May 2017

news
MAY 2017
ELECTION
What politicians
are offering and
what co-ops want
Plus... What’s next
for the Co-op Bank?
... Demystifying
governance ... Mixing
co-operation and tech
for strength
ISSN 0009-9821
01
9 770009 982010
£4.20
www.thenews.coop

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news
CONNECTING, CHAMPIONING AND
CHALLENGING THE GLOBAL CO-OP
MOVEMENT SINCE 1871
Holyoake House, Hanover Street,
Manchester M60 0AS
(00) 44 161 214 0870
www.thenews.coop
editorial@thenews.coop
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Anthony Murray
anthony@thenews.coop
DEPUTY EDITOR
Rebecca Harvey
rebecca@thenews.coop
EDITORIAL
Anca Voinea | anca@thenews.coop
Miles Hadfield | miles@thenews.coop
DIRECTORS
Elaine Dean (chair), David Paterson
(vice-chair), Richard Bickle, Sofygil
Crew, Gavin Ewing, Tim Hartley,
Erskine Holmes, Beverley Perkins and
Barbara Rainford.
Secretary: Ray Henderson
Established in 1871, Co-operative News
is published by Co-operative Press Ltd,
a registered society under the Cooperative
and Community Benefit Society
Act 2014. It is printed every month by
Buxton Press, Palace Road, Buxton,
Derbyshire SK17 6AE. Membership of
Co-operative Press is open to individual
readers as well as to other co-operatives,
corporate bodies and unincorporated
organisations.
The Co-operative News mission statement
is to connect, champion and challenge
the global co-operative movement,
through fair and objective journalism and
open and honest comment and debate.
Co-op News is, on occasion, supported by
co-operatives, but final editorial control
remains with Co-operative News unless
specifically labelled ‘advertorial’. The
information and views set out in opinion
articles and letters do not necessarily
reflect the opinion of Co-operative News.
Show election candidates the
co-op way
In the run-up to next month’s general election, the main party leaders
are talking about a stronger economy, giving power to the people and
ending austerity.
These talking points are the strength of co-operatives. Despite a short
election cycle, this month is the chance to get prospective MPs to
commit to the co-operative way of business. A commitment we will
ensure future parliamentarians will remember.
Co-operatives UK is telling parties how co-ops can bring an inclusive
economy to life.
It says co-ops give workers ownership and control over their workplace;
and help communities deal with challenges and support the economy
through co-operation, such as agriculture.
Across the social business sphere, the messages are similar.
u The Employee Ownership Association says worker-owned
organisations should be central to the next government’s
industrial strategy.
u Social Enterprise UK says social businesses transform people’s lives
and communities.
u The Co-operative Party makes a case for a co-operative economy that
shares power and wealth.
u Wales Co-operative Centre says co-ops are the choice to strengthen
local economies.
Whatever your party colour this election, hold your candidates to
account for the co-op way.
ANTHONY MURRAY - EXECUTIVE EDITOR
@coopnews
cooperativenews
MAY 2017 | 3

for the Co-op Bank?
... Demystifying
governance ... Mixing
co-operation and tech
for strength
ISSN 0009-9821
01
9 770009 982010
THIS ISSUE
CLOCKWISE FROM FAR LEFT
Poet Lemn Sissay spoke at the Co-operative
Education Conference (p28-30); Chelmsford
Star is celebrating its 150th anniversary
(32-33); Kate Whittle shares her experience
of governance (34-41); and can the platform
co-op model revolutionise the world of
online retail? (p46-47)
news Issue #7283 MAY 2017
Connecting, championing, challenging
news
MAY 2017
ELECTION
What politicians
are offering and
what co-ops want
Plus... What’s next
COVER As the UK prepares for June’s
snap general election, what are the
different parties saying, and what is
the co-operative movement hoping
for – and expecting – from the new
government? Read more: pages 24-27
(Image: composite created by Co-op News)
£4.20
www.thenews.coop
22-23 MEET… NEIL TURTON
The former Nisa chief executive talks
about the challenges of his new role as
Co-operatives UK’s chief operating officer
24-27 2017 ELECTION
What are the party leaders saying that
could impact co-ops? Plus analysis,
expectations and a wish list from social
business leaders
28-30 CO-OPERATIVE EDUCATION
CONFERENCE
The Co-operative College’s annual
conference had the theme ‘Learning
for Co-operative Transformations’ and
featured poet Lemn Sissay and Bristol
University’s professor Keri Facer
31 CO-OPERATIVE EDUCATION IN WALES
What could an excellent co-operative
education system look like in a
co-operative Wales?
32-33 150 YEARS OF CHELMSFORD STAR
The society is planning a year of
celebration to mark a century and a half
of serving Essex
34-41 GOVERNANCE
What does good governance look like?
What training is there for directors? And
what does a board actually do? Plus
advice from three directors of three very
different co-ops
42-43 CENTRAL ENGLAND’S CR SUCCESS
Over the last year Central England
increased its CR Index rating from 2.5
stars to 4.5 out of 5. How did it do it?
44-47 RETAIL INNOVATION
Co-operative solutions to automation...
Plus can the platform co-op model
revolutionise the world of online retail?
REGULARS
6-13: UK updates
14-19: Global updates
20: Letters
48-49: Reviews
50: Diary
4 | MAY 2017

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NEWS
CO-OP GROUP
Bank write-off puts Co-op Group back in the red despite healthy sales
The Co-op Group has returned to the red
for the first time since the crisis of 2013.
In its annual results for the year ending
January 2017, it reported an operating
profit of £148m (2015: £112m), driven
by £20m profit on disposals, largely
reflecting the sale of its crematoria, and
lower restructuring costs.
An underlying profit before tax of £59m
(2015: £81m) was down, due to increased
investment in the Group’s rebuild process.
The Group reported a loss before tax of
£132m (2015: £23m profit), which reflected
a £74m increase in finance costs due to
changes in the value of its bonds, and a
writedown in the carrying value of its 20%
shareholding in the Co-op Bank to zero.
Because of the volatility caused by
the ongoing sales process at Bank, it has
adopted a prudent valuation of its Bank
shareholding at £Nil (2015: £185m).
Revenues increased by 3% to £9.5bn
(2015: £9.2bn), while Food like-for-like
sales rose 3.5%, Funeralcare revenues
grew by 3% and Insurance delivered
strong sales, up 28%.
Chief executive Steve Murrells hailed
“great progress” in the rebuild process,
and said “strong performances” meant
the Group was in a position to offer
an ethical, disruptive alternative to its
traditional rivals.
“We are exploring how we can enter
markets that are not serving people well
and challenging existing providers,” he
said. “We are thinking again like the
original Rochdale Pioneers. They were
true pioneers in every sense of the word
– disruptors in markets and agitators
for change.”
He added: “With trust in big business
in sharp decline and community life
under increasing pressure, our purpose
to ‘champion a better way of doing
business for you and your communities’
has never been more relevant or timely.
Our job is to prove that relevance and
show our Co-op difference in all we do –
through the say we give to our members
Following the launch of its 5+1
membership scheme, the Group is
expected to reach its target of recruiting 1
million new members by the end of 2017,
a year earlier than planned.
Chair Allan Leighton said: “This was
an exceptional year and these results
show the success of all the work to
Murrells looks to revive the ‘disruptive’ Rochdale spirit
as co-owners of
the business;
the products
and services
we offer; our
strengthening
of local
communities;
and our national
campaigns.”
In the annual report, he wrote: “We
should adopt the attitude and actions
of the original Rochdale Pioneers.
“We’ve starting looking at potential
new markets where a co-op solution
could become a game-changer just as it
did in the 19th and 20th centuries.
“I’m convinced this is the time when
we can really lift our heads again,
show how our Co-op is a business
you can really trust, and that ethical
responsibility and commercial success
can go hand in hand.”
rebuild. We’ve invested in our brand, our
businesses and our colleagues and now
we can clearly see the benefits.
“This investment was made in a
disciplined fashion and within our agreed
debt profile. All of this was achieved
while staying true to our purpose, as
evidenced by the millions we are paying
out to local causes.”
In terms of outlook, the Group said all
its markets “remain fiercely competitive”
against a challenging economic backdrop.
“Given our unique ownership structure,
we will continue to invest in all our
businesses and in member benefits, focused
on the long term,” the report added.
It said price inflation would be a factor
for the Food business in 2017 but the
Group was “confident that our compelling
member offer will continue to drive sales”.
“In Funerals, we expect to continue to
improve our member offer through the
creation of our Life Planning division,
which will combine our Funeralcare and
Legal Services offer in one business.
“In Insurance, market conditions
remain fiercely competitive and the
outlook for premiums remains uncertain
due to inflationary pressure from sterling
weakness.”
As indicated last year, the Group made
no dividend payments to members in 2016,
a situation which will continue through
the Rebuild phase, with a continued focus
on the 5+1 member benefit.
6 | MAY 2017

Photo: Duncan Hull
FOOD FUNERALCARE INSURANCE
Total sales up 1% at £7.1bn
Like-for-like sales up 3.5%
Operating profit up 4% to £203m
(2015: £196m)
Underlying operating profit down 2%
to £182m (2015: £186m)
View from the Group: “We continued
to deliver against our strategy to make
better food available to people in the
places they want to shop, as we aim to
be the UK’s leading convenience food
retailer. More people are coming to our
stores and they’re shopping more often.
“We enjoyed being the fastest
growing food retailer excluding the
discount supermarkets on a like-for-like
basis. We invested in refitting stores,
increasing colleague pay, improving our
infrastructure and strengthening our food
range, especially local British produce.”
Total sales up 3% to £307m
Operating profit up 43% to £99m
(2015: £69m)
Underlying operating profit flat at £69m
View from the Group: “We grew market
share for the first time in five years, with
share of the ‘at need’ market up 1.9% to
16.4%, and our ‘pre-need’ market share
increasing to 28%. Plan sales rose 69%
and customer satisfaction hit a record
high of 95.2.
“We invested heavily in 2016 to give
people a better service and expand into
more communities. Our 1,000th funeral
home was opened in the year, and over
three years we plan to open 200 more.
“As well as opening 41 new homes,
we refitted 200 existing ones as part of
our plan to refit the entire estate by the
end of 2019.”
Total sales up 28% to £439m, with gross
premiums up 15%
Operating loss £18m, down from a loss in
2015 of £60m
Underlying operating profit £11m, up
from a loss in 2015 of £13m
View from the Group: “The 2016
outcome includes a cost of £15m to
reflect the change in the rate, set by the
Government, which we use to calculate
some of our longer term claims.
“The absence of any significant
weather events saw lower claims than
in previous years. Underlying operating
profit excludes the one-off costs
associated with our transformation
programme, on which we continue to
progress. Including these one-off costs
we made an operating loss of £18m, in
line with our plans.”
Paul Gosling: What next for the Co-op Bank?
The bank is not necessarily worthless but
the Group has taken the cautious view and
reported its equity stake in the bank as nil.
While we as yet do not know the market
value of the bank, it is quite possible that
there is little value left. The Prudential
Regulation Authority has reportedly
placed it under “intensive supervision”,
which could be a prelude to its closure.
The bank remains above its minimum
capital requirements, but its capital
position is eroding fast. This has had a bad
impact on its Capital Equity Tier 1 ratio. In
the course of last year, the tier one capital
ratio dropped from 15.5% to 11.0%. Clearly
the 10% capital threshold it agreed with
the PRA will be breached in the future.
The only options left are a sale or a
fresh input of capital. Shareholders are
understandably concerned about putting
more equity into the business.
A sale is more attractive. It is rumoured
that Virgin Money and Clydesdale Bank
are interested – which might see the
Group recover some of its losses.
A challenger bank such as Virgin Money
could add scale to its existing operation.
From this point of view, the Co-op Bank
is attractive as its customer deposits
and customer numbers have held up
amazingly well. It is widely reported that
several banks are interested in individual
parts of the business.
The scale of recent years’ losses actually
adds an attraction, creating ‘deferred
tax assets’ – tax losses that can be used
to reduce an acquirer’s tax liabilities.
That, by itself, makes it likely that the
bank will be bought by a trade buyer.
Moreover, another bank would probably
be permitted by the PRA to operate it with
a lower tier one capital target.
There is then the issue of the name. The
bank has long since ceased to be a ‘cooperative’
under any reasonable definition.
This is surely nearly the end of the road for
‘The Co-operative Bank’ branding.
u Edgar Parnell, of Co-op Pundit.org, has
drawn up a petition calling on the Financial
Conduct Authority to stop the Bank using the
word “co-operative” in its name if it is sold.
He said: “We owe it to the members of the
thousands of genuine co-op in the United
Kingdom, to make sure that the integrity of
the word “co-operative” is maintained.” The
petition is on Change. org at s.coop/25ui6
MAY 2017 | 7

p Stormont Parliament Buildings, the seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly
POLITICS
Co-op Party arranges consultation on Northern Ireland
The Co-operative Party is launching a
consultation into its position on fielding
candidates in Northern Ireland.
Like the Labour Party, the Co-operative
Party is registered with the Electoral
Commission to field candidates in Great
Britain but not Northern Ireland. Members
of Labour can be members of the Coop
Party, and a long-standing electoral
agreement allows candidates to stand as
‘Labour and Co-operative’.
However Labour is currently reviewing
whether or not to stand candidates for
election in Northern Ireland – which will
raise questions for the Co-op Party.
TECH
ABCUL publishes new training app
The ABCUL Academy – a training suite
for credit unions – is now available for
mobile users through an app.
The suite was developed by the
Association of British Credit Unions,
incorporating a learning management
system, compliance content and
training modules specific to British
credit unions.
It is now available through the new
SkillsServe app for iOS and Android,
which allows users to track their
learning on the My Activities page,
to view online content in the ABCUL
Academy, and to download content to
watch when offline.
To get started, registered users of
the ABCUL Academy should search for
SkillsServe in the App Store or Play
In 2008, the Co-op Party NEC agreed to
establish a Northern Ireland Co-operative
Party – and since 2009, members of
Northern Ireland’s Social Democratic and
Labour Party (SDLP) have been permitted
to join. This reflects the SDLP’s longstanding
relationship with Labour.
In Northern Ireland, Co-op Party
members may stand for election as SDLP
candidates – though not as ‘SDLP and
Co-operative’. There is one SDLP MLA and
a small number of SDLP councillors who
are members of the Co-op Party.
The Party meets regularly in Northern
Ireland and occasionally holds there.
Store, download the app, and upon
opening it, enter their ABCUL Academy
username, password and the url:
www.abculacademy.coop.
Since its launch a year ago, the
ACBUL academy has signed up 849
users from 96 different credit unions.
Content is frequently refreshed to
help credit union personnel at all
levels keep up to date with the latest
developments and best practice.
The Academy is available to all credit
unions when they join the association
and costs just £55 per user per year.
All Academy courses – including new
ones added throughout the year – are
included in the annual fee. For more
information, email members@abcul.org
or call 0161 832 3694.
Recently, general secretary Claire
McCarthy and other representatives of
the Party met with credit unions, housing
associations and worker co-ops.
As well as asking whether Labour
should field candidates in Northern
Ireland, and how this could benefit or
disadvantage the Co-operative Party, the
consultation explores what the Co-op
Party should do if Labour decides to go
ahead. It could stand candidates jointly
with Labour, jointly with SDLP, jointly
with both, as Co-op Party only – or not
stand candidates at all.
“Whichever path the Labour Party
chooses to take, the decision about how
the Co-operative Party proceeds is a
matter for the Co-operative Party – its NEC
and members,” said Ms McCarthy.
“The NEC has agreed that in considering
these matters, our key objective will be
to determine what course will be most
effective in securing our primary purpose
– to promote and protect the co-operative
model. We want to hear from all members
of the Co-operative Party in Northern
Ireland during this consultation process.”
The consultation also looks at the types
of elections that could be contested (local
government, Assembly only, Westminster
only, local government) and at other ways
the Party’s policies, ideals and the work
of the co-operative movement could be
promoted in Northern Ireland
uThe consultation is open to Co-operative
Party members in Northern Ireland, and
the deadline for responses is 31 May. It can
be found online at s.coop/25ui9
8 | MAY 2017

