The Co-operative Party is excited to kick off our event programme at this year’s Labour Party Annual Conference with a timely fringe event on the need for a co-operative economy. With the UK being in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, we need an economy which puts fairness, democracy, and equity at its heart. We cannot go back to the same old model which got us here – we need action to promote co-operative models in business, housing, energy and much more.

As a global movement of over 1 billion members worldwide, co-operation has made a massive difference to social and economic progress globally. Unlike our current economic system, which has seen widening inequality and deprivation emerge across the country – co-operation providers workers and members with a stake in their business, home or local community asset.  Economies with large co-operative sectors are more equitable, productive, and less unequal – such as Emilia-Romagna, one of Italy’s richest and most successful regions. Whether it’s co-operative housing enabling people to get secure long-term homes, community energy empowering communities to generate their own renewable energy or co-operative businesses providing workers with a share of the profit – a co-operative economy benefits all within society. That’s why doubling the size of the co-operative sector in the UK would enable real levelling up – helping to create a fairer, more productive, and prosperous economy in the UK’s nations and regions.

Join us on the Sunday of Labour Party Conference at 11.30 -12.30pm in meeting room 13 of the ACC Liverpool. We will be joined by guest speakers Jonathan Reynolds MP, Shadow Business Secretary; Rose Marley, Chief Executive of Co-operatives UK and Miatta Fahnbulleh, Chief Executive of the New Economics Foundation (NEF) as they discuss how we can double the co-operative sector. At the Co-operative Party we are committed to building an economy where power and wealth are shared – join us and come find out about our plan for delivering a co-operative economy.