MAY 2018

Twelve motions go before at the meeting in Manchester on 19 May,
with voting open to members who have traded enough with one
or more of the Group’s businesses.
40 positions up for election
Members will also be asked to vote in Co-op Group elections. This year, two
board places and 36 National Members’ Council places are up for election.
The four candidates for the two member nominated directorships are:
Monica Burch, chair of Mentoring
Foundation, and a non-executive director
of the Crown Prosecution Service and
Talbot Underwriting Ltd: “Consolidation
has succeeded. [It’s] time to further grow
ethically, sustainably and profitably with
strong governance,” she says.
Margaret Casely-Hayford, a current
member-nominated director standing
for re-election. “As a current Co-op MND
and former Legal Director of John Lewis
Partnership, I know that ethics and
commercial success are complementary,”
she says.
Pernilla Bonde, the CEO of HSB,
Sweden’s largest housing co-operative.
She wants to use her expertise gained at
“an innovative, growing and successful
co-op ... to bring an international
dimension to the board”.
Hazel Blears, a current member-nominated
director standing for re-election, who says
she has “kept co-op values central to
[the Group’s] turnaround”.
and report to members on: the specific
issues publications have been engaged
on; the impact of this engagement; and
processes by which impact is monitored.
“If the board’s review finds it unable
to report impact, we ask it to prepare
an ethical advertising policy that puts
controls in place to ensure adverts do not
appear in media that are incompatible
with co-operative ethics, values and
principles,” it adds. “We ask the board to
report on progress to the AGM in 2019.”
A spokesperson from the Group
said: “We know our members’
opinions vary on this matter and it’s
right to let them decide for themselves
how they vote. We’ve responded
positively to the concerns raised by some
of our members and used advertising
to challenge those stories that people
have found unacceptable. The board
believes it is for our members to decide on
this matter and is remaining neutral.”
National Members’
Council
The Group’s Members’ Council is
made up of 100 elected member
representatives,
including
representatives from independent
co-operative societies and people
chosen to reflect the organisation’s
diversity and inclusion principles.
This year, there are 157 members
standing for 36 vacancies across 13
regions.
Cymru (Wales): 16 candidates standing
for 2 vacancies
East of England: 4 candidates standing
for 1 vacancy
East Midlands: 9 candidates standing
for 4 vacancies
Isle of Man: 4 candidates standing
for 1 vacancy
London: 12 candidates standing
for 3 vacancies
North East: 5 candidates standing
for 1 vacancy
Northern Ireland: 2 candidates standing
for 1 vacancy
North West: 23 candidates standing
for 3 vacancies
Scotland: 12 candidates standing
for 4 vacancies
South East: 19 candidates standing
for 3 vacancies
South West: 15 candidates standing
for 3 vacancies
West Midlands: 9 candidates standing
for 1 vacancy
Yorkshire and the Humber: 19
candidates standing for 2 vacancies
Independent Society Members:
8 candidates standing for the 7
Independent Society member vacancies
For more about the Co-op Group
AGM, to check your eligibility to
vote and register for the event go to:
s.coop/26cnp
MAY 2018 | 27