BUSINESS
Ecology appoints new
operations chief and
reports increased profit
The Ecology Building Society has
announced the appointment of Martin
Sims as its new chief operating officer.
Mr Sims, who replaces the retired George
Haslem, will lead the mortgages and
savings operations at the West Yorkshirebased
outfit, as well as the development of
its support for community-led housing.
He joins Ecology from the Co-operative
Bank where he held senior mortgage,
distribution and network operations roles.
Previously in his 30-year retail banking
career, he worked at Royal Bank of Scotland
and HBOS.
Meanwhile, Ecology, which offers
ethical savings accounts and mortgages for
sustainable housing, welcomed “another
solid set of results” for the year ending 31
December 2016, including:
p Martin Sims joins Ecology from the Co-op Bank
u Record assets of £173.1m (2015:
£145.9m) with asset growth rate of 18.59%
(2015: 5.85%)
u Gross lending of £30.7 (2015: £42.1m)
u A rise in savings balances to £163.1m
(2015: £134.7m)
u Increased net profit of £920,000
(2015: £881,000).
In 2016, Ecology lent over £30.7m for
sustainable properties and projects.
The growth in net profit adds to Ecology’s
capital base, the society says, increasing its
financial strength.
Chief executive Paul Ellis said: “Our
financial success is based on sticking to our
core principles: thinking long-term, putting
our members first and focusing on our
social and environmental impact.
“Our priority for 2017 is to continue to grow
our mortgage book, particularly supporting
more and more people to renovate their
homes to a high environmental standard.”
uEcology holds its annual general meeting
at the Station in Bristol on Saturday, 29
April: ecology.co.uk/agm.
TECH
Principle 5 launches software
to map out co-operatives
The Yorkshire Co-operative Resource Centre, also known as
Principle 5, has launched a suite of software tools to provide a
standardised, diagrammatic approach to documenting co-ops.
Co-opsMap enables users to quickly and easily develop
diagrams using Microsoft PowerPoint. The software provides a
range of diagram templates, enterprise galleries and relationship
galleries.
Co-opsMap can only be
purchased or licensed by
members of Principle 5, a
Sheffield-based organisation
which provides information
and educational support
to co-ops.
Principle 5 is looking to
work with co-ops and individual co-operators who are interested
in helping to promote and improve diagrammatic analysis,
design and documentation of co-op movements.
Secretary Steve Wagstaff, developer of Co-opsMap, said: “Since
its formation about three years ago, Principle 5 has recognised
the importance of education and research within the co-operative
movement. Co-opsMap will be a useful tool for co-operators to
increase their understanding of the movement.”
Mr Wagstaff invited those interested to contact him at
steve.wagstaff@myphone.coop with queries and suggestions,
especially if they would like to participate in a user forum.
INSPIRED BY
FAITH
TO BUILD
A MORE
EQUAL WORLD
Find out more at www.quaker.org.uk
MAY 2017 | 9

DEVELOPMENT
Winners announced in Scottish Collaboration Prize
The winners of the Collaboration Prize, a
£60,000 fund to develop new consortium
co-ops in Scotland, have been announced.
The prize, delivered by Co-operative
Development Scotland for Scottish
Enterprise and Highlands and Islands
Enterprise, gives each winner £5,000
to implement their idea and £5,0o0 in
business support. They also receive startup
advice and export advisor support.
The winners are Made In Scotland; Look
Team; Healthworks; Start-Up Drinks Lab;
Terrier Risk Partners; and Offsite Hub.
Made in Scotland is a collaboration of
11 Scottish food and drink companies,
offering a range of products including
salmon, cheese, cakes, craft gin, craft
beer and whisky, and they are pooling
resources to target overseas markets.
Look Team, from Glasgow, is a graphic
design and event-branding collaboration
between two businesses which worked
on events including the 2014 Glasgow
Commonwealth Games. They will pitch
planning and management for other large
sporting events, including overseas.
Healthworks in an East Lothian-based
team of health professionals, working
with businesses to optimise workers’
wellbeing, with expertise ranging from
physiotherapy to counselling.
Glasgow’s Start-up Drinks Lab brings
together soft drink companies Tongue in
p Food and drink consortium Made In Scotland have their eyes on overseas markets
Peat and FOAL Drinks in a bid to tackle
challenges faced by drink entrepreneurs
in Scotland that result in them having to
compromise on quality, cost or location.
They want to offer product development,
manufacturing, packaging and business
support as well as providing a small-scale
bottling facility – not currently readily
available in Scotland.
Edinburgh’s Terrier Risk Partners
offer expertise to businesses in online
risk assessment, business continuity,
protection and recovery. They want
to provide a 360 degree review of a
company’s risk exposure and recommend
solutions, and will use the prize money
to fund branding, a website and various
other marketing materials.
South Lanarkshire’s Offsite Hub
comprises nine offsite construction firms.
It aims to improve working environments
and reduce waste.
Sarah Deas, director of Scottish
Enterprise, said: “The response to this
year’s prize has been fantastic. The aim
is to inspire businesses to be innovative
and consider collaboration as a means
to achieve growth. By collaborating
businesses can reduce costs, share risks
and create new platforms for growth.”
COMPETITION
Win a place for your co-op at Quality Food Awards
The Co-op Group has teamed up with the
Quality Food Awards to support the Small
Producer of the Year category.
And, through the Co-op News, the Group
is offering free entry for three small co-ops.
The prize, in its second year, recognises
quality and innovation in the country’s
smaller local producers .
Finalists will have their product stocked
in their local Co-op store, will receive
useful feedback from the expert judges,
and will be given a detailed consumer
market report from digital platform VYPR.
The awards, organised by Metropolis
Business Media, are presented at the
Grosvenor House Hotel in London on 9
November. Full entry details are available
at uk.qualityfoodawards.com.
The small producer category is open to
producers with fewer than ten staff and
annual sales no greater than £2m. Entries
must arrive by 30 June and costs £119 plus
VAT – but three small co-ops can enter for
free thanks to our competition.
Just answer this question: Where will
the awards ceremony be held?
Answer online at www.news.coop/win
or by post to the Co-op News address on
p2. Competition entries are due by noon
on 15 May, terms and conditions apply.
10 | MAY 2017

Central England Co-op signs mental health pledge
COMMUNITY
Co-op launches share
offer to buy historic pub
A co-op has launched a £300,000 share
offer in a bid to buy a historic Leeds pub.
The Cardigan Arms, whose layout and
fittings are unchanged since it opened in
1896, is one of the UK’s 250 heritage pubs
and has been included on the National
Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors by the
Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).
It has been put on the market by owner
Greene King, and the Cardigan Arms
Community Pub co-op wants to “ensure
this fine pub does not fall into the hands
of commercial interests that would see it
altered unsympathetically and with no
direct community benefit”.
Because the Cardigan Arms is listed as a
community asset, the co-op has until the
end of May to raise the £295,000 asking
price, and has already received a £2,500
bursary from the Plunkett Foundation’s
More Than A Pub scheme.
They have entered a 50/50 partnership
with Mood Developments Ltd, which has
a track record in pub renovation and will
raise the extra sum needed to restore
the site. The co-op says this will give the
community a say in how the pub operates,
provide a community asset, protect a
piece of heritage, provide a steady revenue
stream for further investment, and leave
the option open for the community to
acquire Mood’s share at a later date.
Campaign founder Jim Brettell said:
“The time has come to get behind this
exciting community bid and be part of
saving something really special for future
generations to enjoy.”
Minimum investment is £100, and the
co-op hopes to attract 40 “angels” to
purchase £5,000 worth of shares for a 4%
annual return. The maximum investment
is capped at £10,000. Investors will
become co-op members with voting rights
and will get a 10% discount at the bar.
u www.cardiganarms.coop
Central England Co-op has signed the Time
to Change Employer Pledge, a campaign
by mental health charities MIND and
Rethink to combat discrimination at work.
The pledge, signed by chief executive
Martyn Cheatle, includes a commitment to
creating 50 mental health and wellbeing
champions to support colleagues.
Channel Islands’ travel agency makes UK top 50 list
The Channel Islands Co-op’s Travelmaker
in Jersey has been named one of the best
travel agencies in the UK and Ireland by
the industry bible, Travel Trade Gazette.
Head of travel Carl Winn said he and his
colleagues were “thrilled” to make the
TTG Top 50 Travel Agencies list for the
second year running.
Community bid to restore river pier for working use
A community benefit society is trying
to raise £100,000 to buy a 120-year-old
Suffolk river pier. Shotley pier was built
to serve fishermen and naval boats on the
river Stour, near a busy shipping lane. The
Shotley Pier society wants to restore it for
working and leisure use. More details at
www.shotleypier.co.uk.
Scotmid’s £15,500 boost for first aid charity
A £15,500 donation from Scotmid Co-op
has bought 15 new bicycles for St Andrew’s
First Aid. The Glasgow-based charity,
which provides first aiders at thousands
of events across Scotland every year,
has also bought new uniforms, safety
equipment and video cameras – to assist
with recording incidents for training.
Group apologises over ‘sexist’ Easter egg ad
The Co-op Group has apologised after
being accused of sexism in an ad for
Easter eggs which said: “Be a good egg.
Treat your daughter for doing the washing
up.” The Group said: “We are proud of
our equality and diversity and we are
sorry.” It changed the wording to: “A very
special egg for a very special person.”
MAY 2017 | 11

ENVIRONMENT
Volunteers from Suma head for the hills to plant trees against flooding
Workers at Suma Wholefoods Co-op helped
environmental group Treesponsibility
celebrate its 19th birthday by planting
trees in the Upper Calder valley.
The 27-strong team planted over 500
native trees, including hawthorn and
blackthorn, on an acre of steep hillside,
contributing to the 6,500 planted each year
in their partnership with Treesponsibility.
Since this began in 2005, 75,000 trees
have been planted, helping Suma stay
carbon neutral.
Treesponsibility works to raise
awareness of climate change and get
communities involved in tree-planting
to improve their local environment. Its
work in the Calder Valley, backed by the
Environment Agency, Calderdale Council
and the National Trust, focuses on flood
mitigation, with the area badly hit on
Boxing Day 2015.
Suma member Sarah Moakler said: “We
supply many businesses in the Calder
Valley, some of which were devastated by
p The team spent the day planting more than 500 trees
the 2016 floods. At the time we were able
to help out with some emergency food
supplies, but we are glad to be working
with Treesponsibility to build resilience
and try to address the causes of flooding.”
Treesponsibility is also creating
earthworks and restoring moorland to
slow down the rate of flow and contain
water, as part of The Source, a working
partnership with a long term vision of
ecological restoration in the headwaters
of the River Calder.
It is also treating damaged land and
controlling erosion, improving the quality
of the River Calder, and carrying out
educational and volunteering activities.
COMMUNITY
Co-op Group announced as supporter
of British Athletics Para team
The Co-op Group has been unveiled as a
team supporter of the British Athletics
Para team and a national partner of
the London 2017 World Para Athletics
Championships.
To mark the occasion, the Group
unveiled a “Support our Heroes”
mosaic, featuring Paralympians Richard
Whitehead, Carly Tait and Sam Ruddock.
The mosaic will be used as a digital
image for the public to upload messages
of support before and during the
championships, held from 14-23 July –
opening the Summer of World Athletics at
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
It is one of several support activities by
the retailer, with a ‘Co-op Local Heroes’
tour planned after the championships.
Richard Whitehead, a double
Paralympic T42 200m gold medalist, said:
“It is fantastic to have the support of the
Co-op as we build up to the biggest World
Para Athletics Championships ever.
“I have wonderful
memories from
the Paralympic
Games at London
2012, particularly
the support we
received from the
British public. I hope
people will back the
mosaic and upload
their messages – it
really does make
a difference to the
athletes.”
As a national
partner of the championships, the Group
will provide British-sourced meals to the
workforce.
Peter Batt, divisional managing
director of the Group, said: “Having
supported our colleague, Paralympian
Carly Tait in Rio, and witnessed
the huge support for her across the
p Sally Gunnell joins para athletes Richard Whitehead and Sam
Ruddock, and event volunteers, to celebrate the Group’s support
Co-op, it was a natural step to extend
our support and involvement to this year’s
championships.
“We really want to encourage the
British public to get behind our athletes so
I hope everyone will join us by uploading
personal messages and pictures of support
on our digital message board.”
12 | MAY 2017

MEDIA
New Internationalist
celebrates after hitting
£500,00 target for
co-op relaunch
The New Internationalist magazine
has reached its crowdfunding target of
£500,000. Set up 44 years ago as a worker
co-operative, the New Internationalist
launched a share offer in March to give
readers the opportunity to invest and have
a say in its future.
To enable this, the publisher changed
its legal structure from a worker
co-operative registered as a company
to a co-operative society.
Shareholders will become co-owners
of the New Internationalist with voting
rights over the publisher’s Charter, which
enshrines its editorial policy.
“At 10.06 on Sunday night, 32 days into
our Crowdfunder, we hit our £500,000
target. It was an amazing moment,” wrote
Hazel Healy, co-editor at the magazine.
The New Internationalist plans to invest
the funding raised through the share
offer in re-designing and launching and
marketing a new look publication as well
as increasing multimedia content.
“Setting off on this journey was
daunting, to say the least,” said Ms Healy.
“Speaking to people during the course
of this campaign more than one person
asked politely – why did you set the target
so high?
“By our calculations, half-a-million was
the minimum we need to turn our business
round. If that was a mountain to climb, we
have now launched off in a glider, as we
are now heading for a £600,000 stretchtarget.”
She added that almost all pledges had
come from ordinary people. The largest
investment made so far came from a
retired professor from Finland who has
been subscribing to the magazine for over
30 years.
“It feels as if we are breaking new
ground,” she said. “This truly is peoplepowered
media that is defying the trend
of media concentration and clickbait
journalism. Our independence has always
allowed us to tell stories the way they are
meant to be told – without voyeurism and
without spin.”
p Hazel Healy, co-editor of New Internationalist with Amy Hall, editorial intern
AWARDS
Nominations open for Co-operative of the Year
Nominations are open for Co-operatives
UK’s Co-operative of the Year awards – a
chance for the people who are running,
working in and using the UK’s co-ops to
nominate and vote for their favourites.
Over the previous two years, 110 co-ops
have been nominated and 37,000 votes
cast. Nominations are being
accepted until 30 April, and
like last year there are three
categories:
u The leading co-operative
of the year award, for coops
with a turnover above
£30m (2016 winner: Central
England Co-operative).
u The growing cooperative
of the year award
is for co-ops with a turnover
between £1m and £30m (2016
winner: Phone Co-op).
u The inspiring cooperative
of the year award, for co-ops
with a turnover of up to £1m. (2016
winner: Riverside Housing Co-operative,
part of Redditch Co-operative Homes).
“Co-ops across the UK are making a
difference to people’s lives every day –
allowing them to take control of their
livelihoods, get ownership of their local
areas, have a voice in the decisions made
by big decisions or to create affordable
housing together,” said Ed Mayo, secretary
general of Co-operatives UK.
“Our annual awards are a chance to
celebrate what co-ops are doing.”
The winners will receive publicity and
the option of £1,000 of business support,
says Co-operatives UK, as well as “the
p Co-operatives UK chair Nick Matthews (left) presents the
Leading Co-operative of the year award to Central England’s
Maria Lee and Martyn Cheatle
kudos of being voted one of the three best
of co-ops in the country”.
Nominations are open until 30 April.
Once a shortlist has been drawn up, the
winner in each category will be decided
by an open online vote, and the winner
announced at Congress, in Wakefield,
on 30 June.
u Nominate a co-op at s.coop/25uil
MAY 2017 | 13

GLOBAL UPDATES
USA
Co-ops make it onto list of caring places to work
Navy Federal Credit Union, outdoor leisure
co-op REI and employee-owned Publix
Supermarkets have been included on the
Companies That Care list, published by
People magazine.
The list of 50 companies is for “the top US
companies with 1,000 or more employees
that have succeeded in business while
also demonstrating respect, compassion
and concern for their employees, their
communities and the environment”.
People teamed up with Great Place
To Work, a global institute dedicated to
improving workplace culture, on the list.
Publix Super Markets – a private
company whose employees and exemployees
own a majority stake – came
ninth. Based in Florida and operating
throughout the south-eastern USA, it is
considered the largest employee-owned
company in the world.
The People list cited the company’s
philanthropic efforts and the “everyday
heroics of its giving employees”. The
retailer has a “Publix Serves Day” and in
2015, 4,000 employees volunteered with
more than 125 non-profits.
Number 22 on the list is Navy Federal,
the world’s largest credit union, which
serves the military and their families.
“The community-minded company
p Staff at REI’s flagship Seattle outlet celebrate the Black Friday opt out
supports employees in their aspirations,”
said People, “giving them the opportunity
to build a meaningful career. This year,
they provided 100 grants to non-profit
organisations on behalf of employees.”
Outdoor leisure retailer REI came 30th
on the list. Based in Washington state
and operating throughout the US, the
co-op is known for its innovative
sustainable building developments and
environmental and community work.
This includes a multi-million dollar
partnership with the National Park
Foundation to celebrate the 100th birthday
of the National Park Service. The company
has also shut down on Black Friday
under its OptOutside scheme, paying its
employees for the day off, encouraging
them to spend time in nature.
REI and Navy Federal recently made it
onto the Fortune 100 Best Companies to
work for list.
AUSTRALIA
Mutuals report progress on working capital law reform
Progress is being made on efforts to
change Australian law to help mutuals
raise working capital for growth and
development, it has been reported.
The Business Council of Co-operatives
and Mutuals (BCCM) has been lobbying
for reforms to the Corporations Act and
recently held a round table with Martin
Stewart, director of banks, building
societies and credit unions at the Bank of
England’s Prudential Regulation Authority.
The UK has brought in changes similar
those sought by the BCCM in Australia,
enabling mutuals to issue securities that
fit with their ethos.
The focus on capital among Australian
mutuals follows findings of the Senate
Economics References Committee inquiry
into co-ops, mutuals and member-owned
firms, which found that the options for cooperative
and mutual enterprises to raise
capital was curtailed by the regulatory
and legislative environment.
The committee made several
recommendations for a more level playing
field between mutuals and investorowned
entities with respect to capital.
Mr Stewart is responsible for the
prudential supervision of UK banks,
building societies and credit unions
at the Bank of England and oversaw
the introduction, at a regulatory level,
of legislation to permit new capital
instruments to be issued by UK deposit
taking mutuals.
The BCCM has also been consulting
Mutuo, the British thinktank and advocate
group for mutuals, on the campaign.
After the UK reforms went through,
Mutuo said on its website: “If mutuals
and co-operatives are to work in an
environment where they can truly
compete, then similar kinds of reforms
will need to be considered by governments
in other countries.”
14 | MAY 2017

