Co-op News - February 2020

As it enters its 150th year, Co-operatives UK
is planning a series of events to celebrate
co-operation and thank its members for one and a
half centuries of support.
The UK’s apex body, which has over 800 members
across the UK, grew from the resurgence in
co-operation following the successes of the
Rochdale Pioneers and the Co-operative Wholesale
Society (CWS) in the mid-19th century. But this
success also brought anxiety for the movement's
leaders as they began to fear that, in the face of
their commercial success, co-op societies might
forget their values and principles.
The first national Co-operative Congress, held
in 1869 saw the establishment of the Co-operative
Union (initially known as the Co-operative Central
Board) in 1970, as a national organisation to
hold the movement together and emphasise
the role co-ops could play in wider society.
Its purpose was described "propagandist and
defensive action" and it listed the objectives of
establishing and organising co-operative societies
and provided advice and instruction on the
co-operative principles.
The 1880s saw a split in the worker and consumer
sectors of the UK movement (prompted by the
CWS's rejection of the idea of profit-sharing with
its employees), and for a long time focused on the
consumer movement. The worker co-op movement
was represented from the early 1960s by the
Society for the Democratic Integration of Industry
(Demintry), which began with five employee-owned
businesses as members, before being transformed
into the Industrial Common Ownership Movement
(ICOM) in 1971. ICOM merged with the Co-operative
Union in 2001 to form Co-operatives UK.
Ed Mayo, secretary general, is the ninth
head of the organisation. “This year is a double
celebration,” he says, “as it is also 175 years since
the Rochdale Pioneers founded their co-operative
store that is widely recognised as the model for the
modern day co-operative movement that spread
around the world.”
To mark this historic milestone, a free Festival-of
-Cooperation will be held in Rochdale outside the
town hall in June.
“During our 150th anniversary year, we’re
shaking up the format of Co-op Congress, which
has traditionally been held on this weekend in June.
We’re looking forward to going back to our roots in
Rochdale to showcase all that’s great about today’s
co-op movement, and inspire the next generation,”
says Mr Mayo.”
Sponsored by The Co-op and Power to Change,
the festival will celebrate Rochdale as the home
of co-operation, sharing the remarkable story
of its working class co-operative founders and
challenging public perceptions of co-ops. It will
feature interactive demonstrations and activities
showcasing a diverse range of co-ops, free family
activities, heritage actors, public debates on
today’s big issues, live music and entertainment,
and much more.
By Rebecca Harvey
Holyoake House,
the headquarters
to Co-operatives UK
46 | FEBRUARY 2020