JANUARY 2018

2018
Q&A
Leading co-operators reflect on
the past 12 months and discuss
their hopes for the coming year
Claire McCarthy, general
secretary, Co-operative Party
What have you been most proud of in 2017?
Throughout 2017, the Party has been celebrating
its centenary, in which we’ve sought to look
forward, as well as back. Marching our specially
commissioned banner alongside our friends from
the trade union movement at Durham Miner’s Gala
was a real highlight.
We were also very pleased to welcome
Andy Burnham – our newly elected Labour &
Co-operative mayor of Manchester – to an
exhibition of our history at the People’s History
Museum. The year culminated at our Centenary
Conference in October, where 500 visitors and
delegates were addressed by Jeremy Corbyn, the
first elected Labour leader to speak at Co-op Party
conference since Jim Callaghan.
There were also dozens of events organised
by our members up and down the country to
commemorate the Centenary from Cornwall, to
Anglesey to Perth. 2017 has seen our membership
reach a modern high of 11,000. There were over 350
local Co-operative Party meetings this year – the
equivalent of one a day.
June’s snap General Election saw members
campaigning up and down the country for the
election of Labour & Co-operative MPs, having
already worked tirelessly in May’s local and
mayoral elections. We were proud to stand with
Labour on a manifesto that committed the next
Labour & Co-operative government to doubling
the size of the co-operative sector. More than 1.3
million people voted for a Co-operative candidate
in June, securing the election of 38 MPs – the
largest number in our history.
What are you looking forward to in 2018?
Having secured a commitment to doubling the
size of the co-operative sector in Labour’s General
Election manifesto, we’ll be developing plans to
make that ambition a reality.
We’ll be working with the movement to identify
opportunities for growth and to remove the barriers
that hold co-operation back, as well as setting
out the ‘why’ and ‘how’ for accountable public
ownership in key areas including transport and
utilities.
We’re also looking forward to an important set
of local elections in May, in which we’re hopeful of
significant increases in councillors in London and
in other major cities across England. The work of
councils such as Preston show the huge value that
co-operators in local government can bring.
What challenges are you facing in 2018?
The Co-operative Party is working with our elected
representatives to understand and mitigate the
challenges and uncertainties Brexit poses for the
co-operative sector, as well as seeking to ensure
that co-operative values and approaches have an
important role to play in Britain after March 2019.
Equally, we’re acutely aware of the very real
consequences of economic uncertainty, falling
living standards and low productivity for millions
of people. That’s why we’re continuing to champion
co-operative and employee ownership as a means
to ensure that our economy’s rewards, as well as
risks, are fairly shared.
pClaire McCarthy
speaks at a private
viewing on a centenary
exhibition on the
history of the Co-op
Party at the People’s
History Museum in
Manchester (Photo:
Co-operative Party/
David Lake)
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