EUROPE
European co-op banks outperform their
conventional rivals, new study reveals
European co-operative banks have
outperformed the rest of the banking sector
in terms of return on equity, according to
research by TIAS School for Business and
Society. Since 2011 co-operative banks
in Europe have maintained assets stable
while those of all other banks shrunk by
almost 2%.
The study, carried out with support from
the European Association of Co-operative
Banks (EACB), examines the performance
of 18 co-operative banks in 13 European
countries, and found they had increased
their membership base by 1.6 million to
almost 80 million in 2015.
The report also reveals that almost one
in five inhabitants of the EU countries
under review is currently a member of a
co-operative bank. In addition, the capital
position of co-operative banks continued
to improve. The average Tier 1 capital ratio
of co-operative banks and entire banking
sectors increased in 2015 by 1 percentage
point to 14.5 and 14.3, respectively.
As financial institutions that engage in
fewer and more stable business, co-op
banks provide stability, the report says.
The study also points out that regulatory
forces are pushing banks in the same
direction and prompting them to make
similar choices, even though they have
different ownership structures. The move
could have negative impacts on financial
stability, argues the report, due to a lack of
diversity within the banking system.
In 2015, the Single Resolution
Mechanism and the Single Supervisory
Mechanism were set up within the
Eurozone with the aim of harmonising
supervision across the Euro area.
However, the research highlights that
rising regulatory costs are complicating
the internal capital-generation capacity of
co-operative banks, particularly smaller
and medium-sized institutions.
Another finding is that the governance
and capital structure of individual co-op
banking groups vary greatly according
to size. For this reason, the analysis
claims that co-operative banks should
benefit from a differentiate regulatory and
supervisory approach.
p Banks studied for the report include Denmark’s Nykredit (Photo: News Oresund)
CANADA
Village creates its own broadband co-op
Residents of a village in Nova Scotia,
Canada, decided they’d had enough of
slow internet speeds – and set up their
own broadband co-op to fix the problem.
Lawrencetown Community Development
Co-op started connecting people in and
around the village of Lawrencetown to the
wireless broadband service on 24 March.
Within two days, 147 customers had
signed up for the service, which can
accommodate around 800 users.
Members connect to the service via a
dish installed in their homes, which face
one of two 27-metre towers the co-op has
put in place.
There are already plans to expand
the network, with a third tower due to
for installation and three more in the
planning stage.
Snapshot of European Co-operative Banking 2017
Hans Groeneveld
Brian Reid, chair of the town’s public
works committee and one of the directors
of the co-operative, said the co-op model
makes sense because it means avoiding
direct competition with the private sector.
Subscribers are also owners, which
means they stand to benefit financially if
all goes well.
“What’s nice about this arrangement is
that the profits stay in the community,”
Mr Reid told the Canadian Broadcasting
Company.
The initial membership fee to join the
co-operative is $100; monthly fees range
from $60- $100 a month.
The project has cost approximately
$200,000 to date, with contributions from
the village and the federal government
and most of the work done by volunteers.
MAY 2017 | 15

ROMANIA
Carrefour sets up village co-op to meet local sourcing law
French retailer Carrefour has founded an
agricultural co-op in a Romanian village to
bring local fresh produce to its shelves.
The co-op includes 80 families of
producers who own 60 hectares (148 acres)
of agricultural land. The second-biggest
retailer in Romania, Carrefour will source
5,000 tones of fruit and veg from the local
co-op in the village of Varasti.
“The project initiated by Carrefour brings
closer experienced farmers and consumers
who appreciate Romanian quality
products,” the retailer says.
Through the co-op, which officially
launches this month, farmers are able
to scale up production and have a single
collection centre. The partnership with
Carrefour guarantees them a production
plan and price, and means they will receive
fast payments for their products.
“Our work has been simplified,” said one
of the producers in a video promoting the
new venture.
The initiative comes after the Romanian
parliament passed a law that requires large
retailers with a turnover of €2m to allocate a
p The retailer will use the co-op to source goods for stores in the area
minimum of 51% of existing space for fresh
produce to products sourced locally, from
a short supply chain. The law, which came
into effect last month, initially stated that
products should come from Romania but
was amended after warning from Brussels
of potential breach of EU regulation. Under
the amended text, Bulgarian and Hungarian
products would also qualify as part of a
short supply chain.
According to Euromonitor, food
accounts for the biggest share of household
expenditure in Romania (40%). Only 1% of
agricultural production is through co-ops.
URUGUAY
Government funding boost for housing
Housing co-operatives in Uruguay have
received a boost through loan grants from
the National Housing Agency, which
manages assets in the housing loan portfolio
with directives from the Ministry of Housing,
Territorial Planning and Environment.
The agency granted loans to 11 co-ops to
build 409 homes in the capital Montevideo
and further inland.
One of the first to sign the loan was the
Covipino co-op in Ciudad de la Costa, which
raised funds to build a housing complex for
21 families.
The co-operative housing movement in
Uruguay was established at the end of the
1960s, providing new and rehabilitated
dwellings through a system of mutual help
and the self-management of resources.
Currently, there are more than 600 coops
throughout the country, in both cities
and suburbs, and they form a fundamental
part of the developmental and cultural
renaissance of the historical centre of
Montevideo.
It is widely agreed that the agreements
from the National Housing Agency reinforce
the intention of the public housing
system to strengthen co-operativism, selfconstruction
and new housing programmes.
“Despite deep roots within the unions,
housing co-operatives are committed to
social integration and their doors are open
to every Uruguayan citizen who needs
housing,” said Pablo Caballero, secretary
general of the Uruguayan Federation of
Housing Coops for Mutual Assistance.
“This has been a proud half-century of
innovation, positive results and of solid
implementation in a movement made by
Uruguayan workers.”
He added: “Perhaps co-op housing’s
best innovation is the adoption of positive
values such as solidarity and advocacy.
Since co-ops are overwhelmingly born
from the worker unions it is not surprising
that housing co-ops have helped to mark a
path to a more just and equitable society –
defining characteristics of our movement.”
16 | MAY 2017
t ‘Housing co-operatives are committed to social integration’ (Images: FUCVAM)

Eudes de Freitas Aquino elected president of IHCO
p The Alliance meets in Costa Rica
EUROPE
International
Co-operative Alliance
celebrates first year of
EC partnership
The International Co-operative Alliance
has marked the first year of its partnership
programme with the European Commission
with a review meeting in Costa Rica.
Signed on 18 March 2016, the agreement
recognises co-ops as strong development
actors and aims to further strengthen the
global movement, enhance its visibility and
increase its capacity to influence global and
regional development policies.
During its first year, the programme has
sought to give more visibility to the cooperative
model in development processes,
and has enhanced collaboration among the
different offices of the Alliance.
In October, the Alliance launched a Global
Co-operative Development Platform (GCDP)
to bring together co-operative organisations
active in the development sector. After
analysing the needs of the sector, the
Alliance planned staff training in policy,
research, and EU project administration,
facilitated by experts from several leading
organisations such as United Nations
Development Programme, Brazilian science
funding body Finep, and Spain’s National
University of Distance Education (UNED).
The Alliance has also set out a visibility
strategy for the ICA-EU partnership, to
raise awareness of the co-operative model
in international development, using the
hashtag #coops4dev on social media.
As a result of the partnership, the Alliance
has participated in high-level UN events –
including the Climate Change Conference
and the Commission on the Status of
Women event.
The partnership has also enhanced
advocacy work in the regional offices such
as Cooperatives Europe, which ensured that
co-ops were mentioned in major EU policy
documents on international development.
The International Health Cooperative
Organisation (IHCO, a sectoral body of
the Alliance) has elected Eudes de Freitas
Aquino as president. Dr Aquino has been
involved in the Brazilian co-operative
movement for more than 30 years and is
currently president of Unimed, the world’s
largest health co-op.
CICOPA calls on young co-op entrepreneurs for survey
The International Organisation of
Industrial and Service Cooperatives
(CICOPA) has launched a survey on youth
co-op entrepreneurs. The study will feed
into a global study on trends among young
people in establishing and being part of
worker, social or producers’/freelancers’
co-ops (see www.we-own-it.coop).
Credit unions explore artificial intelligence to fight fraud
A USA credit union network has introduced
artificial intelligence technology to
prevent fraud. CO-OP Financial Services
supports 3,500 credit union members
with ATM, card and mobile services. It
will provide client credit unions with a
machine learning-based risk management
tool aimed at fighting fraud.
Co-founder of outdoor leisure co-op REI dies aged 107
Outdoor leisure retailer REI has
announced the death of Mary Anderson,
one of its co-founders, at the age of 107.
Ms Anderson, who died on 27 March, was
a keen mountaineer who started the co-op
in 1938, with her husband and 21 of their
friends, to buy good quality, affordable
climbing gear in bulk from Europe.
New laws to encourage worker co-ops in Rhode Island
New state legislation designed to ease the
process of setting up worker co-ops has
been introduced in Rhode Island, USA.
The changes are designed to eliminate
the need for complex legal work which
has created a barrier to people looking to
form their own co-ops.
MAY 2017 | 17

EUROPE
‘We want a new Europe that cares for the real
economy, sustainable development and social justice’
As the European Union celebrates 60 years
since the Treaty of Rome, co-operatives in
industry and services call for a new Europe
that cares for the real economy, sustainable
development and social justice.
Over the years, co-operatives have
demonstrated their ability to weather
successive crises and to protect jobs, while
at the same time being one of the few forms
of business which can still offer investment
opportunities and growth for young people.
“Co-operatives are the most appropriate
way of organising economic activities
and jobs that can redistribute wealth
while producing it; in other words, they
are enterprises that limit the growth of
inequalities and promote social cohesion,”
said Giuseppe Guerini, president of CECOP,
the European confederation of industrial
and service co-operatives, which represents
50,000 enterprises in Europe.
An increasingly competitive and
globalised market makes the life of all
businesses which rely on the real economy
– and have a high labour content – difficult.
The challenges faced by the European
economy are made even more complex
by the prevailing political and cultural
context – in which the economy and
politics are increasingly conditioned by the
depersonalised financial culture.
Work and the production of goods are
“subordinate” to the search for income
and profits, while the economic capital of
the business, rather than being a factor
of production, has become “liquid”,
exchanged in a flow that needs to generate
money, even when it does not create goods.
“Co-operatives represent a safeguard for
the principle of economic democracy: they
are platforms for the real economy,” said
Mr Guerini. “They could be considered as a
form of protection which makes it possible
to save the market economy from the
financial intoxication that is generating a
series of crises, in particular in the services,
production and craftwork sectors.
“It is important to underline that without
co-ops, the goals of the EU 2020 program
for more sustainable, smart and inclusive
growth will remain largely incomplete.”
CECOP wishes to focus great attention
on the issue of labour and, regarding
p It is 60 years since the EEC’s formation (Photo: European Parliament) Inset: Giuseppe Guerini
production, to think of a re-industrialisation
of the productive economy – one that
is based on the ability to aggregate cooperative
enterprises in a social economy
design that ties the producers of values,
services and goods to a development model,
and helps them to build alliances.
A model where the real economy
becomes a common good alternative to
the financialisation which is plundering
territories and local economies.
“It certainly may seem unrealistic and
utopian to imagine that worker co-operatives
could, by themselves, re-industrialise
Europe and combat unemployment, but
it is essential that someone ‘dreams of a
Europe’ that once again cares for the real
economy, sustainable development and
social justice,” added Mr Guerini.
“We are convinced that if you can dream
of something, doing it together is the way
to achieve it. This is why I think that cooperatives
will lead us to the real economy.
“There is a need for an ecological
and social business plan that recreates
the conditions to give a future to work,
repositioning it at the core of economic
development policies.
“Placing co-operatives firmly on the
European agenda is part of this design that
we in CECOP want to help build.”
u This article was originally published on
www.cecop.coop.
18 | MAY 2017

p Arrasate, or Mondragon, the birthplace of the giant worker co-op, which has delivered social benefit to its community (Photo: Atauri)
SPAIN
Mondragon shows how companies can work for the
good of society alongside business success, say researchers
Businesses can focus on delivering a social
benefit and be successful at the same time,
say Young Foundation researchers.
The foundation’s study focuses on
the Mondragon Corporation, the world’s
largest worker-led co-operative with annual
revenues of over €12bn (equivalent to that of
Kellogg’s and Visa). Mondragon has a salary
ratio between the lowest and highest paid
workers of 1:9 (compared to 1:129 for a FTSE
100 company). Furthermore, as a co-op, the
enterprise follows the “one member, one
vote” rule.
The foundation says its findings show
how businesses can be competitive in the
marketplace but also generate social value
at large scale. This offers lessons in how to
develop an inclusive economy in the UK.
The paper also highlights the way
Mondragon co-ops work together to achieve
their aims through inter-co-operation. As
an ecosystem of co-ops, the corporation is
able to facilitate the resilience of the overall
group. When Fagor, one of Mondragon’s
oldest ventures, collapsed in 2013, the
corporation was able to relocate over 2,000
workers of the business’ 6,000 workforce.
The group also includes co-operatives
providing a network of sustainable
infrastructure institutions, including
schools and a university, banks and welfare
support for members’ benefit.
Researchers also found that Mondragon
invests in new ideas, having its own
innovation model, M4Future, and 15 large
technological centres.
The foundation says the research proves
that people can be brought together to
create sustainable positive change if
strong and shared values are embedded in
socioeconomic and investment practice.
Ownership by workers also acts as a
strong motivator for their loyalty to its
business, it adds.
Glenys Thornton, chief executive of
the Young Foundation, said: “It has
been a great honour to have worked with
Mondragon to launch ‘Humanity at Work’,
examining this business which performs
highly successfully in some of the world’s
most competitive markets.
“But this isn’t just about business success,
Mondragon creates true social benefit too. It
provides strong evidence in terms of both
policy and practice for building a more
inclusive economy.
“Going forward we will be at the
forefront of the influencing and practical
implementation of this inspiring model for
social change.”
Ibon Zugasti, Mondragon’s international
projects manager, said: “Mondragon
presents an alternative approach to fighting
the structural causes of inequality. We
are therefore thrilled that our work with
the Young Foundation has resulted in
a compelling research report about the
radical ways in which we work. It is really
important that the findings of this research
are used to help guide policy makers and
industry towards an inclusive economy that
truly works for everyone.”
Ed Mayo, secretary general of
Co-operatives UK, which partnered with
the Young Foundation, said: “Mondragon
is more than just a business – it offers
inspiration for how we might re-imagine
our economy. Because it is the workers
who own and control Mondragon, they
have a stake in what it does, a say over its
direction and benefit when it does well. And
it achieves all this at scale, demonstrating
the contribution of worker ownership and
fair pay ratios to the running of a large
commercial business.”
u Read the full study at s.coop/25uen
MAY 2017 | 19

