Following the recent consultation with local parties, the following allocation of voting regions in England was confirmed at the meeting in on 26 November.

• England North: NE & Cumbria, North West, and Yorkshire & Humber Regions
• England Midlands: East Midlands and West Midlands Regions
• England East & London: East and London Regions
• England South: South East and South West Regions

Nominations for the election to the NEC opened on 12 December and information on self-nominations has been sent to all members by email.

Information for candidates is on the Party’s website here.

There is also a briefing for party officers, which in in the Officer Hub here.

Each quarter, the General Secretary reports to the NEC on the Party’s activity and progress towards our Strategic Objectives.

Here is a summary of the most recent report, covering Q3 (July-September).

Building on the strong work the Party has carried out in selections there has been one new official Labour and Co-operative PPC selected since the last report, namely, Baggy Shanker – Derby South. The Party has conducted official selections in two other CLP selection processes – the candidates are Miatta Fahnbulleh – Camberwell and Peckham and Chris Vince – Colchester.

Other locally driven unofficial selection processes have happened through the reporting period: Jo White – Bassetlaw, Darren Paffey – Southampton Itchen, Rocky Gill – Barking, John Howard – Stevenage and Jayne Dunn, Abitsam Mohammed in Sheffield Central.

The Party has conducted training sessions with local Party officers on Westminster selection meetings to ensure local Parties are well placed to support selection processes.

We have distributed a range of campaign materials to the PPCs. The Party has distributed a campaign pack to them on the Great Homes Upgrade campaign and providing campaign materials on healthy start vouchers.

As we outlined in our year plan, we would spend effort to ensure we started to build our 2023 Local Election candidate pool. This work is going well and so far and our Candidate Development Programme (CDP) has over 450 selected and non-selected party members – this has seen a 200-member increase since the last report. The CDP has also conducted three training sessions since the last report.

UK Labour Party co-operative policy.

Since the last report there have been a several positive policy developments from Labour and Labour & Co-operative frontbench figures. This has included:

• Jonathan Reynolds MP – Co-operative MP and Shadow BEIS Secretary of State launched the Labour Party’s Industrial Strategy, which included explicit support for co-operatives. It stated that Labour will ensure that long termism is embedded into our regulatory structures and recognise the need for business models such as co-ops and social enterprise to thrive in our economy. The industrial strategy sets out we want to ensure ‘all types of business can flourish’.
• The Labour Party conducted a policy process titled: Stronger Together. The work was led by Labour Party Chair and Co-op MP Anneliese Dodds MP. The Stronger Together report was released just before the Labour Party Annual Conference and contained the following: ‘Labour will work in partnership with business and workers to make the long-term success of the company a primary focus. Co-operatives are a great example of how businesses can work for the benefit of both the company, workers and the community. Labour will aim to double the size of the co-operative sector in the UK.’
• Keir Starmer wrote in the most recent Pioneer magazine, ‘we can learn a great deal from how the co-operative movement operates: long-termism, local reinvestment and a clear sense of duty all define the way in which co-operatives in this country contribute to our economy.’
• Rachel Reeves MP and Shadow Chancellor came to Co-operative Party Conference and stated: ‘The Labour Party and Co-operative Party have agreed an important ambition in Government. Our aim is to double the size of the co-operative sector in the UK.’
• At Labour Party Annual Conference Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Shadow Cabinet Office announced that a Labour Government would put social value at the heart of government procurement and that there will be a heightened need for tax transparency from firms looking to achieve Government contracts.
• Lisa Nandy has also reiterated her and the Labour Party’s commitment to a co-operative vision of community power. Unleashing community ownership and legislating to ensure that communities are better placed to protect the things which matter to them.
• The Labour Party National Policy annual report was voted on at Labour Party Conference and it contained a large amount of Co-operative Party input. The Party has also been in touch with all Party members who are newly elected on to the NPF

