The Co-operative Party exists to promote co-operation and its application in all aspects of human endeavour. It is our fundamental belief that we can achieve more together than we can alone. We will promote alternatives that put co-operation at the heart of the economy, public services and public discourse. This is a mission that is as important today as it was over 100 years ago when the Party was founded.

This theme reaches across our strategic objectives and informs all of our strategic priorities. Our goal is to spread power and wealth more evenly and to promote participation and empower people across society. But we also want to promote participation and empowerment within the Party.

We will be a unifying, representative and diverse home for ideas and values that offers stability in a fractured world, based on co-operative principles and exemplifying the change we want to see.

Our Party is our members, and they engage with the Party in different ways – as activists and advocates, party officers and elected representatives. We will aim to ensure that the Party’s organisation and structures work to support them as effectively as possible.

We will inspire our supporters to become active members. We will support our members to reach their goals in the Party – as leaders in their local parties or communities, or as candidates. We will help to make our elected representatives in local government, London, Scotland, Wales and Westminster the best advocates they can be for the movement. We will support our staff and be the best employer we can.

Strategic Priorities

• Actively champion co-operative forms of economic, social and voluntary organisation at all levels of government, with the aim of building a substantially larger sector – at least double its current size.
• Working with supporters of the co-operative model from all parties, strive to ensure that policy and legislation do not disadvantage co-operative and mutual forms of organisation and, wherever appropriate, that co-operative models are promoted.
• Work with the movement, including our subscribing Societies and representative organisations like Co-operatives UK, to develop a public policy platform to advance co-operation and identify barriers to – and opportunities for – expansion.
• Ensure that the Co-operative Party’s elected representatives have a full understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by the co-operative movement.
• Build an effective Co-operative councillors’ network to advocate and implement co-operative solutions, share good practice and drive innovation.
• Be an active participant in the delivery of the National Co-operative Development Strategy.

Suggested actions for Local Parties:

• Work closely with your local councillors and Labour Party Campaign Forum to promote co-operative policies and models in your local council.
• Play an active part in the Party’s policy process.
• Appoint delegates/attendees to Labour Party constituency meetings and ensure that they are well briefed and confident to talk about the Co-operative Party and our polices.
• Maintain strong links to your co-operative society/ies and other local co-ops; promote their work and campaigns. Invite speakers from local co-operatives to your meetings.
• Build other local coalitions of support for our work and campaigns, particularly with trade unions.
• Seek out co-operators to be potential councillors, AMs, MSPs or MPs and support their selection and election. After their election, maintain regular contact and support.

Support to do this

• For advice on our local government policy (including case studies), or supporting local candidates, see our Local Government Hub or contact Emma Hoddinott. For advice on other policy, see our Policy Hub or contact Anna Birley.
• For campaigns ideas and support, contact James Butler.
• For any other help with local party organisation, contact John Boyle.

Strategic Priorities

• Grow our reach and audience by doubling the number of supporters of the Co-operative Party.
• Ensure that our members have the knowledge, confidence and tools to be an army of advocates for co-operation in their communities and on-line.
• Build support for co-operation with our partners in the labour family – uniting two powerful social movements.
• Use the full range of digital tools to reach out and tell our story.
• Create platforms for co-ops and co-operators to spread the word.
• Enable and facilitate opportunities for the movement to engage with decision makers.
• Raise our profile as the political voice of and for the movement.

Suggested actions for Local Parties:

• Alone, or with the Regional or neighbouring Party, plan an event to promote the Party’s work and campaigns, recruit new members and inspire current ones.
• Work with the Regional Party to ensure a Co-operative Party presence at regional events such as the Labour Party and TUC.
• Organise activities and events that engage your local community. For example, hold street stalls promoting co-operative campaigns or community events – Co-ops Fortnight and Fairtrade Fortnight are great opportunities to do this.
• Do a ‘skills audit’ to see what support your activists need to recruit, promote, build and sustain the party locally, then ask Party Support for the advice or training that you need.
• Seek out members who are willing to promote the Party and the movement on social media and ensure that they are supported to do this (see below).
• Help to build our collection of case studies of co-operative success with your own local examples.

Support to do this

• Contact Party Supportfor ideas and support for local events and attending other organisations’ conferences.
• For support and guidelines for members who want to use social media, contact Mark Whiley.
• Send your stories about successful local co-operative ventures to Mark Whiley.

Strategic Priorities 

• Increase the number of co-operatives that are organisational members of the Party.
• Ensure that organisational members are able toshape the work of Party and participate in its structures.
• Encourage members to trade with co-operative businesses and support those who wish beactive within the movement.
• Ensure that elected representatives understand the co-operative movements’ priorities.
• Work with the movement, and its other institutions, to champion & promote the work of movement that exemplifies the ‘co-operative difference’.
• Support more local parties to ‘do’ rather than ‘be’.
• Provide diverse routes and opportunities to be involved in the Party that reflect different members’ ambitions, time commitments and preferences.