YOUR VIEWS
END OF AN ERA?
Responding to: Co-operative Bank – in
trouble again?
I will stay loyal to the Co-op Bank as long as
it’s possible. I have been with the bank for
over 10 years after being disappointed by
other high street banks and have nothing
but praise. So sad that the Britannia
debacle has led to this. Thank you for the
brilliant bank you have been.
Sarah Collingwood
Via website
ETHICAL ADVERTISING
Responding to: The Time is now for Ethical
Advertising
The call by some members of the
Co-operative Group for it to desist from
advertising in certain newspapers
because of those publications’ overt
hate-encouraging articles and headlines
shows one possible way to dissociate a
co-operative from, for example, no doubt
calculated xenophobic nastiness.
Yet there remain in other media more
subtle demonstrations of what these titles
peddle as mainstream journalism.
For several years the main local
newspaper where I live has run stories
that often identify the nationality of an
individual who has perpetrated a crime.
But only if he or she is of non United
Kingdom origin. I have several times
written to complain about this. To no avail.
The newspaper in question carries
advertising for co-operative goods and
services. So how to tackle this? It is not just
the blatant racism and xenophobia, but
the underlying trend that the Brexit cause
seems to have made almost the norm in
certain outlets.
Geraint Day
Scarborough
A true Co-op should be about members,
not customers. About communities and not
branches. Communities are glued together
by values – British values in our case.
Those values are being taught at schools,
required in citizenship applications and
revered upon in the rest of the world. Three
newspapers – which don’t even pay British
tax – keep trying to rewrite them; should
they succeed, the Co-op will simply cease
to exist in its current form. It will become
just another supermarket chain with no
identity beyond a colourful logo.
Is that what we want?
John Agirre
Via website
I thought the announcement from Nick
Crofts was a huge disappointment. [The
Co-op] has followed others in withdrawing
YouTube adverts but failed to take a lead
against The Mail, Express and Sun. In short,
they put profit before ethics. All areas of
the Co-op need to #StopFundingHate
Cliff Broadhurst
Via website
In an international co-operative, business
and ethics can be considered not only as
a prerequisite to the business relationship
between the shareholders, but also as
another powerful means of protection from
the external environment.
Nikolay Chelnak
Via Facebook
A GREAT CO-OPERATIVE EDUCATOR
Responding to: Obituary: Pam – Walker,
teacher and lifelong co-operator
Thank you for a great potted history of
Pam’s work life, she was a true friend
and had an amazing passion and zest
for people and co-operative value. Her
humour and smile were infectious, she
was an amazingly kind loving being that
will be in my heart forever. Her drive was
bionic and her will to help things happen
unbeatable.
Rebekah Quantrill-Tozer
Via website
Very sad news. Pam was such a great
co-operative educator.
Linda Shaw
Via Facebook
THE RISING COST OF FUNERALS
The cost of funerals has risen far more
rapidly than general inflation while Co-op
Funeralcare (FNC) has been a sleeping
Have your say
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a letter. If sending a letter, please
include your address and contact
number. Letters may be edited and no
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Co-operative News, Holyoake
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letters@thenews.coop
@coopnews
Co-operative News
giant; the market leader has been failing to
innovate and lead the market.
Despite increasing investment and
opening more branches, we lost market
share with unconvincing explanations
about declining annual deaths (which
have been broadly stable for 50 years). But
there are some encouraging signs FNC has
awoken with an increase in market share
for the first time in five years.
As a real anorak I read Dignity’s annual
report which detailed their difficulties,
hoping this would betoken good news for
us. So it has proved, but not by chance.
FNC signed the Quaker-led Fair Funerals
pledge, which guarantees clear affordable
options, reduced prices and promotes the
Simple low-cost funeral. I used it for my
100 year old mum’s funeral last year and
can thoroughly recommend it .
There is still a lot to do – for example
in the rather neglected area of masonry
headstones, but the corner has been
turned and we can look forward to further
good news.
David Stanbury
Plymouth
20 | MAY 2017

Dear fellow co-operators,
A century ago, co-operators from every corner of our country met in London in a time of crisis to establish the
Co-operative Party. Their decision not just to lobby, but to organise has helped our movement to shape the world we live
in – making not just the case for our interests, but for our values in our economy and society.
Over the next few weeks, those of us who regularly shop or bank with the Co-operative Group will once again have the
chance to vote on continuing the partnership with the Party. As you consider your vote, I wanted to share some of what
we have achieved since last year, when Co-op members voted overwhelmingly to continue subscribing to the Party.
With your support, co-operators and co-operative values will shape the next century even more profoundly than the last.
Yours in co-operation,
Claire McCarthy
General Secretary, the Co-operative Party
To pledge your support in the upcoming vote,
visit www.party.coop/coopagm17
Some highlights of party activity over the past year
Shaping the debate in local government
• Held our first Local Government Conference
• Published ‘By Us, For Us: a co-operative agenda for
Metro Mayors and combined authorities’
• Supported councils from Durham to Salford to
Brighton to sign up to the Fair Tax Mark
• Published a practical guide for local authorities on
working with credit unions
• A record number of Co-operative Party Council
candidates including 4 Metro Mayors
Inspiring, educating and informing the
public about the power of co-operation
• We have developed and promoted new policy
solutions in transport, social care, and the
economy and engaged thousands of members and
supporters in spreading the word
• Successfully mainstreamed co-operative solutions
into a wide range of public policy discussions
including responding to the rise in self-employment,
public procurement and local economic growth
• Taken the co-operative message to the Tolpuddle
Martyrs festival, Durham Miners Gala and the
National Union of Students conference
Leveling the playing field for co-operatives
• Working with Co-operatives UK to remove the legal,
administrative and regulatory barriers holding back
small co-operatives
• Raised Societies’ concerns about unfair treatment
of co-operative businesses by the Pension
Protection Fund
• Worked with the Welsh Labour & Co-operative
Government to ensure co-operatives in Wales
have continued access to appropriate and expert
business support
Promoting co-operative societies as
a better way of doing business
• Co-operative MPs led a debate in Parliament
highlighting the contribution of the co-operative
sector to the economy
• Co-operative MSPs called a Holyrood debate on
loneliness and highlighted the work of the Cooperative
Group and the Red Cross
• Used our extensive social media reach to champion
the leadership of co-operative businesses in
founding and committing to the Fair Tax Mark
• Encouraged Party members and supporters to
trade with societies and support their campaigns.

MEET...
... Neil Turton, new addition to
Co-operatives UK team
Neil Turton has just been appointed chief operating officer at Co-operatives
UK, working closely with secretary general Ed Mayo. The former chief executive
of mutual grocery network Nisa worked in a range of senior roles over 23
years and was chief executive from 2007 to 2015. Under his leadership, which
heralded new store formats and a revamp of own-label products, turnover grew
from £989m to £1.6bn. He talks to us about the challenges of his new job.
WHY DID YOU TAKE ON THE ROLE?
I knew Co-operatives UK from my time at NISA. I
took NISA into Co-operatives UK membership in
2014 as we wanted some governance advice and met
Ed Mayo then. I spoke at the 2015 retail conference
about Nisa as a business-owned co-op. Not that it
would call itself that but that is what it is. So I’d
always had a positive view of Co-operatives UK and
Ed. I actually joined by various acts of serendipity.
I’ve been involved in another trade association for
convenience stores for 10 years as a board member
and was helping them in a strategy review. Part
of that involved meeting the leaders of other
associations. As part of that I met Ed over a beer in
Sheffield. I liked what I heard about the values of
the movement and decided to apply – and here I am.
TALK US THROUGH A TYPICAL DAY ...
It’s a new role and involves running the office and
the services we offer and develop for members.
It involves being a good number two to Ed and
supporting his work on strategy development and
taking the organisation forward to best serve our
members. The chance to strengthen and grow the
co-op economy is one I look forward to with relish.
WHAT IS YOUR CO-OPERATIVE DIFFERENCE?
“”
APPETITE FOR CHANGE
The thing that strikes me so far is that we are a very
trusted organisation; we are seen as a very good and
well-trusted intermediary and critical friend and
YOU HAVE GOT TO JUDGE
CORRECTLY THE CULTURE OF
THE ORGANISATION AND THE
adviser to everyone, with a relationship which has
been built up over many years.
WHAT’S THE BEST THING ABOUT THE JOB?
I enjoy it. I said to Ed in that pub in Sheffield that
I believed in what he and the organisation were
striving to achieve – and I wanted to come to work
with a smile on my face. So far, Co-operatives UK
has delivered on that. It’s a great team of people
who work here because they believe in the model
and what they do. Large companies would dream
of being able to create such a positive culture, so if
we can achieve great things for the organisation and
enjoy it along the way, what’s not to like?
AND WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING?
The whole co-operative movement is inherently
quite conservative and the most challenging thing
about that is the rate at which to challenge that and
bring in new ideas. That is what I have been talking
to colleagues about. You come in from the outside
world and see lots and lots of opportunities, but
you have got to judge correctly the culture of the
organisation and the appetite for change, and take
colleagues on that journey.
IF YOU COULD SET UP A BRAND NEW CO-OP
TOMORROW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
There’s not one single one I would choose. I’d
rather ask every business, “why can’t you be a
co-op”, and encourage a culture of co-operative
entrepreneurship in every sector of the UK economy.
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT CO-OPS
THAT YOU WISH YOU KNEW ON YOUR FIRST DAY?
I did a huge amount of research before taking on
the job – however, there are far more co-ops around
22 | MAY 2017

than I realised. I was talking last night to a good
friend of mine who told me that most English cricket
clubs are set up as co-operative societies, which I
did not know – and he had never heard of us. So
there is work to be done raising visibility.
WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE CO-OPERATIVES
UK IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS?
join our journey
be a member
Before I started, I probably hadn’t appreciated the
deep history of what evolved from the Co-operative
Union. What has emerged as Co-operatives UK now
is a well-run organisation which has passionate
skilled people working in it. But knowledge of
what it does could be wider, even within the co-op
movement, and I think there is a lot we can do
in five years to ensure the organisation does not
just tick along but moves forward in a way which
meets the business needs of 21st century co-ops.
I’d seek to grow membership and provide relevant
and commercial services to our members. It seems
to me that Co-operatives UK is a trusted partner
for co-ops and we can widen the number of ways
in which we can help. Our mission statement talks
about ‘promoting, developing and uniting co-ops’
and there are many things we can do within this.
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this is to shout
loudly about the business model of co-operation
and why it can be better. It can be combined with
entrepreneurship to create highly successful
business models in new and old sectors. I’d like
us to be thought-leaders in this and to grow the
co-operative economy.
WHICH ACHIEVEMENT ARE YOU PROUDEST OF?
As I spent 23 years at NISA, I think it’s sensible to
look back over my years there. When I took over
as CEO the organisation was in a bad way. It had
commercial challenges and a divided membership.
I think a lot of people would have wagered that
whoever took on the chief exec’s job at that time
would have really struggled. With a good team and
a great story to tell about how working together
could make things better, I introduced governance
reforms to look after members’ interests. These gave
the members confidence and lots of new members
joined. In 2006, Nisa had 800 members and £989m
turnover. Seven years later when I decided to pass
on the baton as CEO it had 1,300 members and a
£1.6bn turnover. There’s no one thing – it’s the
combination of many things. But that turnaround
I’d say is my best achievement. It helped thousands
of independent shops up and down the UK country
and grew employment. Nisa was recognised as best
convenience retailer as voted by 21,000 customers
in 2014 which highlighted how far we had come.
news
We’ve relaunched our membership,
offering member-owners more opportunity to
help us plot the future of our independent coverage
of the co-operative movement.
Find out more at:
thenews.coop/join
MAY 2017 | 23

ELECTION 2017
WHAT CAN THE CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT EXPECT FROM THE CONTENDERS FOR POWER?
ANALYSIS
ANTHONY MURRAY
looks at the implications
of Theresa May’s
decision to call a snap
election on 8 June
Labour is the party most traditionally associated
with co-operatives, which is underpinned through
its electoral agreement with the Co-operative Party,
which co-sponsors MPs.
So most co-operators will watch Jeremy Corbyn’s
actions ahead of the 8 June general election.
The Labour leader has set the party up as the
underdog, against Theresa May’s call to continue
her leadership under a Conservative government.
In his first speech of the election campaign, at
Church House, Westminster, Mr Corbyn said: “The
dividing lines in this election could not be clearer
from the outset. It is the Conservatives, the party of
privilege and the richest, versus the Labour Party,
the party that is standing up for working people to
improve the lives of all.
“It is the establishment versus the people,
and it is our historic duty to make sure that the
people prevail.”
In a comment that chimes with the values of
co-operatives, Mr Corbyn added that the “people of
Britain” must share in the country’s wealth.
“We will focus on giving people real control over
their own lives,” he said, “and make sure everybody
reaps a just reward for the work that they do.
“We will no longer allow those at the top to
leech off of those who bust their guts on zero hours
contracts or those forced to make sacrifices to pay
their mortgage or their rent.
“Instead of the country’s wealth being hidden in
tax havens we will put it in the hands of the people
of Britain as they are the ones who earned it.”
Compare this to Theresa May’s rhetoric, which
is focused on ensuring a Tory government has a
stronger hand during Brexit negotiations.
In her first campaign speech in Bolton, the
prime minister said: “This election is about
providing the strong and stable leadership this
country needs to take Britain through Brexit and
beyond. It’s about strengthening our hand in the
negotiations that lie ahead. And it’s about sticking
to our plan for a stronger Britain that will enable us
to secure that more stable and secure future for this
country and take the right long-term decision for
the future. It’s about strong and stable leadership
in the national interest.”
Looking beyond Brexit, Mrs May said another five
years of the Conservatives will focus on “building
a stronger economy”. Giving an indication of the
party’s policies, she said: “It’s about creating
well paid secure jobs. It’s about ensuring that
there is opportunity for all. That we provide a
good school place for every child. That there is
affordable housing. That people can get on in their
lives. It’s about ensuring that we create a more
united nation.”
Pollsters are tipping the Conservatives for a
landslide win by a majority of 100 seats, according
to polls published in both the Times and Telegraph.
In response, the Green Party is urging Labour
and the Liberal Democrats to be more tactical in the
election and ensure the best candidate from either
party stands in particular seats. If successful, this
could lead to a progressive coalition, with more
policy ideas coming from some of the smaller parties.
The Liberal Democrats have positioned
themselves as “the real voice of opposition” to the
“Conservative Brexit government”.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said it would “protect
Scotland’s interests”, aim to “end austerity” and
call for greater “investment in our public services”.
The Green Party said it would campaign for free
education, a living wage for all and investment in
mental health services.
24 | MAY 2017

How can the next government build
an economy for the people?
In the run-up to the election, politicians are
united in the wish for the UK to have a more
inclusive economy.
Co-operatives have a bold and pragmatic vision
for what a genuinely inclusive economy would look
like, according to sector body Co-operatives UK.
It is a business model where more people share
ownership, decision-making and wealth, built
on the powerful combination of pragmatism and
solidarity.
In a message to all political parties, Co-operatives
UK has focused its policy asks in four key areas to
bring the inclusive economy to life.
1. Help inclusive businesses thrive by ensuring
co-operative options are firmly embedded in
UK business policy, specifically by:
u Providing official recognition of co-ops as an
inclusive business model.
u Agreeing on a roadmap for policy
development in Whitehall aimed at making co-op
options more user-friendly, removing unnecessary
red tape faced by smaller co-ops and allowing
co-operative societies to adopt a statutory asset
lock if they choose.
2. Do more to help workers gain greater
ownership and control of their livelihoods by:
u Helping to develop a co-operative
entrepreneurs’ programme to augment
existing start-up support so people can
explore their co-op options, including when
they are in or transitioning to self-employment,
perhaps by redirecting spending away
from tax breaks for executive shareholders company
share option plans and enterprise management
incentive.
u Catalysing private, social and community
investment in employee buyouts as a route for
planned business succession, to ensure jobs,
wealth and decision-making are retained locally,
perhaps by using some money redirected away
from tax breaks for executive shareholders to
establish a co-investment fund.
u Being bolder in corporate governance reform
on company purpose and reporting, pay ratios,
employee representation and profit sharing, by
adapting what already works in co-ops. u
p What do co-ops want from the next government in Westminster?
MAY 2017 | 25

