Today the Co-operative Group released the findings of its ‘Have your Say’ survey, designed to consult members and customers on the future of the business. And as our Chair Gareth Thomas predicted back in April, the results show that when it comes to surveys the answer you get really does depend on the question you ask.

In the Have Your Say survey, respondents were asked: “To what extent do you think it is appropriate or inappropriate for big businesses to donate money to political parties?” As a political party that has challenged the role of big business for almost 100 years, we were not surprised that the general public (59%) did not approve.

But we wanted to find out what people thought if they were asked about member-owned co-operatives, including the Co-operative Group, rather than ‘big business’ donating to us, the Co-operative Party, to campaign for a level playing field for co-operatives and mutuals.

We commissioned independent market research agency Populus to conduct a survey which asked a representative sample of 1000 people an alternative question: “Co-operatives are formed and run by people who come together to meet common economic, social, and cultural needs. An example of a co-operative is the Co-operative Group which includes supermarkets and funeral services. The Co-operative Party is a political party that works to promote co-operatives and other forms of mutual, non-profit making companies in political and policy debates. The party is funded by its members, which include co-operatives including The Co-operative Group, and individuals. To what extent do you think it is appropriate or inappropriate for The Co-operative Group, as a member, to make financial contributions to the Co-operative party?”

And, as you’d expect, the results shifted dramatically. Given some extra context and background information, two and a half times more people thought it was appropriate rather than not appropriate.

The Co-operative Group survey also asks respondents whether they think the Co-operative Group should champion local, national and global issues. Respondents clearly believed the Co-operative Group should be trying to make a difference.

Commenting on Have Your Say Gareth Thomas MP, chair of the Co-operative Party said:

“Co-operatives – including the Co-operative Group – have always believed in a different way of doing business which puts people ahead of short-term profits for shareholders.  That is why they created the Co-operative Party almost 100 years ago to champion that vision.”

“At a time when trust in big business and politics is at an all time low it’s not surprising that people don’t like the idea of “big business” donating to political parties. But a Populus poll undertaken at the same time as ‘Have Your Say’ shows that in fact only 11% of the public think it is inappropriate for the Co-operative Group to make financial contributions to the Co-operative Party and more than double the number of people think it is appropriate for them to do so.”

“Further, a substantial majority of the HYS respondents want the Co-operative Group to champion national issues.  Just as the Party and the Group have done – working together – for the last century.”