Other work in pursuit of this strategic objective

• Working with the Co-operative Group and other movement organisations, the Party convened an Energy roundtable in Angel Square. The event looked at the co-operative contribution to the energy crisis.
• The Party has worked to ensure that new Councils continue to adopt the FairTax council motion. In the reporting period both Bradford and Hammersmith and Fulham have taken this up.
• The Party has worked with the Shadow Treasury Team on the Financial Services and Markets Bill. Two new amendments have been tabled to that Bill by the Labour Party frontbench as a result. If taken up by the Government, they would see new duties placed on both the PRA and FCA to promote the establishment of new co-operatives.
• The Party has worked with the Shadow Housing, Levelling Up and Communities team to promote new amendments to the Levelling Up Bill which would see extended powers for communities looking to acquire local assets.
• In the reporting period the Party also helped launch Co-operative MP Mark Hendrick’s Private Members Bill titled: ‘The Co-operatives, Mutuals and Friendly Societies Bill’. This Bill would see the introduction of new capital raising powers for co-operatives and bring forward more stringent blocks on future demutualisations. The Party had a piece published on Labourlist on the topic.
• The Party has worked with the author of the Government’s Children in Care report on the topic of proposed ‘regional care co-ops’. The Party has promoted content from the author and held several online meetings on the topic with Co-op Councillors.

Labour Party Conference

As highlighted within the report on the last strategic objective there were significant policy advancements made through the period of the Labour Party Conference. In addition, the Party sought to have a positive presence at the conference in pursuit of this. We:

• Held a fringe on co-op growth, which Co-operatives UK contributed to. We had Miatta Fahnbulleh (Chief Executive of NEF), Jonathan Reynolds MP (Shadow BEIS), Joe Fortune and Rose Marley (Chief Executive of Co-operatives UK). Members received an email from Jonathan Reynolds post event detailing his contribution.
• We also held a fringe on Food Justice with Paul Gerrard (Co-op Group), Jim McMahon (Party Chair and Shadow EFRA Secretary) and campaigners.
• A third fringe centred upon ‘dirty money’ and the need for tax transparency. We had Robert Palmer CEO of Tax Justice UK, James Murray MP (Co-op MP and Shadow Treasury Minister) and Fairtax Foundation’s Mary Patel.

In addition to our own fringes the Party partnered with Fair Game to put on an event on football governance with Alison McGovern MP, former Liverpool player John Scales and former FA Chief Executive and Tranmere FC Executive Chairman Mark Palios. The Party team also represented the Party at a range of further fringes and events on topics such as housing retrofit, levelling up and Crime.

The Party partnered with Stronger Together to put on an event on Community Safety with Steve Reed MP (Co-op MP and Shadow Justice Minister), Yvette Cooper MP (Shadow Home Secretary), Emma Foody and Police Crime Commissioners. The General Secretary also spoke at the main Stronger Together rally alongside Rachel Reeves MP Shadow Chancellor, Mick Whelan (GS ASLEF, Chair of TULO) and LGA Lab lead Cllr Shaun Davies.

The Party had a well-appointed and visible stall with recruitment, merchandise purchasing and campaign picture facilities. The General Secretary addressed the main conference, delivering the Party’s greetings to the Conference and calling for the Labour Party to support our efforts to grow the co-operative sector.

The Party also ran a dedicated WhatsApp group to Co-operative Party members at the Labour Party conference, produced video and online content throughout the conference which received strong engagement.

Household Support Fund

The Party conducted a short campaign to press for changes to the delivery of the Household Support Fund and the doubling of its size. Over 1,000 Labour and Labour & Co-operative Councillors (including 90 Labour leaders) from across the country signed a joint letter calling for this action to be taken. This letter was backed with member communications. The letter was handed to Number Ten by Jim McMahon MP, Cllr Antoinette Bramble (Vice Chair Lab LGA) and Cllr Shaun Davies (Chair Lab LGA). The letter attracted national media coverage from the Daily Mirror.

Other work in this strategic objective:

• The Party issued fresher packs of party materials to 30 University Labour clubs.
• Rhoda Grant MSP lead a debate in Holyrood on the topic of Fairtax.
• The Party had stalls and events at the Yorkshire and Humber Labour Conference and West Midlands Labour Party Conference.
• The Party supported Lab MP Kate Green’s Parliamentary debate on Healthy Start Vouchers.
• The General Secretary had a piece published on Labourlist to mark the 95^th Anniversary of the electoral agreement between the Labour and Co-operative parties.
• Produced online events for Councillors with the Fairtax Foundation through the period.
• Delivered a fringe on Fair Tax at the Labour LGA Conference

Co-operative Party Conference

The ‘From crisis to co-operation’ Conference saw:

• Four online events take place in the days before the in-person event. The Party held a Westminster, Holyrood, Welsh Parliament event with Co-operative representatives from each parliament. The Party also conducted a joint event with Labour Women’s Network. These events combined saw over 250 members take part.
• The in-person event in Leeds saw 350 gather – given travel disruption and the lost communications time through the period of mourning Party staff were content with the attendee number.
• The in-person event had a full marketplace, two sponsors (USDAW and Social Enterprise UK) and a full fringe and campaign event programme.
• Organisations who held events or who were represented through the programme included Co-operatives UK, Co-op Group, Fair Game, CLES, Repowering London, CASE, Redditch Homes, Mayor of South Yorkshire, Social Enterprise UK, Cwmpas, Co-op Foundation, Wandsworth Council and Lanarkshire Council.
• Keynote speakers included: Mark Drakeford (FM Wales), Rachel Reeves MP, Lisa Nandy MP, Azeem Rafiq (former cricketer and equalities campaigner), Wes Streeting MP and Preet Kaur Gill MP, Jonathan Reynolds MP.
• The keynote speakers were live streamed, communications made use of social media platforms, email and WhatsApp through the conference – the #coopconf22 had a 2.9million reach over the conference weekend.
• Cameras from ITV and Sky were present at the conference, with lines from keynote speakers being picked up in the Evening Standard. The General Secretary was interviewed by Matt Chorley on Times Radio about the conference and the Party placed content on Labourlist.
• Rachel Reeves also conducted a private roundtable with representatives of the Party’s Subscribing Societies.

Other work in pursuit of this strategic objective:

• The Party conducted its first equalities conference with keynote speakers including Anneliese Dodds MP.
• The Party issued the latest copy of the ‘Pioneer’ magazine with contributions from the Leader of the Labour Party, Chief Executive of NEF and many others.
• Westminster Group chair Preet Kaur Gill MP wrote to the Treasury to add the Co-operative movement’s calls for certainty for business through the cost of energy crisis.
• The Party has continued to produce high quality ‘Co-op Live’ sessions through the reporting period. This has included sessions on climate change and community power.
• Party officers have held introductory meetings with new Co-op Group executives and spoken at the Group’s National Members Council.
• Party Officers conducted the Subscribing Societies meeting at Midcounties Co-operative Headquarters.
• The Party provided video content to the Central England Co-operative half yearly.

• Held training sessions for Party Council and Branch Officers with a forward plan to allow better feedback mechanisms and best practice sharing.
• Continued our ‘real time’ lapsing member work – figures on the year to date show a significant improvement on the number of members due to lapse at the end of the year with efforts including regular communications to members in arrears, involvement of local officers and letters alongside the Pioneer.
• Our Equalities Network elections are now underway, having first taken place in 2020. The committees for our BAME, dis(Ability), Youth, Women and LGBTQ+ networks are all up for election at the moment (see here for update).
• A ‘New Member Welcome Guide’ for branches has also just been signed off and will be going out to branches alongside existing resources for holding purposeful meetings, role holder guides, how to hold AGMs and year planners.
• Our Independent Support Service was launched earlier this year with the Labour Party and is being provided by Victim Support. This service provides support to those considering or who are making a complaint to either Party.
• Work on MESMA with the Audit Subcommittee continues and should be concluded by the end of the year.

Preet Kaur Gill MP gave a report on some of the work of the Co-operative Westminster Group, including Food justice: – calling for a comprehensive national strategy; questions to the government on inflation, food security and holiday hunger; support for Sir Mark Hendrick’s  Co-operatives, Mutuals and Friendly Societies Bill leading to the 2^nd reading; work to successfully secure exemption for co-ops on energy legislation; work with the Labour front bench on the financial services Bill and community empowerment.

Our total individual membership at 30 September 2022 was approximately 12,880.

This reflects strong monthly recruitment, a low amount of arrears, low resignations and targeted retention.

Total recruitment from January to September was approximately 1375, this includes both new joiners and those who re-joined after being lapsed for a short period.

Our total subscribed supporter list (those with valid and opted-in emails) at the end of September stood at just under 75,000. Converting supporters to members is our main recruitment source – this growth has been driven by strong campaign and policy output, and social media advertising. We continue to gain our greatest share of new members through a diverse range of targeted “Join Asks”.

Membership income at 30 September stood at around £355,000 – this is more than has been collected annually every year up to and including 2018.

Since March, we have been trialling new methods of retention which is achieving success in converting back to renewals.

See here for details of the NEC. You can contact the NEC at nec@party.coop or by emailing Karen Wilkie, Board Secretary at board@party.coop.