3. Make sure communities have the tools to
deal with the challenges they face together by:
u Tweaking rules and incentives to maximise
the opportunities for ordinary people to benefit
from ownership of local assets and enterprise
through Community Shares.
u Enabling communities everywhere to
create and crucially keep more wealth locally by
promoting community economic development, a
place-based approach focused on the needs and
capacities of local people.
u Ensuring energy and environmental
policy empowers communities to take action and
meet their aspirations in areas like local energy
supply, storage and demand management, and
retrofitting homes.
u Supporting user and community ownership of
enterprises providing public services.
4. Encourage small players in the economy
to co-operate more often for mutual
advantage, by:
u Helping farmers to survive and thrive outside
the EU by incentivising, promoting and supporting
improved co-operation in UK agriculture
u Backing self-help solutions for the selfemployed,
such as freelancer co-ops and collective
insurance schemes
“”
POWER TO COMMUNITIES
WHOEVER IS IN GOVERNMENT
ON 9 JUNE NEEDS TO LOOK AT
RADICAL NEW WAYS TO GIVE
u Championing the use of co-operative
consortia to help SMEs mitigate power imbalances,
uncertainty and volatility
u Ensuring UK competition policy after Brexit
allows for economic co-operation between
undertakings where this serves to benefit
consumers.
WHAT ARE OTHERS ASKING?
Employee Ownership Association: “It’s time
to recognise the positive impact employee
ownership has on the UK economy, and how
widespread awareness and support of the sector
can continue to reap benefits for economic growth.
The EOA is calling for a greater focus on the role
our sector can play in building and sustaining
a more productive, resilient and innovative
economy for all.”
Locality: “Whoever is in government on 9 June
needs to look at radical new ways to give power
to communities. English devolution has not
gone far enough in pushing power onwards to
neighbourhoods, and we need to reinvigorate the
Co-operative Party manifesto: Members want action on energy, housing, social care, local
The Co-operative Party is a voice for
co-operation in Westminster, with 28
MPs, and celebrates its 100th anniversary
this year. Its manifesto sets out proposals
to grow a co-operative sector by “building
an economy and society where power and
wealth are more equally shared”. The
Agenda for a Co-operative Britain draws
on a number of proposals submitted by its
members.
Specific proposals include:
u Establishing Britain as the best
place to start and grow a co-operative
business. The first step to achieving this
is a level playing field on regulation and
bureaucracy between co-operatives with
other business types
u Ways to reform corporate governance
to give workers and consumers a stronger
voice in the boardroom and ensure the
proceeds of corporate success are more
widely distributed
u Addressing the need to improve
the competitiveness of the financial
services market with continued support
for credit unions and building a new
generation of community banks and
building societies
u Ideas for replacing the Big Six energy
companies with thousands of communityowned
energy co-operatives
u Learning from the Welsh Labour &
26 | MAY 2017

intentions of localism to truly put power in the
hands of citizens.”
INCLUSIVE SOCIETY
Social Enterprise UK: Social enterprise has
a significant role to play in helping those
communities ‘left behind’ by a more globalised
and unequal economy, and the election offers an
opportunity for us to put forward our solutions
across health and social care; the environment;
education; employment and training; housing and
a range of other areas.
Wales Co-op Centre: Traditional approaches to
economic development are not working for the
whole of Wales and economic growth has become
unbalanced. The focus should be placed on creating
the conditions where strong, local, communitycentric
economies can flourish. We believe that the
social enterprise and co-operative sector can be at
the centre of these economies.
Locality: Growing inequality and poverty are not
inevitable. The EU referendum highlighted that
many communities have been excluded from the
benefits of economic growth for decades, and
efforts to decentralise power have not gone far
enough to give people a greater sense of control
over their own lives. Locality believes in a fair and
diverse society where every neighbourhood thrives
and local people determine their future together.
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT
Locality: Community assets are essential in
supporting local businesses and social enterprises
to thrive, as well as safeguarding vital community
facilities, supporting neighbourhood regeneration
and building local social capital.
Wales Co-op Centre: Businesses, communities
and individuals across Wales have benefited
significantly from European Union funding. Social
enterprises and co-operatives have been helped to
grow and create new jobs as a result of business
advice, grants and loans funded by the EU. We
want assurances that the kind of actions that
European funds have supported over the years will
be funded by the next UK government.”
p Leading voices in the
co-operative movement
want policymakers
to look at housing,
agriculture and energy
>>>>>
Follow more online:
thenews.coop/election
government and business regulation
Co-operative government’s work on
promoting new co-operative housing as
an affordable and secure alternative to the
private rented sector
u How to fulfil Labour’s commitment to
double the size of the co-operative sector
u Build on the innovative work emerging
in local government, in areas including
Preston, on how to ensure that public
procurement generates maximum benefit
for local economies including building
new co-operative businesses to fulfil
public sector contracts
u A vision for delivering a reformed social
care market which puts care workers,
care recipients and their families at its
heart and reduces profit-leakage from the
system
u Re-building solidarity in the labour
market through the development of new
co-operatives of self-employed workers.
p Lessons from the Welsh government
MAY 2017 | 27

CONFERENCE
ANCA VOINEA and
REBECCA HARVEY
report from the 2017
Co-operative Education
Conference
p Professor Keri Facer
speaks on collaborative
approaches to research
u Simon Parkinson,
College principal and chief
executive, presents results
at the AGM
Co-operation can enable people
to play a key role in research
With changes to the political, social, economic
and technological landscape, the idea of public
involvement in research is regaining interest.
Along with this trend, a more co-operative and
collaborative approach is also being re-explored.
Professor Keri Facer of the University of Bristol
calls the phenomenon the “return on the public”.
A keynote speaker at the Co-operative Education
and Research Conference in Manchester, Prof Facer
sees the current appetite for public engagement as
a double-edged sword.
While collaboration can be used to buttress
the power of elite interests and capture public
bodies, real participation can be used to challenge,
reimagine and reinvigorate institutions, she said.
With these changes under way, the education and
learning sector is also exploring how to engage with
the public to find solutions for new challenges.
Prof Facer is a leadership fellow for the
Connected Communities Programme, a nationwide,
300-project programme facilitating collaborative
research between universities and civil society and
community organisations.
She explained how American economist Elinor
Ostrom had developed the idea of co-production
in the delivery of public services in the 1970s,
with organisations, local government and people
co-operating for the best outcomes.
As part of her work for the Connected
Communities Programme, Prof Facer surveyed
participants’ views on the collaborative working
process. Based on the survey, she suggested 10 key
points that research organisations, including those
involved in co-operative education, could take into
account when seeking to reframe their relationship
with the public:
1. Not everyone has the same capacity to collaborate
or participate.
2. Social networks shape access to participation.
Early stage genesis of projects emerge from social
networks and existing networks.
3. Collaboration is driven by different motivations.
4. There are fundamentally different traditions of
collaboration. These different traditions require
institutions to do different things.
5. Collaboration requires recognition and working
through the risk of tokenism.
6. Not all collaborations are equal.
7. When collaboration works you get different
28 | MAY 2017

sorts of roles and relationships emerging, such
as facilitator, accountant, broker, designer,
nurturer, diplomat, etc.
8. Money can be a mixed blessing. You need
money to demonstrate research practices and you
cannot involve communities in projects without
money to cover basic expenses. However, most
funding is received on a project basis and there
are real problems with this short-term system,
as it disrupts the collaborative relationship
between organisations. Money can also change
the friendly initial relationship into a contractual
one. Resources should be for partnerships and
relationships rather than projects.
9. Time is essential. When there is not enough time
there are no resources for people and the false
model of colonisation and confusion can emerge.
10. The key legacy of collaboration is embodied
in people.
Prof Facer’s research has also shown that
participation produces new products, helps
develop people’s skills and leads to the emergence
of new relationships and concepts. According to the
responses to her survey, collaboration also builds a
much more open model of research, offering more
freedom to researchers, which means their work is
continually evolving.
“This sort of research is a method like any other,”
she said. “It can be done poorly or it can be done
well. I have seen it done really disastrously and
I have seen it done brilliantly. The real issue is,
is it done with skill and care and understanding
that there are choices to be made? If you think you
can just collaborate with people, it probably won’t
go well.”
CAN DIGITAL BADGES HELP SHOW THE ‘CO-OP
CHARACTER’?
u What is the co-operative character and how
can it be badged? asked Dr Doug Belshaw at the
conference. He described co-operation as a virtue
rather than a collection of skills.
u To showcase these, he suggested using digital
badges via Openbadges.org, an initiative started
by Mozilla in 2011. Mozilla’s idea has been a
hit, with thousands of organisations across the
world issuing badges. “Open badges can point
to evidence of doing something, not just a claim,
turning claims into proofs,” said Dr Belshaw.
ADULT EDUCATION: HOW CAN CO-OPS HELP?
u Adult education is too important to be left to
chance, according to a 2016 report by Warwick
University. Chris Butcher, research and public policy
officer at the Workers’ Educational Association
talked about the work of the organisation, which is
the UK’s largest voluntary sector provider of adult
education in England and Scotland.
u Nigel Todd, chair of the board of trustees
at the Co-operative College, explained how
its own research had revealed that, by joining
co-operatives, people were learning new things as
well as gaining trust and building a connection with
the organisation. Co-op philosophy can also help
bring together groups of people to improve their
communities, he added.
u Prof Hazel Johnson of the Open University
highlighted that co-ops had something to offer to
young people. People could engage in co-ops, gain
skills and formalise these through organisations
such as the WEA or the College.
u Prof Facer argued that education bodies needed
to work together as a collective sector. u
Co-operative
Education
Conference
ORGANISERS:
Co-operative College
WHEN: 5-6 April 2017
WHERE: Manchester
Metropolitan
University
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
Keri Facer (professor
of educational
and social futures,
University of
Bristol); Lemn Sissay
(poet, author and
broadcaster)
COLLEGE PRESENTS RESULTS AFTER 15 MONTHS UNDER NEW STRUCTURE
The Co-operative College presented members with 15 months of results at its
AGM. The College became a member-led charity on 1 May 2015. Since then, 209
individuals and 11 organisations have joined.
At last year’s meeting it unveiled a long-term strategy of investment for
growth, which has reduced its total charitable funds, the meeting was told.
For the 15-month period, the College reported an income of £1,269,695, the
AGM heard. It ended the 15 months with total charitable funds of £4,009,244,
a reduction of £213,483 on the previous reporting period.
With expenditure for the same period exceeding £1.7m, the College ended
the first 15 months as a CIO with an underlying operational deficit of £155,597,
which is lower than the £211,069 operational deficit reported for the 16 months
under the previous charity structure.
The organisation has set a long-term target to break even by the end of the
financial year ending July 2019.
MAY 2017 | 29

CO-OPERATIVE WOMEN’S CHALLENGE
u Natalie Bradbury (Co-operative College) and Rebecca Harvey
(Co-operative News) presented a listening space to explore what
is needed for a more equal co-op movement.
u Groups looked at learning and development; meeting other
women face to face; and resources, discussing what was missing
and what could be useful. Delegates expressed a desire for
mentoring and networks, as well as accessible case studies
and staff time for continuing professional development. The
discussion should also include women in co-ops internationally,
men, and examples from outside co-ops.
q Natalie Bradbury leads a discussion on the Co-operative Women’s
Challenge; Bottom: keynote speaker, Lemn Sissay
THE YOUTH QUESTION
u Ruth Holtom, former youth projects co-ordinator for the
Co-operative College, led a session discussing the different
experiences of co-operatives for young people, and the barriers to
getting involved. Barriers raised include negative connotations;
a lack of trust; ideas of irresponsibility; and older members not
wanting to pass on opportunities for a new generation.
The importance of
co-operative thinking
In a keynote by Lemn Sissay, the poet and broadcaster spoke
about how co-operative structures and thinking are integral to,
and have inspired, his own way of thinking and actions.
“People are made invisible by not being served,” he said. “The
only way to change this is by employing the ethics and values of
co-operative structure and providing services.”
Having grown up in care, in 2013 Mr Sissay launched a project to
give a real Christmas Day to care-leavers in Manchester, organised
co-operatively by people in the area. Last year, Christmas Days
were also held in Leeds, Liverpool, Oxford and London.
“My life has been a chain of co-ops,” said Mr Sissay, speaking
after the event. “Co-op thinking was established in me very early.”
His first gig was at the Abasindi Black Women’s Co-op in Moss
Side, Manchester. “I was the odd one out, with a broad Lancashire
accent and dreadlocks – I was the only Rasta who liked bitter and
meat pies,” he said. His first job was Asian and Afro Caribbean
Writers Development Worker at Commonword co-op.
These were “two extremely important developments into my
adult life from childhood, who accepted me when I left care and
came to Manchester from the villages,” he said.
“I worked at Commonword for four years. The co-op thinking
that I took from that was equality and equity – that nobody was
the boss and that actually we just had to make decisions together.
New ideas challenged received ideas, and they were discussed in
the open.
“The feeling of being equal although you’re a learner was what I
got from being in a co-op – and I’ve taken that everywhere. That’s
who I am and that’s how I am.”
30 | MAY 2017

A co-operative education system
for a co-operative Wales?
Co-operators and educators from around speaking in a personal capacity, talked about how
Wales gathered on a warm Saturday in April to the OU and others are embracing MOOCs (massive
discuss the place of co-operative education in open online courses). Delegates were struck by the
an era of individualism. The event, organised by number and variety of free courses, easily available
Co-operatives and Mutuals Wales, asked: ‘What online and adaptable to different needs. The OU
would an excellent co-operative education system is particularly responsive to learners’ feedback in
look like? How can curriculum and training be developing and modifying the courses. The growth
given a co-operative nudge? How can communities of MOOCs makes access more equitable and
be engaged? Is there actually a need for challenges the notion that value always has to have
co-operative education?
a market price.
Four short expert presentations gave the Afternoon sessions can be a little soporific as
opportunity to develop themes such as ‘enablers lunch is digested, but there was no need for a
and barriers’, and ‘assumptions and implications’. wake-up call as facilitator Sue Lyle took delegates
Delegates encouraged each other to question the through an exercise in collaborative learning and
language that groups with shared values can take decision making. The brief was to form a question
for granted.
about co-operative education which would best use
Professor David Reynolds from Swansea the combined knowledge in the room.
University pointed to the challenges facing The mechanism was that each individual
community education in a society where the formulated a question, pairs distilled two questions
primacy of individual choice is assumed. He into one, groups of four further refined the question,
talked about a system which produced pupils who then the whole group chose the final question.
were clever, but could also connect with other Ground rules about interruption and order of
individuals – psycho-social resilience in the jargon. speaking were established and the delegates
That was easier if the school itself was an inclusive agreed a final question which would inform
community – in fact, as well as in name.
Co-operatives and Mutuals Wales’ work in future:
There’s more to working co-operatively than just “To what extent can a co-operative education
sticking up a list of ICA principles on the wall, system help achieve the goals of the Well-being of
said Cilla Ross, vice principal of the Co-operative Future Generations Act?”
College. She argued that we need to show wellresearched
The day was marked by thoughtful concentration
and documented evidence that and co-operative exchange between people
A Co-operative education system for a co-operative Wales?
co-operation actually is a better way to provide who share many values. Working with wider
An event organised by Co-operatives and Mutuals Wales
‘life-wide’ as well as life-long learning.
communities, between
Speakers
people who have different
Professor David Reynolds (Swansea
CO-OPERATIVE CLASSROOMS
University) world views, is perhaps,
Dr Cilla Ross, Co-operative the harder College co-operative
Dr Sue Lyle (Philosophy for Children, ex
Lansdowne Primary School has the motto
senior
‘Living
lecturer, teacher
challenge.
training, Swansea
and learning as we move along together.’ Met) In the A full report and
Kevin Pascoe, Open University Wales,
past that didn’t reflect the reality of school life, said a video of the event
personal capacity
Luisa Monro-Morris, head teacher. There had Luisa been Munro-Morris will Head be teacher available of from
parental conflict and school conflict, which
Lansdowne
was
Primary
Co-operatives and Mutual
handled by keeping antagonists apart.
Wales this summer.
Outside trainers came and went without Saturday 8th April,
any real change – but the school is 2017, now Cartrefi a
Cymru Cardiff
success. The turnaround came about through
CF10 5NB
better participation, using methods inspired
by Philosophy for Children (P4C) to improve
listening, communication, behaviour, questioning,
reasoning, reading and understanding.
for remaining
tickets and
The next speaker took delegates from a information school
size of 500 to a class size of 435,000 for a visit single Cooperatives
and Mutuals Wales
course. Kevin Pascoe of the Open University,
web site
goo.gl/ZMxh5o
CONFERENCE
CALLUM JOHNSTON
reports from the
Co-operative Education
in Wales Conference
q Illustration: redrawn
from Emett, The
Homework Assistant
Co-op Education
in Wales
ORGANISERS:
Co-operatives and
Mutuals Wales
WHEN: 8 April
WHERE: Cartrefi
Cymru, Cardiff
SPEAKERS: Professor
David Reynolds
(Swansea University);
Dr Cilla Ross (Coop
College); Dr Sue
Lyle (Philosophy for
Children, ex-senior
lecturer, teacher
training, Swansea
Met); Kevin Pascoe
(Open University
Wales, personal
capacity); Luisa
Munro-Morris
(head teacher of
Lansdowne Primary)
MAY 2017 | 31
Illustration, redrawn from Emett, The

150 years of Chelmsford
Star Co-operative
150 years ago, Chelmsford Star Co-operative was born, and 2017 is going
to be a year of huge celebration.
The society is presenting an exhibition at Chelmsford Museum from
June until August, and every week a free basket of shopping is given
away to a member – all part of a plan to make 2017 ‘the best year yet to be
a member of Chelmsford Star (so far)’.
“As we celebrate our 150th anniversary, the quote by Henry Ford,
‘Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working
together is success’, comes to mind,” says chief executive Barry Wood.
“I am proud to lead the society as we celebrate our 150th anniversary,
and – as the current custodians of co-operation in Chelmsford – lay the
foundations for the coming decades for our members.”
“We are encouraging people to join, and we can see it building
momentum,” adds Kevin Bennett, head of membership and marketing.
“Later in the year we will also be introducing a trial of member-only
prices on certain health and beauty products, and if this is successful, it
could move into other sectors too.”
To mark the anniversary, the society is launching a 150th Fairtrade
heritage chocolate bar (available from late spring) and is launching a
commemorative book at its AGM on 8 May.
Alan Reynolds is one of the longestserving
members of staff at Chelmsford
Star. He joined straight after leaving
school in 1974, getting a Saturday
job in the record department at the
society’s Central store. “I’ve done
a bit of everything,” he says, “from
houseware and clothing to being
a menswear buyer.” He is now the
customer service manager and
admin manager for furniture.
“What made the co-op stand out
at the time was the fact it offered
a lot of training and management
qualifications, which weren’t
always available elsewhere. Back then to work for
the local co-op was an achievement in itself,” he adds.
The biggest change over his 43 years has been the technology.
“When I started, using a phone was an event rather than something
you did every five minutes, now everything is done using handheld
computers. I’m not totally convinced it’s made the job
easier! But the tills, barcode scanning, instant communication…
It’s been embraced by Chelmsford Star every step of the way.”
Another fond memory is how working together led to socialising
together. “Socialising became an extension of work – playing
football or cricket with colleagues provided a sense of community
and a support network,” says Mr Reynolds. “You could be working
under a manager one day, and opening the batting with him the
day after.” Most staff are part time rather than full time, he adds,
and being open seven days a week makes it more difficult to pull
a sports team together.
“Chelmsford Star has always been fair,” he says. “You can’t
work at a co-op without becoming a co-operator of sorts… I’ve
had incredible fun.”
1846: Essex’s first co-op
opened in Halstead,
selling cheese, coffee and
tobacco. It was short lived
1867: Chelmsford
Star Industrial
Co-operative
Society established
1892: One of the first
businesses to introduce
electric lights in-store; phone
connections follow in 1896
1943:
Society funded
Chelmsford
Co-op Party
1955: First
self-service
shop opened
1847: Chelmsford’s first co-op
(The Chelmsford Co-operative
Coal Society) established to
help people with affordable
heating. It closed in 1869
1881: Chelmsford
Star opened its
Central Store on
Moulsham Street
1915: First
Motorised
deliveries
introduced
1936: Funeral
business
launched
1954: Annual
sales exceeded
£1m for the first
time
1961: First
female
president,
Beatrice
Double
32 | MAY 2017

