers 

Vivian Woodell (founder and former 

CEO of the Phone Coop) and Natasha 

Hoare (a masters student at the 

University of Lancaster looking at how 

E4A can understand and support the 

development of its co-ops). There will 

be three workshop activities in the 

afternoon. Energy4All will cover the cost 

of accommodation and food. 

WHERE: Lancaster University 

INFO: s.coop/23g4n 

11-13 Oct: Co-operative Party Conference 

The annual event will include debates on 

policy; Q&As with elected representatives 

from the UK, Scottish and Wales 

parliaments and councils across the UK; 

a series of informative and constructive 

workshops and examples of best practice 

from local co-ops. There are networking 

opportunities, and members can take 

part in the Party’s diversity networks 

(including BAME, disability, LGBT+, 

women and youth). 

WHERE: Doubletree, Glasgow 

INFO: s.coop/22h9f 

14-17 Oct: ICA Co-operatives for 

Development Global Conference 

The conference will be structured around 

plenary sessions, sectoral and thematic 

seminars and discussion panels. It is 

open to co-operators worldwide and also 

to other civil society actors, development 

agencies, policy makers, institutional 

partners, government representatives, 

researchers, and all those who are 

concerned about development. 

WHERE: Rwanda 

INFO: kigali2019.coop 

7 Nov: Practitioners’ Forum 

Professional training event for people 

operating in key roles in co-op businesses 

large and small. Featuring a series of 

specialist forums: communications; 

finance; governance; HR; and membership, 

with delegates able to mix and match 

across forums. 

WHERE: The Studio, Manchester 

INFO: s.coop/23jas 

26-28 Nov: Co-operative College 

100 years: And now the future 

Rochdale and its town hall will be the 

venue for a highlight of the College’s 

centenary year. Speakers include Prof. 

Esther N. Gicheru (Principal, The 

Co-operative University College of 

Kenya), Andy Burnham (Mayor of Greater 

Manchester) and Angela Rayner (Labour 

MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, Droylsden 

and Failsworth). The conference will 

include a Gala Dinner in the Grand Hall. 

WHERE: Rochdale Town Hall 

INFO: s.coop/22h9h 

LOOKING AHEAD 

28 Feb – 1 Mar 2020 : Co-operative Retail 

Conference (Cheshire) 

10-20 June - Co-op Congress (Rochdale) 


The Fall of the Ethical Bank: how a large 

group of decision makers believed their own 

hype – and got it spectacularly wrong 

thenews.coop/fall

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Co-op News (August 2019)

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