Co-op News September 2021

SEPTEMBER 2021 | 37
sometimes process can become more important
than the intention. In my view, it’s one of
the reasons why co-ops are a niche thing when
in fact we should be, and at one point were, the
popular form.”
He takes no truck with people who seek to
create separation between organisations who
have a shared basic vision. “We haven’t got time
for that. It’s not a war. It’s and/and not either/
or. It’s a case of a common view of the progressive
economy, within which commerce serves
a purpose, that we look to impress upon the
economy a set of values. The form that we
choose is largely a matter of choice. We need
to spend less time naval-gazing and more time
holding hands.”
CHANGING THE RULES
One of the reasons for his impatience is an acute
awareness of the climate emergency. “We’ve got
10 years. The worse the problem gets, the more
extreme the responses are going to need to be,”
he says. “These people who think we’ve got
some choices need to be reminded that the more
time we spend making them, the less choices
we have about what we’re going to have to do.
Business models need to change and economies
need to change, and the sustainable models that
we need to change to are staring us in the face
[...] We need a mixed economy, which is more
balanced towards social enterprises and co-ops
than it is at the moment.”
What’s holding co-ops back, he thinks,
is a tendency to be “too inward looking, too
obsessed with nomenclature and less with
purpose and intention”.
“In many other countries, particularly African
countries, co-ops are thriving. In Spain,
co-ops are sitting around the table with ministers
and policymakers. In this country? Nada.
Why? We’re too insular, too closed, too obsessed
with the rules, less obsessed with the purpose
of the rules.”
He likens the co-operative movement to a
private club more interested in its own survival
than its purpose. “The purpose of co-ops was
never to create a self perpetuating clique of
insiders, they were meant to improve communities.”
So what do we do about this? “Firstly, invest
in and appoint more people like [Co-operatives
UK CEO] Rose Marley, who can communicate,
who can express themselves, who have a strategy
which is inclusive, not exclusive, and who
have a mission and values that align with different
movements. Her appearance on Newsnight
a few weeks ago was the first time I’ve seen a
co-op leader on that programme who explains
in plain English and speaks to an audience
beyond the co-op bubble. Co-ops need to grow
presence, relevance and passion. They need
to be inclusive, not exclusive. They need to be
reaching out to other businesses.
“Secondly, take a look at the rules, because
there’s something that’s stopping people from
joining co-op particularly amongst the young,
and I suspect it’s in part the labyrinthine,
Gormenghast-type practices. Young people are
crying out for a model which is credible, because
they know the current model of our economy is
incredible, and it’s them who will suffer. Yes
there are some young people involved in co-ops
but it’s not a mass movement. We’re not making
it attractive, we’re not making it easy. It should
be the easiest thing in the world to form, work
for or join a co-op – it should be easier than falling
off a log.”
He adds: “I know people get very passionate
about co-operatives and co-op models and the
rules, and I’m seen as a bit of an outsider. But
I’ve spent a lot of time, including my formative
years, with co ops. I can just see things from
the outside, and it doesn’t look too sweet. But
as a model of commerce, co-ops have the potential
to change the way the country operates its
economy and save the planet. There aren’t many
other ideas currently running that can do that.”