CHELMSFORD STAR WAS FOUNDED... on 11 April 1867 at the society’s very first
AGM. This year’s celebration takes place on the 150th AGM, on 8 May 2017.
BY... a group of 18 owners from local ironworks, who became known as the Iron
Band – Essex’s equivalent of the Rochdale Pioneers.
THE SOCIETY’S ORIGINAL AIM... was to improve the lives of people in the area.
Chelmsford had similar issues to the rest of the country with adulterated foods,
dodgy weights and poor living and working conditions. In Essex, there was a
particular problem with coal prices and the price of meat (the area was badly
hit by the cattle plague of 1866, when 330,000 had to be slaughtered).
IN THE FIRST YEAR... the co-op grew to 800 members and sales of £4,316.
TODAY... there are over 28,000 active members and the society’s gross takings
for last year amounted to £103.5m.
THE FIRST PRODUCTS... were coal and drapery, and the society also offered a
range of tea, coffee, snuff, butter and flour. In its department store, menswear
was also popular, although this tailed off with World War I. Today, ladieswear is
very popular, as are beds – Chelmsford Star has the largest bed showroom in
Essex. In the food stores, chilled meals and food to go are best sellers.
SOME OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES... were in the 1870s, when the 20-year
Long Depression began, nearly wiping the co-operative out as members began
withdrawing money. During the two world wars there were a few store fires and
later, in the 1980s, came recession and unemployment.
THE BIGGEST CHANGE... has been its geographical expansion. The society
focused on Chelmsford and the surrounding suburbs for a long time, but in
1969 it absorbed Braintree Co-op and started to spread its wings further. Today
Chelmsford Star has 42 food shops, two travel agents, two department stores
and seven funeral homes, trading across mid-Essex and Greater London.
ITS RELEVANCE TODAY... comes from the fact the co-op is still about serving the
community – even if people are less interested in coal. Its mission is to ‘To work
together giving life and meaning to the co-op difference by trading ethically in
order to share our success, and serve, support and sustain local communities’.
The society supports over 300 charities through its day to day business – and
has calculated that 33p in every £1 spent in stores is reinvested in Essex.
WHAT HAS THE ORGANISATION LEARNED? “You need to listen to the members
and what they want, and not be afraid to try new ideas,” says Kevin Bennett.
“We are running a business for members and the community – even if they
aren’t speaking to you directly, you can watch and learn from their actions.”
p Moulsham Street through the ages (1902, 1931,
1958 and 2017): Chelmsford Star opened its Central
Store on Moulsham Street in 1881, where its flagship
Quadrant Department store still stands today.
1971: Dividend
stamps
introduced
1969: Braintree
Co-operative
absorbed into
Chelmsford Star
1988: Department
stores renamed
‘Quadrant’
1995: ‘STARCARD’ membership
card launched, winning awards
for utilising state-of-the-art
chip technology
1999: Community
Card introduced,
bringing a new way to
support local groups
2011: Youth Council
established
2014: ‘Member of
the Month’ launched
a series of new,
more immediate,
member benefits
2017: Chelmsford Star
reaches 150. The ‘Big
Grocery Giveaway’
awarded a member with
a free shop each week,
while ‘Member of the
Month’ increased to
award spot prizes totalling
£200 each month,
celebrating the ‘Best Year
Ever’ to be a member
MAY 2017 | 33

DE-MYSTIFYING
GOVERNANCE
34 | MAY 2017

WHAT IS GOVERNANCE?
One useful definition of governance is: “The
systems and processes concerned with ensuring the
overall direction, supervision and accountability
of an organisation.” (Chris Cornforth Governance
Overview, Governance and Participation project,
Co-operatives UK, 2004)
The word ‘governance’ is from the Latin
“gubernare” – to steer (a ship). And that’s what a
governing body does. Governing an organisation
isn’t the same as running it day-to-day.
As Co-operatives UK says in its Simply Governance
guide: “Governance is not about paying wages or
bills, but rather ensuring that there are effective
systems in place to ensure that wages and bills are
paid in a timely manner.”
Depending on the type of organisation, a co-op’s
governing body could be referred to as a board of
directors, or a committee of management made up
of committee members. Co-operatives UK currently
recognise as co-ops: enterprises incorporated as
co-operative societies; community benefit societies;
companies; community interest companies; limited
liability partnerships; and credit unions.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT ROLES?
THE PRESIDENT is a figurehead role often occupied by someone who brings
kudos to the organisation because of their community standing. This title is
also used in some organisations to describe the role of the chair.
THE CHAIR leads meetings through the agenda and makes sure the
organisation complies with its governing document and the legal and
regulatory framework the organisation falls within.
THE VICE-CHAIR stands in for the chair when they are not available.
THE COMPANY SECRETARY generally acts as the link between the
organisation and the outside world, particularly regulators. Societies must
have a secretary, whereas companies no longer have to have one unless their
governing document says so.
AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR is a member of the board who also serves, or has
previously served as an executive manager of the organisation (ie a paid
member of staff).
A NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR is a member of the board who does not form
part of the executive management team.
WHO CAN BE ON THE GOVERNING BODY?
There is usually a difference between who runs
a co-op (the ‘executive’) and who governs it
(the ‘governing body’) – but not always. In large
organisations, the day-to-day executive running
of an organisation is done separately from its
governance, with different people carrying out these
different roles – but in smaller organisations (12-15
people) it is more common for the same people to
carry out both governance and executive roles.
The governing body is a group of people who are
delegated by members to undertake the strategic
management of the organisation – and who can be a
member of an organisation’s governing body should
be defined in its governing document.
According to Co-operatives UK, “in a co-operative
or community enterprise, the governing body is
typically elected from within the membership,
although it is possible to appoint governing body
members who are not members of the organisation”.
So in many cases, if you are a member of a co-op, you
should be able to stand for election as its director.
But election isn’t the only route onto a board.
There are a lot of different types of co-operatives
with different histories and different kinds of
memberships – and this is reflected in the makeup
of the governing body. The initial structure is
decided when an organisation set up, but it can be
changed if the governing body puts a proposal to a
vote at a special general meeting. u
MAY 2017 | 35

The key elements of governance
• Succession
planning
• Skills
• Evaluation
AN EFFECTIVE BOARD
Members
• Composition
& recruitment
• Dynamics &
behaviour
• General
meetings
• Holding to
account
MEMBERS & PARTICIPATION
AN EFFECTIVE
BOARD:
Develop the
capability of the
governing body
to be effective.
PURPOSE
• Governing documents
• Mission & vision
• Strategy & objectives
• Culture & values
MEMBERS &
PARTICIPATION:
Ensure
appropriate &
effective member
participation.
• Connection to
business
• Communications &
engagement
• Rights &
responsibilities
PURPOSE
Focus on the
purpose of the
co-operative
• Policies &
procedures
OPERATIONS
& PROCESSES:
Carry on the work
of governance in
an effective way.
PERFORMANCE
& ROLES:
Perform
effectively in
clearly defined roles.
PERFORMANCE & ROLES
OPERATIONS & PROCESSES
• Checks & balances
• Structure & plan
• Decision
making
• Behaviours
• Compliance
• Reporting
• Roles & duties
• Delegation &
limitations
• Stakeholder management
Values & principles of co-operation
www.thehive.coop
p Co-operative Group chair Allan Leighton addresses members at the 2016 AGM
According to Co-operatives UK, as well as by
election, people can join a governing body through:
CO-OPTION by the existing governing body (often
used to bring someone onto the governing body
with a particular skill or expertise; the governing
document will often define a maximum number or
proportion of members who can be co-opted);
EX-OFFICIO (the governing body may include exofficio
members, whereby an individual is entitled
to a position on the governing body by virtue of a
position they hold);
APPOINTMENT (a member organisation may be able
to appoint someone to serve on the governing body);
NOMINATION (a member organisation may
nominate someone to represent them)
WHAT DOES GOOD GOVERNANCE LOOK LIKE?
“Good governance is at the heart of a thriving and
sustainable co-op,” says Emma Laycock, advice
manager at Co-operatives UK.
“When the right people with the right skills
and experience are in place, with agreed policies
and good communication, the co-op can set its
direction, hold the board to account and be sure it
is operating in the interests of and providing value
to its members.”
Good governance supports the governing body of
a co-operative in its task of creating and maintaining
a strong and sustainable business that meets the
needs of its members – conversely a neglect of
governance weakens accountability and carries
multiple risks to the business and its strategy.
Working closely with its members, Co-operatives
UK has helped define what good governance looks
THE CO-OPERATIVE GOVERNANCE EXPERT REFERENCE PANEL’S STATEMENT ON THE ROLE OF A CO-OPERATIVE BOARD:
The role of a co-operative board is to ensure the long-term success of the enterprise in accordance with the International Co-operative
Alliance Statement on Co-operative Identity.
The Board is appointed by and accountable to the members who own and control the co-operative. The Board represents the membership,
making business decisions in the interest of members. The Board acts as the custodian of the co-operative’s assets to safeguard the
enterprise for the future.
A co-operative board provides accountable leadership by setting the strategic direction of the enterprise ensuring it runs efficiently
within a framework of prudent and effective controls and in line with co-operative values and principles.
The Board’s key responsibilities fall into the following categories: vision and mission; strategy and objectives; culture and values;
accountable leadership; control environment; governance process; and succession planning.
36 | MAY 2017

like for co-ops by creating a series of codes of
governance for consumer, worker and agricultural
co-operatives – and has also devised the ‘governance
wheel’.
The wheel “depicts the key areas of governance
that should be in place within a thriving cooperative
business”. The key elements it highlights
are: an effective board; operations and processes;
performance and roles; and members and
participation.
The wheel was created by the Co-operative
Governance Expert Reference Panel, which was
set up after Co-operatives UK members identified a
need for an independent and authoritative voice in
the co-op sector for best practice in governance.
Another output from the panel is a statement
on the role of a board after a need was found for a
clear, authoritative and concise statement about the
board’s role in a co-operative.
The panel comprises Emma Laycock, Kevin Jaquiss
(DWF). Nick Money (chair, Nick Money Ltd), Edward
Parker (Midcounties), Jane Powell (Lincolnshire),
Angela Lomax (David Tolson Partnership) and Ross
Hodgson (Suma Wholefoods).
“For me the purpose is to bring people from
different co-operative sectors who have an interest
and knowledge of governance and governance
issues, to then offer advice to the wider co-op sector,
that can hopefully be used and referred to by all
sectors,” says Mr Hodgson.
“The benefit is that this advice is coming from the
very people that work with these issues on a-day-to
day basis, from larger consumer co-ops and housing
co-ops to worker co-ops like Suma.”
He adds: “We are currently working on some stuff
on board democracy and diversity in co-operatives,
which is based on some really interesting research
so I’m really looking forward to the outcome.”
USEFUL LINKS:
u Co-operatives UK governance codes for consumer, worker
and agricultural co-operatives: S.COOP/GOVCODES
ELECTION &
ENGAGEMENT
SERVICES FOR
CO-OPERATIVES
UK Engage supports co-operative
governance, providing Independent
Scrutineer services for board and
council elections. We also specialise
in engaging with your members,
encouraging participation at each
stage of your election.
Online & Postal Voting
Engagement Consultation
Multi-Channel Engagement
AGM Proxy Voting
Instore Voting
ENGAGE WITH US:
NEW
ONLINE
ELECTION &
ENGAGEMENT HUB
u Co-operatives UK Simply governance document:
S.COOP/SIMPLYGOV
u The Hive: Elements for good governance: S.COOP/GOODGOV
u The Co-operative Governance Expert Reference Panel
(including links to the wheel of governance and the full
statement on the role of a co-operative board:
S.COOP/GOVREFPANEL
MAY 2017 | 37
UKE_Coop_78x226halfpageAD(FINAL)V2.indd 1 19/04/2017 13:28

MEET...
... Three directors,
from three very different
co-operatives...
What kinds of person does it take to fill a seat on a co-operative board? We
speak to three current directors about how they got there, the challenges faced
and the advice they would give.
BARBARA RAINFORD is a
director at Midcounties Cooperative
and represents the
society on the boards of Cooperative
Press, Co-op Futures
and Go-op.
MY DAY JOB IS... a partner in a marketing and PR
business helping people with online promotion
in an increasingly digital world. Having run my
own business since I was 18, my background is
in the commercial world but I have always been
involved in the third sector in some way – mainly
helping young people. Currently I am a volunteer
on the Young Enterprise board in Shropshire.
MY FIRST DIRECTORSHIP... is at Midcounties.
The co-operative purchased the Tuffins stores
which gave them a bigger presence in Shropshire
and the Welsh borders. There were no directors
from Shropshire on the Midcounties board so
as a member, I decided to stand for election.
As well as representing Midcounties on the
Co-op Press board, on Co-op Futures and Goop
(open access training co-op), I attend many
co-operative events representing Midcounties
– such as the Ways Forward Conferences, Co-op
Group AGM, Co-operative College Conference,
Co-op Party Conference, Co-op Congress, Co-op
Energy conference, Future Co-ops Conference
and Plunkett AGM. At all these events I have met
different people who play different roles in cooperation
all over the world.
SINCE I WAS ELECTED... I have learned so much
about co-operation. I was amazed to find out
how much co-ops help the local communities
they serve and the volunteer hours donated
by all colleagues. Midcounties has now set
up regional communities which focus on local
areas, for example, and I am really pleased to
have been able to help with this. Getting local
publicity means more people know about the
role co-ops play in the local community. Last year
the Shrewsbury Regional Community supported
two local organisations – the Street Pastors and
young carers – and organised a trip for young
carers to Alton Towers and to the Churchstoke
Fun Day. The Street Pastors provided transport.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES TO
BECOMING A DIRECTOR IS... Time. You have to
be able to devote sufficient time, not only to the
board duties in attending meetings and all the
reading of the relevant papers, but being involved
in promoting co-operation, through talking to
members at events, explaining the true meaning
of co-operation, being involved in the local
community and participating democratically – as
well as attending half-yearly meetings and AGMs.
THE ADVICE I’D GIVE TO ANYONE WANTING TO
BECOME A DIRECTOR IS... Just do it! If you are
passionate about helping people to live in a
better world, co-operation is the way forward.
38 | MAY 2017

