Across Scotland co-operatives are already making a difference to local communities– putting economic power directly in the hands of local people, ensuring the benefits of economic growth are felt by those who create it.

We know when given the opportunity and support to grow co-operatives both small or big, local or international can have a positive impact.

• Co-ops are ambitious to grow: Co-ops are more ambitious, with 61% of co-ops expressing ambitions to grow compared with 53% of small businesses generally.
• Co-ops are more resilient: Co-operative start-ups are almost twice as likely to survive the first five years of trading than start-ups generally.
• Co-ops can improve productivity: Doubling the co-operative sector would grow the sector to 14,000 co-operatives. With the productivity boost that co-ops can bring, that could help improve the UK's economic productivity.

At the Scottish Co-operative Party we want to build a fairer, greener, more democratic economy by growing the number of co-ops in every sector.

But this won't happen by accident – we need to keep making the case for co-ops and their role in our economy.

It will require proactive intervention to widen ownership, change the way economic rewards are distributed, and shift the balance of power towards people and communities.

This means addressing the barriers that are holding co-operatives back: a lack of access to finance, a legal framework that disadvantages co-ops compared to other businesses, and a lack of public awareness about co-ops and the benefits they bring.

If you want to help, join us and add your name to become an official backer of our plan to double the size of the co-operative sector. We'll keep you up to date with all the latest news on co-operative growth and our campaign to ensure every community and a say and a stake in our economy.