Co-op News - February 2020

Greater Manchester
Co-operative Commission
A new report is calling for further support for
co-operatives in Greater Manchester to ensure the
city region stays at the forefront of co-operative
development and bring even greater economic
benefits to the local community.
Measures suggested in the report, A Co-operative
Greater Manchester, include calls to support workers
in precarious employment, and bodies to drive
community led housing and transport solutions.
The report is the work of the Co-operative
Commission, announced in the summer of 2018, by
Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, and
tasked with developing a policy for co-ops in the
city region.
James Wright, policy officer at apex body
Co-operatives UK, called it a “golden opportunity
to make devolution work for co-ops in one of the
UK’s most high-profile cities”. The commission
called on co-ops across the country to respond, to
inform a series of learnings that could be shared and
replicated across the country.
The independent commission was formally
established in February 2019 and was tasked with
making evidence-based policy proposals for how
Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA)
could support co-op development in three specific
sectors: housing, the digital economy and transport.
These were chosen because of their fit with the
Greater Manchester Strategy and were accompanied
by the a fourth cross-cutting focus, on what GMCA
could do to enhance support for co-operative
business development in Greater Manchester.
There were nine commissioners chosen to
oversee the work, who met throughout 2019: David
Batten (chief executive, Hoot Credit Union); Mike
Blackburn OBE (chair, Greater Manchester Local
Enterprise Partnership); Kellie Bubble (director,
Unicorn Grocery); Shaun Fensom (Tameside Digital
Infrastructure Cooperative); Paul Gerrard (campaigns
and public affairs director, Co-operative Group);
Cliff Mills (consultant, Anthony Collins Solicitor);
Simon Parkinson (then chief executive and principal,
Co-operative College); Jo Platt (Labour & Co-operative
Party MP for Leigh, until Dec 2019) and James Wright.
The Commission was chaired by Cllr Allen Brett,
with Cllr Angeliki Stogia as vice-chair.
Over 160,000 people in Greater Manchester are
already members of a co-operative, and collectively
these co-operatives contribute £73 million to the
local economy. “As the home of the co-operative
movement, it’s vital we harness those values and
put them at the centre of everything we do, working
with co-operatives and social enterprises to build a
stronger, fairer Greater Manchester where nobody is
left behind,” said Mr Burnham.
“Through the work of the Commission, we have
an opportunity to do things differently and explore
new and innovative ways to nurture, grow and work
more closely with the co-operative sector so it plays
a central role in making Greater Manchester one of
the best places in the world to grow up, get on and
grow old.”
Now, as the movement marks the 175th anniversary
of the Rochdale Pioneers setting up shop, the
Commission’s report has been published, and was
officially launched on Monday 27 January.
The report has set out a number of
recommendations to support the development of the
co-operative sector in Greater Manchester and make
the most of the social, environmental and economic
benefits co-operatives bring.
The Commission has recommended Greater
Manchester is designated as a Co-operative Zone
with a dedicated resource to offer business advice
and support for both existing co-operatives
and those who wish to start or convert to a
co-operative approach.
Other recommendations include:
• Partners from across all sectors in Greater
Manchester should come together to enable
an increase in community-led, place-based
approaches to co-operation, community
ownership and economic development
• Greater Manchester should lead on developing
a city-region version of pioneering work in
Europe, drawing together ‘freelancers’ and
people in precarious employment into a
powerful and functional economic unit
• Greater Manchester should set up a Greater
Manchester Community Housing Hub to address
By Miles Hadfield
32 | FEBRUARY 2020