ROSS HODGSON joined the
board of Co-operatives UK
earlier this year and is part of
the organisation’s governance
reference panel.
MY DAY JOB IS... as a workermember
at Suma, the UK’s
largest independent wholefood
wholesaler/distributor. It has
a flat structure but within that I
currently co-ordinate the buying
and service areas.
MY FIRST DIRECTORSHIP... is at Co-operatives UK. I was elected
to the Worker Co-op Council in 2016, which is elected by worker
co-operative and employee owned members of Co-operatives UK
and acts as a sounding board on issues affecting worker co-ops.
The people on the council have always encouraged me to get
involved in more things – starting by encouraging me to stand for
the council in the first place. The Worker Co-op Council has two
places on Co-operatives UK’s board. Unfortunately one of the
people on the board had to stand down; I put myself forward for
the place and the council elected me. I am also on Co-operatives
UK’s governance reference panel.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES TO BECOMING A DIRECTOR
IS... having the confidence to think you can do it – and getting past
the initial stages of what can seem like a mountain of information
to digest.
THE ADVICE I’D GIVE TO ANYONE WANTING TO BECOME A
DIRECTOR IS... throw yourself at opportunities and get involved
in different pieces of work where you can – that applies to anyone
at any co-op. Hopefully, through that, opportunities will present
themselves. Talk to the people in those roles, and you’ll probably
find what they do is something you could do too. You may have
business skills, or life experience that can add value. Saying that,
it’s obviously important you do familiarise yourself with the duties
of a director, look at what you are good at, and try to develop areas
where you aren’t. It’s important to differentiate the role of being
a director with the role of being a manager; there’s crossover but
you need to think more strategically as a director.
p The warehouse at Suma
KATE WHITTLE has been a
director of several different
co-operatives – and has most
recently been elected to the
admin board of the Bristol Cable.
MY DAY JOB IS... a freelance
co-operative skills trainer. I run
training courses, away days and
strategy sessions, focusing on,
for example, decision making,
how to run effective meetings,
and planning, looking at the processes behind them.
MY FIRST DIRECTORSHIP... was with the Phone Co-op, for four
years from 2003. I stood because I love the organisation – it’s a
wonderful example of how to run a co-operative! Today, I am a
director of Bristol Sims Hill Shared Harvest (a CSA scheme) and
Go-op – and most recently the Bristol Cable newspaper. I read
the Cable and immediately thought I wanted to get involved so I
joined up as a member about two years ago. I wanted to support
them more, so this year stood for the admin board and was
elected in April.
GETTING THE GOVERNANCE RIGHT IN A CO-OP IS IMPORTANT
BECAUSE... conflict can arise when it goes wrong. There needs to
be really clear roles within the board; the board overstepping its
mark can be a source of conflict, as can them not doing enough.
THE ADVICE I’D GIVE TO ANYONE WANTING TO BECOME A
DIRECTOR IS... go for it! Read the minutes from the last few
meetings, find out about the history, how the board works, the
different roles, how much time is required, etc. But also talk to
existing directors. It’s important to have conversations – and to
ask for an induction process. Induction is really important, as
people need to understand what they’re getting involved in – a
lot of people will bring assumptions which will be challenged in
co-op models.
MAY 2017 | 39

Learning about co-operative governance
KEEPING UP TO DATE
“Organisations change all the time, as does best
practice in co-operative governance,” says Emma
Laycock, Co-operatives UK’s advice manager. “A
neglect of governance weakens the framework of
accountability and carries risk to the co-op. That’s
why regular governance reviews and training
are essential for co-ops – they help ensure the
fundamentals of an effective member owned
business run smoothly.”
Jim Booth, head of co-op development at the
Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society (SAOS)
agrees. “As the business environment gets tougher,
the quality and strategic capability of its board is
critical for a co-op,” he says. “Therefore continuous
training is essential to ensure all directors have the
skills and capabilities to meet the challenges.
“One of best ways to improve a co-op’s
performance is to develop the skills and capabilities
of its directors. Training of both new directors and
for existing directors, as continuous professional
development (CPD), is essential for success.”
The training offered by co-operatives to those
involved in its governance varies depending on
the organisation’s size, type and sector; some offer
internal training, while others use the skills of
external experts.
Co-operatives UK, for example, offers essential
and advanced training for co-op directors and
secretaries, plus an additional range of in-house
training for boards, focusing on specific areas they
would like, or doing governance reviews, audits and
health-checks.
PEER-LED LEARNING
“”
ABOUT HOW BUSINESS WORKS
SAOS, which supports farm co-ops across Scotland,
has a suite of director development training
workshops. Its Foundation programme contains six
workshops including effective co-op governance,
co-op finance and managing people for farm co-ops.
TRAINING IS ESSENTIAL FOR CO-
OPERATORS TO UNLEARN MANY
OF THE ASSUMPTIONS MADE
“In addition we deliver a number of forums, which
recognise the value of farmer directors, chairs, coop
managers and staff from different co-ops coming
together to network, share knowledge, skills and
experiences,” says Mr Booth.
“A founding principle of a forum is that the
participants have ownership and decide on meeting
topics, agenda, meeting times and venues. Each
forum consists of 8-12 members who meet three times
per year. The venues of the forum rotate around
each of the participants’ co-op businesses, to ensure
each meeting is very applied, and participants can
investigate real examples of innovation and best
practice first-hand.”
SAOS staff organise and facilitate the meetings,
producing a summary of learning from each
meeting to ensure they are outcome-based. “This
type of approach to KT and skills development is
very successful, as it is an effective route to motivate
individuals to change their behaviour through the
influence of peers.”
BESPOKE CO-OPERATIVE SUPPORT
The Co-operative College offers a wide range of
training, from interactive full day workshop and
board skill audits, to short high-impact eLearning
courses.
“Governance is a topic that is constantly evolving,
and it is important that every single person within
an organisation understands what it means for a
co‐operative to be well governed, no matter what
their role,” says Angela Colebrook, learning &
development manager at the College.
“It is the only way to ensure that every aspect of
the business is working in a truly co‐operative way,
and that all members and employees are working
p One of the Co-operative College’s eLearning courses
40 | MAY 2017

towards the same goal. [Everyone] needs to understand the
importance of governance and crucially what makes co-operative
governance different.”
There is also training available from co-operative development
bodies, most of which offer bespoke support rather than ready
made courses; Co-op Business Consultants, Co-operative Futures,
Consultancy.coop and Cooperantics, to name a few.
Cooperantics’ Kate Whittle believes that training of some kind
is essential for “co-operators to unlearn many of the assumptions
that we make about how business works”. Co-operative
inductions – for both members and those involved in governance
– are key, she says. “If a co-op neglects that, new members and
directors will bring their unquestioned assumptions about how
business works and act on them with a very real danger that the
co-operative culture will be undermined.”
p Co-op Group Member Council training at Angel Square
CASE STUDY: GOVERNANCE TRAINING AT THE CO-OPERATIVE
GROUP MEMBERS’ COUNCIL
In August 2014, the Co-operative Group established its Members’
Council as part of a widespread governance reform. Now the
100-strong council is the representative body of members within
the society and its elected members have the power to hold the
board to account. How do they make sure council members are
prepared for the role?
When members are elected to the council, a skills audit takes
place – through that, an initial training programme of six units was
designed. These are all distance-learning modules, and include
units on: effective governance; values and principles; developing
engaged membership; finance; core business strategies; and a
skills-based learning unit called ‘Working Together Effectively’.
The modules were designed in partnership with the Cooperative
College, which also assists in the delivery of workshops
and provides tutor support.
“The training modules have evolved,” says Gill Gardener,
council secretary. “The council was a new structure after the
material governance changes and new rules of 2014, which were
driven from crisis. Now the roles of Council are embedded and
working well.”
The council training year starts in May, when new members
are elected. Three units are available in first six months of year
and another three in second half of year. As part of each module,
council members are required to read materials and complete an
assignment, for which assistance can be provided via workshops
planned around council meetings.
The assignments are kept confidential and submitted online
via a virtual learning environment. A tutor marks the coursework,
which members have to pass in order to pass the modules.
The module on effective governance looks at what is governance,
why it is important and what is good governance. Participants
also learn about corporate governance codes, Co-operatives UK’s
Governance Code and get to explore case studies of corporate and
co-operative governance failure.
During this training, members find out where the council sits
within the Group’s structure and what are its roles. The course
also touches upon how to deliver the “co-op difference” and the
council’s role in it.
“Because the council is new, it’s important that council
members feel supported in the training,” adds Ms Gardner. “As
council secretary, I’m very confident that they are carrying out
good governance within the ambit of their roles.”
MAY 2017 | 41

RISING STARS...
How did Central England Co-op
increase its CR Index rating?
Business in the Community’s Corporate
Responsibility Index (CR Index) is the UK’s leading
voluntary benchmark of corporate responsibility. It
provides businesses with a framework to measure,
manage and integrate responsible business practice
into mainstream business strategy and operations
– and allows businesses to benchmark against
competitors and to transparently communicate
progress to stakeholders.
At the start of Business in the Community’s
Responsible Business Week (24-28 April 2017),
Central England Co-operative revealed that it is
celebrating being awarded 4.5 stars out of five
in the CR Index. This marks a ratings leap from
2.5 stars in just 12 months, and is a “credit to the
colleagues across the society”, according to chief
executive Martyn Cheatle.
“Our new CR Index score is based on recognition
for a wide range of initiatives and projects,” he
adds, “including measurement of the impact our
community investment has had in the areas in
which we serve, sustainable procurement, training,
environmental management, and supplier support.”
“It also highlights our continued efforts to
develop our community partnerships, help raise
funds for charity, engage with young people and
reduce waste.”
In the 2017 Index, which businesses could
apply for on an individual basis, Central England
Co-operative achieved a score of 98%, rising from
87% in 2016.
“Every business should do something significant
for society by being a force for good in the
community, but that’s only possible if companies
are able to measure the progress they are making as
responsible businesses,” says Amanda Mackenzie,
Business in the Community chief executive.
“I congratulate Central England Co-operative for
achieving its score and look forward to working
together to create a fairer society and a more
sustainable future.”
So how did they achieve the improved rating?
Hannah Gallimore, corporate responsibility
manager at Central England Co-operative, offers an
insight into the challenges, the changes and what
the organisation has learned along the way...
“
p Tony Carroll
(deputy chief
executive) and
Martyn Cheatle
(chief executive) with
the BITC CR Index
certificate
u Hannah
Gallimore, corporate
responsibility
manager
Being a responsible business is about building
strong and sustainable values and ensuring we are
doing what is right for our customers, colleagues
and suppliers, while making a positive contribution
to society and ensuring we play a role in protecting
the environment.
For Central England Co-operative, our Corporate
Responsibility strategy works towards this by
focusing on four areas – community, environment,
marketplace and workplace. All have equal
importance, and work involving all four themes has
played a major part in our CR Index score rising from
2.5 stars to 4.5.
This work has involved engaging with senior
management to ensure that the correct amount
of time, resources and budget were available to
achieve the goals within each area. This effort
has been driven and supported by deputy chief
executive Tony Carroll.
We chose to take a closer look at the four CR Index
areas, to make sure our goals and Key Performance
Indicators (KPIs) were fit for purpose and aligned
with our overall plans and goals as a Co-operative
business. There are three key reasons why we have
been able to make such a leap in our CR Index score
this year.
42 | MAY 2017

The first involved being brave enough to
recognise and challenge ourselves when something
has not worked and then being able to shift focus
to areas of real importance for our colleagues and
our communities.
Secondly, we have undertaken a greater level of
reporting when it comes to what we do as a society
in terms of corporate responsibility.
This has meant that, in the past 12 months, we
have compiled and published a CR report and an
innovative and ground-breaking Social Return on
Investment Report (SROI).
This approach has allowed us to make significant
progress with the third reason we have improved
our CR index score, which is related to having better
data and using it effectively.
We are now able to see the real impact of our
work via our SROI report, which shows that every
£1 we spend in our communities equates to an
investment impact of £20.50.
We use this information to ensure we make data
driven decisions in the future that we can fully
evidence and support.
As part of our work in the run-up to the
announcement of the CR Index, we worked with
BITC and experienced partner Simply Sustainable
to make sure we were reporting and focusing on
areas that really matter.
As a result of this, BITC highlighted several areas
that played a key part in us achieving such an
impressive score.
They praised our efforts to develop and implement
an environmental management system, our clear
and flexible procurement strategy with suppliers,
our efforts with colleagues around gender and pay,
and our Social Return on Investment strategy for
our communities.
Overall our new CR Index score of 4.5 has been
down to great support in making and challenging
our decisions, undertaking greater reporting and
using that information to better inform our plans
for the future.
Corporate responsibility is about using what you
do well as a business to make a difference for your
colleagues, customers and the communities in
which you serve.
The reason we have
seen a major leap in
our CR Index score
has been down to
the hard work of
our colleagues
and by ensuring
that we have and
remain properly
focused on
our aims and
objectives.”
SIX PROJECTS THAT PLAYED A KEY PART IN CENTRAL ENGLAND’S
CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY STRATEGY:
u The installation of over 150 defibrillators at food stores and funeral
homes across its trading area (below)
u The Community Dividend Fund, which recently gave out over £52,000
to 26 groups (below)
u Its Funeral business offers The Rainbow Package – a complimentary
service for children 17 and under
u The reduction of its carbon footprint by 26.3% since 2010
u The society has signed the Time to Change Employer Pledge to raise
awareness about mental health
u Its colleague survey received a response rate of 87%
MAY 2017 | 43

TEACHING
TECHNOLOGY
RETAIL INNOVATION
With an unprecedented acceleration in
technological development, millions of workers
across the world are facing uncertain futures. Could
co-operative models help to provide more security?
A 2013 study by Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael
Osborne found that 47% of US workers had jobs at
high risk of potential automation over the next 20
years, particularly in transport and logistics.
And 2016 research by Oxford University and
Deloitte suggests that 850,000 jobs could be lost
in the UK by 2030 due to automation. The study
points out that 1.3 million administrative jobs
across the public sector have the highest chance
of being automated, with the same due to happen
with 74% of jobs in transportation and storage,
59% of jobs in wholesale and retail trade and 56%
in manufacturing.
There is also bad news from Asia, where a 2016
study by the International Labour Organisation
found that around 56% of all employment in
Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand
and Vietnam was at risk of displacement due to
technology over the next decade or two.
And a recent report by the International Bar
Association highlights that a third of graduate
level jobs around the world may be replaced by
machines or software.
The association, a global forum for the legal
profession, anticipates the integration of robots
and software in production as well as the service
sector and mentions Amazon, Uber and Facebook
as some of the leading figures driving this change.
It says labour and employment legislation needs
to be updated to keep up with the alterations
brought to the workplace by AI and robotics.
TRAINING AI SYSTEMS OF THE FUTURE
Particularly at risk are workers who are “training”
the artificial intelligence of the future through
online work platforms such as Amazon Mechanical
Turk. Work advertised on the microjobs site is
called Human Intelligence Tasks – but by doing
such work, the hired hands are also helping to train
computers to become more human-like.
For example, workers in the human cloud are
paid to choose photos similar to another one. This
helps artificial intelligence engines on social media
improve their prediction of pictures a user will like.
But because this process helps computers acquire
the ability to perform new tasks, the jobs on the
human cloud also change – or are put at risk. And
there are also concerns over working conditions.
A 2015 report by the World Bank estimated that
Amazon Mechanical Turk employs around 500,000
registered workers (‘Turkers’) worldwide, not all of
them active. They are paid as contractors and must
report their income as self-employed.
In 2016, a study by the PeW Research Center
revealed that about half the workers on the platform
made less than USD$5 per hour. It surveyed more
than 2,800 Amazon Mechanical Turk workers
and found they were earning an hourly rate of
$4.99, below the USA’s federal minimum wage of
$7.25. The survey showed that only 8% of Turkers
questioned made $8 per hour.
Workers from the USA or India can transfer their
earnings to their Amazon Payments account or
their Amazon.com gift card. But workers from other
countries can only be paid in Amazon gift cards
redeemable on the Amazon.com website (not, for
example, Amazon.co.uk).
Over half the respondents said the income made
as Turkers made up “very little” of their total
income while 15% said it made up less then half.
A quarter said most of their income comes from the
site – but working 40 hours a week on the platform
would bring a yearly income of only $16,640.
Those earning most of their income via the site
tend to be younger, half of them aged 18-29, and less
educated, with only a third having college degrees.
The earnings received made through the Amazon
Turk platform may constitute taxable income in
which case Turkers have to report these themselves
or register as self-employed. Those who are not
UK residents have to provide valid taxpayer
identification information and may see their
earning taxed by the USA.
In spite of their work, Turkers cannot present
themselves as employees of the Amazon
Mechanical Turk; nor do they benefit from vacation
pay, sick leave or insurance programmes, including
group health insurance or retirement benefits.
A CO-OPERATIVE SOLUTION?
The Amazon Mechanical Turk is just one example of
such a system. But now a group of PhD researchers
have proposed a new model, where workers earn
ownership of trained AI systems, enabling them
44 | MAY 2017

to secure long-term benefits from the machine
replacing their labour. The recent study – Worker-
Owned Cooperative Models for Training Artificial
Intelligence – is written by Anand Sriraman from
Tata Research Development and Design Centre
in India, Jonathan Bragg from the University of
Washington, USA, and Anand Kulkarni from the
University of California, Berkeley, USA.
They claim this model could help reduce the
upfront costs of model training while increasing
longer-term rewards to workers.
They based the paper on a survey they took of 31
Amazon Mechanical Turk workers, mostly based
in the USA, which found that workers were willing
to give up 25% of their earnings in exchange for an
investment in the future performance of a machine
learning system. Nearly half of those surveyed said
they would be willing to give up some proportion of
their immediate earnings for a 50% chance to earn
twice the forgone amount.
“We believe this royalty model could offer a
meaningful alternative to the current system
of automation eliminating jobs entirely, letting
workers maintain a stream of income from trained
models while assuming some of the risk and cost
involved in developing a machine learning system,”
write the researchers.
They point out that the development of AI
training data on crowd labour marketplaces is
funded by requesters, in exchange for a fixed price
paid to workers for producing the data. But, they
argue, a co-op model would enable them to choose
to accept a fraction of that price in exchange for
shares of ownership in the resulting trained system.
The proposed model was inspired by other
successful co-operative ventures and activist
technologies designed to address the growing
inequalities between sellers and buyers, as well
as users and platform co-ops such as Fairmondo,
Stocksy and Loconomics.
Can co-op retailers use the platform model
to challenge giants like Amazon? See page 46,
where Susan Press takes a look at some of the new
challengers entering the field ...
This focus on retail innovation is
authored by Co-operative News,
with support from Celtech (www.
celtechgroup.com). Celtech is
a world-class retail technology
company that is renowned for
inventing the true real-time retail
business solution.
MAY 2017 | 45