Society members

• Being an enabling partner for the wider co-operative movement, helping us to achieve our common objectives including the National Co-operative Development Strategy.
• Regular reporting on the work of the Party to organisational members and their members.
• Working with subscribing Societies to identify shared objectives and develop joint projects.
• Undertaking a programme of activities – involving elected representatives, individual members and local parties – to celebrate and promote Co-ops Fortnight and Fairtrade Fortnight.
• Working with our trade union affiliates to advance the shared values and interests of the co-operative and trade union movements.
• Holding events across the UK, bringing together elected representatives and our organisational members, to build relationships and a shared vision.

Individual Members

• Strengthening networks as a means toimprove diversity and enable more members to participate fully in the party.
• Strengthening the identities of the Co-operative Parties in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and supporting them to achieve their objectives.
• Strengthening partnerships with youth organisations and sections within the co-operative and wider labour movement to increase the number of young members.
• Continuing to develop membership communications including the magazine and digital communications.
• Supporting officers, activists and elected representatives to achieve their ambitions as a member.
• Creating a range of opportunities across the UK for members to participate in the work of the Party.
• Focussing support and guidance to officers and promoting best practice to make it easy for branches to be active and engaging.

Suggested actions for Local Parties:

• Plan events each year to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight and Co-ops Fortnight. Ensure that you engage as many members as possible and involve your councillors and MPs; and that you publicise these widely, and to your local society and other co-ops.
• Maintain strong links to your co-operative society/ies and other local co-ops; promote their work and campaigns and look for opportunities to promote and report on the work of the Party to society members. Invite them to local meetings to talk about their campaigns and priorities.
• Encourage Party members to trade with and take part the democracy of your local co-ops.
• Review how your local branches work to ensure that they involve and enthuse as many members as possible and are focussed towards recruitment and campaigns, rather than administration. Seek help from Party Support on model agendas and ideas for meetings, activist training and succession planning.
• Hold all member meetings to discuss policy and plan local campaigns.

 Support to do this 

• Contact Party Support for advice on engaging more members in meetings and training for activists.  The Officer Hub is available on the website.
• Make use of the Party’s database to ensure that all members receive notice of meetings and events.  Contact Shane Brogan if you need training to do this

Strategic Priorities

• Grow individual membership to 20,000.
• Continue to grow the average contribution of each member.
• Increase organisational membership.
• Continue to diversify the Party’s sources of income.
• Be at the cutting edge of using digital technology to engage and mobilise our members and supporters.
• Continue to build and maintain a strong governance, compliance, finance and HR infrastructure.
• Ensure that staff are rewarded, trained and developed to the best of our resources.
• NEC are informed and supported to fulfil their roles as a Board and as representatives for the membership.

Suggested actions for Local Parties:

• Take a proactive approach to recruiting new members to the Party.
• Work with the Regional Party, neighbouring parties and national staff to ensure a Co-operative Party presence at regional events, conferences and society members’ meetings.
• Ensure that Co-operative Party delegates to local Labour Party meetings, conferences and events are actively promoting the Party and recruiting. Offer a speaker to trade union or Labour Party branch meetings to talk about the Party, our policies or specific campaigns.
• Promote the Party’s affinity schemes to local members.
• Build links to Labour Students and have a stand at freshers’ fairs &/or offer a speaker to talk about the Party &/or our campaigns.
• Review the links your branches or members have to local co-operative organisations such as the credit union or football supporters’ trust, and the opportunities for joint working and recruitment.

Support to do this

• Contact Party Support for speakers’ notes and the latest recruitment materials.
• Check that you have the latest branded materials.

Strategic Priorities

• Be a route for co-operators who want to engage in political action.
• Support the selection and election of new Parliamentary candidates and the election of a Labour & Co-operative Government.
• Increase the number and recognition of Co-operative councillors and improve geographical spread.
• Increase the Co-operative Party’s representation in the Scottish Parliament and support the election of a Labour & Co-operative Government in Scotland.
• Seek to select and elect Labour & Co-operative candidates for Metro Mayors and Directly Elected Mayors.
• Seek to maintain a strong group of Co-operative Party AMs in the Welsh Assembly and support the re-election of the Labour & Co-operative Government in Wales.
• Increase the number of Labour & Co-operative Police and Crime Commissioners.
• Promote diversity in selections and elections at all levels.
• Encourage and support potential candidates to stand as Labour & Co-operative.

Suggested actions for Local Parties:

• Seek out co-operators to be potential councillors, AMs, MSPs or MPs and support their selection and election. After their election, maintain regular contact and support.
• Ensure that women and members from under-represented groups are encouraged and supported to stand for selection and election.

Support to do this 

• See the Councillors Hub for guidance on selecting and supporting Co-operative Councillors.
• Contact Joe Fortune for guidance on selecting Labour and Co-operative Party parliamentary candidates.