INNOVATION
BY SUSAN PRESS
Can the platform co-op model
revolutionise the world of retail?
Platform co-operatives are aiming to provide a
viable alternative to the “winner takes all” internet
model which saw the rise of Amazon and eBay and
helped Uber and Airbnb revolutionise the way we
access transport and accommodation.
In New York in November 2015, more than 1,000
activists, academics, co-operators and business
leaders met to discuss a different kind of web
business – combining the rich heritage of co-ops
with 21st-century technologies – but free from the
usual monopoly, exploitation and surveillance.
Writer and activist Nathan Schneider, who coorganised
the conference, is at the heart of the
platform co-operative movement.
He says the capitalist organisations dominating
online trade are “incredibly convenient and
appealing tools that are in some ways tremendous
advances on how things were before.
“However, they are not willing to be accountable
to the communities in which they operate and to
the labour protections that workers have fought for.
“Platform co-ops aim to provide the same
convenience and innovation, but with responsibility
and accountability baked into their DNA.”
Mr Schneider is now organising the follow-up, to
be held this autumn. There are other conferences
planned in Europe, Toronto, and Australia.
And in February, London hosted the Open 2017
conference, which looked at ways of building a
more collaborative economy. Platform co-ops were
a key part of the agenda, with software developers,
politicians, businesses and NGOs joined by
co-operators like Simon Borkin, programme
development lead at Co-operatives UK.
He says: “What makes platform co-operatives
unique, as opposed to individual web-based
co-operatives, is that they are a marketplace of
stakeholders that come together to engage in a
particular activity with values embedded through
shared ownership.”
In the US, one of the most successful platform
co-operatives is Stocksy – an online stock photo
co-operative that pays at least 50% of every photo
licensed to the photographer. Because it is a cooperative,
every contributor receives a share of the
company.
“Stocksy is a good example of how platform co-ops
work,” says Mr Borkin. “Photographers provide a
marketplace where stakeholders can come together
and the value of that platform is embedded
within a co-operative approach, which means
photographers share the benefit.”
He adds: “In the last few years there has been a
growing recognition that the platform co-op model
can work and that there are better ways to organise.
“What platform co-ops rely on is building a
network – and if you look at something like Uber,
they have needed a huge amount of venture capital
to start out.”
Co-operatives UK is interested in emerging
sectors, he adds, and has provided “dedicated
support” to platform co-ops.
“I think in the coming period you will definitely
see more platform co-ops emerging. I am under
no illusions that you will see them on the scale
of Airbnb, but with the right community they can
interact and engage with everything from retail to
transport or energy.
“Co-operatives UK has already been involved
in digital platforms for co-ops like One Click and
Microgenius. We want to build on this experience
and work with the sector to help create the
conditions for other new platform co-ops that are
directly owned and controlled by their members.”
A NEW MODEL FOR RETAIL
p Jack Thorp (centre) and the Fairmondo team celebrate their DigiDen victory
Another area which offers scope for co-operative
growth is online grocery shopping, which currently
accounts for 6% of the market and is expected to
grow to 9% by 2021.
Last month, Coop Alleanza in Italy launched
online food shopping for 10,000 products through
an online portal, www.easycoop.com.
In the UK, the Co-op Group’s plan to enter the
lucrative home delivery market has been on the
46 | MAY 2017

p The German Fairmondo team launch their vision of a new way of trading on the internet
shelf since the company’s financial crisis in 2013.
But as the online retail market grows, there is scope
for a co-operatives to make their mark – and there
is already a small new player on the block, with big
ambitions to rival Amazon.
Fairmondo UK wants to provide an online
marketplace for buyers and sellers with strong
ethical commitments – connecting ethical
producers and sellers with like-minded consumers.
The Fairmondo brand began life in Germany
in 2012 as a co-operatively owned marketplace
promoting fair goods and services. The UK launch
is the next step in building a global network of cooperative
platforms for trading goods and services.
And it has already received a boost to its plans,
after beating a host of other tech start-ups in
#DigiDen, a Dragon’s Den-style competition at the
Open:2017 Platform Co-op Conference.
The contest was run in partnership with The Hive,
the business support programme for co-ops set up
by Co-operatives UK, the Co-operative Bank, and
the Open Co-op. It netted Fairmondo UK the prize
of specialist business support from Co-operatives
UK and £2,000 in start-up funding.
Members are also learning more about online
distribution from the UK’s largest worker co-op and
wholefood wholesaler, Suma.
FIRST STEPS TO A NEW INTERNET
Founding member Jack Thorp says: “We became
aware of Fairmondo in Germany and, as we were
not looking to reinvent the wheel, we reached an
understanding with them. Our visions are closely
aligned, so we work together and share branding.
“We have met up a few times to develop our
shared understanding of what we are trying to do.
We support each other financially because neither
of us is sustainable on our own at the moment.”
Mr Thorp says work on Fairmondo UK has been
on a voluntary, spare time basis until now, because
of a lack of major funding.
“We have opened a test marketplace in the UK,”
he said. “It’s a talking point and a way of engaging
with people. We have been running that for a year
and managed to build up a group of sellers and
more users. For the marketplace to work, we have
to have lots of goods and attract more sellers. So
we are now crowdfunding, and we are planning to
have everything from clothes to sustainable goods
and artisan products.
“It’s been difficult all the way along but we are
sticking at it. There is a popular movement forming
around this idea of platform co-operatives and we
hope that will help us.
“There is a general appetite for change and lots
of concern over data ownership and privacy issues.
People see how things like Facebook manipulate
them. We are doing a lot of messaging and getting
the word out. We are very optimistic.”
As for the long-term future of platform co-ops,
Nathan Schneider believes the UK is particularly
well-placed to take the idea forward.
“The phenomenon is relatively new,” he says,
“and it’s essential to connect with the legacy
institutions that have kept the co-operative
movement going strong for so long.
“The UK has a number of such institutions, and
they’re well poised to help take leadership in this
movement. The London platform co-op event in
February was an important step in this direction.”
Welcoming Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s
adoption of platform co-ops in his Digital
Democracy Manifesto, Mr Schneider says: “He joins
many political leaders around the world who have
been interested in developing policy to support a
more inclusively owned and governed internet. The
economic challenges we face can’t be addressed
adequately without the reorganisation of how
online platforms are owned and governed.”
“”
THERE IS A GENERAL APPETITE
FOR CHANGE AND LOTS OF
CONCERN OVER PRIVACY ISSUES
MAY 2017 | 47

REVIEWS
The Oxford
Handbook of
Mutual, Cooperative
and
Co-owned
Businesses
Edited by Jonathan
Michie, Joseph Blasi
and Carlo Borzaga
(Oxford University
Press, 2017)
THREE
READS
In 2007-08, the world experienced what
economists called “the worst financial crisis since
the Great Depression of the 1930s”. In 2009, the
International Labour Organization released a report
titled Resilience of the Cooperative Business Model
in Times of Crisis.
The ability of co-operatives to survive – and
even thrive – when things go wrong has been
well documented, most recently in Co-operative
UK’s 2016 Co-operative Economy Report which
highlighted how the sector supports 223,000
jobs and is worth £34bn a year to the economy,
“showing resilience in the midst of wider economic
uncertainty”.
It is this resilience which in part has contributed
to the increased popularity of the mutual model –
and is one of the reasons the publication of The
Oxford Handbook of Mutual, Co-operative and Coowned
Businesses is perfectly timed.
The Handbook is a collection of 42 contributions
to the debate and understanding of the sector, from
researchers, economists and practitioners with a
deep understanding of the issues at hand.
Vera Zamagni (professor of economic history
at the University of Bologna) gives a worldwide
historical perspective on co-ops and their evolution
and Peter Couchman (former chief executive
of Plunkett Foundation) contributes a chapter
Balu Iyer is regional director of the international
Co-operative Alliance – Asia and Pacific region.
1. Saving Capitalism: for the many not the few by
Robert Reich (Vintage, 2016 (paperback)). Markets
depend for their very existence on rules governing
property, monopoly, contracts, bankruptcy, and
how all this is enforced. Such rules do not exist in
nature and they must be decided upon, one way
or another, by human beings. These rules have
been altered over the past few decades as large
corporations, Wall Street, wealthy individuals
have gained increasing influence over the political
on governance and organisational challenges.
Professor Johnston Birchall (a social economist
specialising in member-owned businesses and
co-author of the ILO report above) offers an
analysis of the performance of member-owned
businesses since 2008, Virginie Pérotin (Professor
of economics at Leeds University) looks at worker
co-operatives – and Charles Gould (director general
of the International Co-operative Alliance) writes on
‘The Shape of Things to Come’.
There is historical, political and economic
contextualisation, national and sectoral case
studies, and a look at what the future holds for
the model in the current climate, collated with
the purpose of investigating all types of ‘memberowned
businesses – from consumer, producer and
worker co-ops to building societies, credit unions
and friendly societies.
It is edited by three professors well-equipped
for the task: Carlo Borzaga is, among other things,
president of the European Research Institute on
Cooperatives and Social Enterprise (Euricse);
Joseph Blasi is an economic sociologist who
has studied how rewards, power and prestige
are broadly distributed (for instance, by workerownership
and profit-sharing in firms) and Jonathan
Michie is director of the Oxford Centre for Mutual
and Employee-owned Business.
institutions responsible for them. There is need
for centres of countervailing power to exert their
own influence – unions, collectives, co-operatives,
small businesses, small investors, and political
parties anchored at the local and state levels.
2. Economic and Political Weekly (Weekly magazine,
www.epw.in). Economic and Political Weekly
or EPW has, over the past 50 years, presented
informed commentary on the important issues of
the day in India and the region, from a wide range
of authors. It has inserted itself in some of the most
important debates, about economic strategies,
change in society, foreign policy, and politics. EPW
has never been shy of publishing new, unusual or
offbeat argument and has helped many a career by
publishing the first works of young writers. It has
been able to stand on its own and produce without
any commercial backing, depending entirely on
its income from circulation sales and limited
advertising.
3. Apple News app. You can choose and customise
news from a variety of sources according to your
interest (business, technology, fashion, sports,
and more), and organise into distinct sections. The
app can be customised across devices.
48 | MAY 2017

“Until recently, [alternate corporate forms]
were generally regarded as a rather marginal
component of the economy,” write the editors in
their introduction. “However, over the past few
years, member-owned organisations have come to
be seen, in some countries at least, as representing
a newly attractive potential in light of their ability to
tackle various economic and social concerns.”
Professors Borzaga, Blasi and Michie believe this
renewed interest in member-owned organisations
has “paved the way for a wider recognition of the
importance of corporate diversity”.
This is echoed by Charles Gould In the closing
chapter. “The success or failure of individual
co-operatives in the future will vary by sector,
competitive environment and cultural affinity
to the values and principles of the co-operative
model [...] The success or failure of the model itself
however [...] is likely to be largely determined by:
providing a channel for meaningful participation;
demonstrating a commitment to sustainability;
displaying the ability to shape a supportive legal
framework; and gaining access to capital.”
However Mr Gould is optimistic about the future.
“Co-operatives have the authenticity of proven
success over almost two centuries to support them
in these efforts,” he writes.
“It is an exciting time.”
Democracy
Rising: Politics
and Participation
in Canada
Bill Freeman (Dundurn
Group, 2017)
What are the limits of Canadian democracy? asks
Bill Freeman in Democracy Rising, “and how are
they being expanded by a revolution in participatory
democracy?”
Drawing on the Brexit vote in Britain and the
election of Donald Trump as US president, the
author claims there are signs of political alienation
everywhere. The answer to this, he says, is by
strengthening our democracy and encouraging
participation in the political process
This book champions the idea that grassroots
organising can achieve social justice, through
exploring the history, diversity, activity and
achievements of community-based organisations.
Meet the author: Professor Jonathan Michie
Co-editor, The Oxford Handbook of Mutual, Co-operative and Co-owned
Businesses (Oxford University Press, 2017)
“The global financial crisis of 2007-2008, with the consequent international
recession of 2009, led many to appreciate that the previous claims about
the efficiency of free markets were false, and that alternative approaches
are needed, including to corporate ownership,” says Jonathan Michie,
Professor of Innovation & Knowledge Exchange at the University of Oxford,
and co-editor of the Handbook.
“The film Wall Street gave a nice depiction of the fact that shareholder
ownership can lead to a destructive ‘greed is good’ mentality, and there
is thus a renewed interest in member ownership as providing a different
business purpose, culture and practice.”
He believes the time was right for the Handbook because of the need for a
fundamental rethink about how the economy is organised – both following
the 2007-2008 global financial crash in face of climate change. “Both these
challenges also show the importance of taking a global approach,” he says,
“hence the need for a Handbook which brings together authors from across
the world to learn from each other.
“There are an impressive variety of member-owned organisations across
the world, all with the basic idea of member ownership, but all influenced in
various ways by the history and culture of their own countries.”
The Oxford Centre for Mutual and Employee-owned Business – of which
Prof Michie is director – is trying to increase appreciation of the mutual and
employee-owned sector of the economy “through research, publications,
and networking, and through co-operating in these activities globally”.
The centre also works to encourage dialogue and discussion between
academics and researchers on the one hand, and practitioners and policy
makers on the other. Prof Michie hopes that the Handbook “may assist in
this process”.
In his chapter on The Importance of Ownership, he writes in particular
about the need for ‘policy activism’ and reformed corporate governance –
which, he says, requires pressure on policy makers, which can come
through a number of channels. “The most effective is if all can be utilised
simultaneously, namely the political process through elections, the actions
and activities of NGOs and civil society generally, the media including social
media, and lobbying experts and opinion formers,” says Prof Michie.
“Bringing together researchers from across the world can help in all these
processes, demonstrating that improvements are possible and beneficial.”
u Jonathan Michie is Professor of Innovation & Knowledge Exchange and Director
of the Oxford Centre for Mutual and Employee-owned Business at Kellogg College
at the University of Oxford.
MAY 2017 | 49

DIARY
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT
The More Than A Pub Conference offers
advice to the co-op pub sector on 18 May;
the Worker Co-op Weekend takes place on
5-7 May; Manchester Central hosts the
Co-op Group AGM on 20 May; and the
Group hosts the Executive Education
Course on 17-18 May.
24-28 Apr: Responsible Business Week
The annual awareness week for
responsible business, run by Business in
the Community.
27-28 Apr: Cooperatives Europe
General Assembly
General Assembly and elections for the
European region of the ICA.
WHERE: Koperattiva Malta
INFO: coopseurope.coop/events
29 Apr: Ecology Building Society AGM
With speakers on housing and ethical
finance, and the change to meet directors
and other members.
WHERE: The Station, Bristol BS1 2AG
INFO: www.ecology.co.uk/agm
2 May: International Workers’ Day
5-7 May: Worker Co-op Weekend
Hosted by Co-operatives UK , a weekend
for worker co-ops to learn and share.
Practical sessions designed and run by
worker co-ops, with vegan-friendly co-op
food and drink, camping and campfires.
WHERE: Foundry Adventure Centre,
Derbyshire.
INFO: membership@uk.coop
17-18 May: Executive Education Course
Interactive professional development on
co-operative management. Organised
by St Mary’s University, Halifax, in
partnership with the Co-operative College
and Sheffield Hallam University.
WHERE: Co-operative Group, Manchester
INFO: s.coop/25uii
18 May: More Than A Pub Conference
National conference organised by the
Plunkett Foundation with expert advice
and networking for pub co-ops.
WHERE: Coin Street Conference Centre,
108 Stamford Street, London, SE1 9NH
INFO: www.plunkett.co.uk
20 May: Co-op Group AGM
WHERE: Manchester Central
INFO: agm@coop.co.uk
5-17 Jun: ILO Labour Conference 2017
17 Jun - 1 Jul: Co-operatives Fortnight
Nationwide celebration of the movement.
20-23 Jun: 2017 Committee of
Co-operative Research Conference
The conference theme is to explore the
role and potential of co-operatives as
inclusive, collaborative and responsible
businesses.
WHERE: University of Stirling, Scotland
INFO: s.coop/25uij
24 Jun: Community Energy Conference
This year’s conference will explore
successful current projects, and new
business models and technologies.
WHERE: University of Manchester
INFO: events@communityenergyengland.
org
LOOKING AHEAD
30 Jun - 1 Jul: Co-operative Congress
1 Jul: International Day of Co-operatives
5 Jul: Plunkett Foundation AGM
23-26 Jul: Woccu Conference (Vienna,
Austria)
19 October: Social Cooperatives
International School 2017 (Naples, Italy)
14-17 November: International
Co-operative Alliance Global Conference
and General Assembly (Malaysia)
50 | MAY 2017

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