The Co-operative Party was founded in 1917 by the co-operative movement – made up of member and employee-owned businesses determined to change how business is done and who shares its rewards.
That relationship continues today, with the Co-op supermarkets and retail societies on your high street continuing to support our Party and campaign with us on crucial issues like food poverty, ending violence against shopworkers, and promoting Fairtrade.
Vote Yes to Motion 8 to ensure our work continues.
Soon, those of us who regularly shop at a Co-op group store with their blue membership card will once again be asked to vote on continuing the partnership with Co-operative Party.
For over 100 years, the Co-operative Party and the co-operative movement have worked in partnership to build a society where power and wealth are shared. We are the political voice of the co-operative movement, taking co-operative policies and principles from the shop floor to the places where laws are made.
We are your voice at decision-making tables across the country: supporting co-operative ideas like fairtrade, food justice and protection for shopworkers. But for that work to continue, we need your vote.
To keep this historic link between our movement and our Party and to continue the amazing successes we've achieved together, vote Yes to Motion 8 as part of the Co-op Group AGM before the deadline of 11th May.
How to vote
The vast majority of eligible voters will receive their ballot by email. Keep an eye on your inbox in the coming days.
All eligible voters can also vote using the Co-op App. Simply go to the Discover tab on the Co-op App and scroll to "Vote in the Co-op 2026 AGM". If (and only if) you are reading this webpage on a phone with the app installed, clicking this link will take you to the right page.
Over a century ago, the individual co-operative societies that make up the UK co-op movement came together to establish the Co-operative Party as their political voice. Since then, these co-operatives have regularly consulted their members and voted on whether to continue their partnership with the Party.
Today, the largest of these co-operative societies is the Co-operative Group, which sells food, funeral care and insurance across the country. You probably know them as "the Co-op" you shop at with a blue membership card on your high street.
In keeping with our movements democratic traditions, the Co-op Group has held a direct ballot of its members each year on whether to maintain the partnership. Every year, Co-op Group members have approved maintaining the link overwhelmingly.
The vote is taking place once again this year, and we are therefore asking for your support.
You are likely to be able to vote if:
- You shop regularly at a Co-operative Group store (with a blue membership card) and spent over £100 using your membership card in 2025.
- You have an insurance or funeralcare plan with the Co-op.
You may not be able to vote if:
- You have spent less than £100 at the Co-op in the past calendar year, or have not used your blue membership card.
- You are a member of an independent Co-operative society (such as Scotmid or OurCoop (Central Co-op, Midcounties Co-op and Chelmsford Star Co-op)
If you are unsure whether you are eligible to vote, visit membership.coop.co.uk/eligibility-to-vote (requires you to be logged in) or call 0800 0686 727.
Being a member of the Co-operative Party (with a purple membership card) does not automatically make you eligible in this vote – though many Party members will be eligible, and will receive a voting pack from the Co-op Group by email.
Growing the co-operative economy
For too long, co-operatives have faced unnecessary barriers, from outdated regulations to a lack of support for starting and scaling co-operative businesses. We are changing that. We have secured:
- The first ever Co-operative and Mutual Sector Growth Council, bringing government and the movement together to develop sector-wide growth plans.
- A new Centre of Excellence for co-ops and mutuals within financial regulators, helping regulators better support mutual businesses.
- New measures from Regulators to support the growth of Building Societies.
- Changes to make it quicker and easier to start a co-operative.
- For the first time ever, official government guidance on how to start a co-operative on gov.uk.
- Co-operatives included in the Help to Grow leadership programme, supporting the next generation of SME leaders.
- Growth Hubs in England now required to offer advice on co-operative and alternative business models.
- Reforms to outdated restrictions on credit unions, including rules around the “common bond” that previously limited their growth.
- The launch of a historic consultation on the development need of co-operatives and mutuals.
- A £1 billion investment in community finance through CDFIs, helping expand lending to underserved communities and businesses.
- A new Co-operative Development Unit inside the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Empowering communities
Co-operation isn’t just about businesses: it’s about communities having power over the places they live. That’s why we have delivered:
- A new Community Right to Buy, giving communities the first opportunity to purchase important local assets if they are put up for sale.
- Stronger protections for community sports facilities.
- A £6bn investment in community-led development through the Pride in Place programme.
- Expanding commonhold and securing a £25 million fund for community-led housing.
Investing in community-owned energy
Developing more community-owned energy has been a long-standing priority for the co-operative movement. Now, we are seeing the biggest step forward yet for community energy.
Thanks to campaigning by our members and movement, the Government has brought forward the the £1 billion Local Power Plan, which will:
- Support hundreds of new community-owned renewable energy projects.
- Provide funding, expertise and development support to projects.
- Help communities generate and own clean energy locally.
This is the largest investment in community energy in British history.
Delivering on our movement's priorities
We are proud to help bring the campaigning aims of our movement from the shopfloor to the floor of the Houses of Parliament. We’ve helped deliver our movement’s priorities by:
- Introducing new protections for retail workers from violence and abuse.
- Pilots for regional care procurement co-operatives, helping councils deliver better care outcomes.
- Stronger support for co-operative schools.
Peace and co-operation
We were proud to work with the Co-op Group on their efforts this year to support peacebuilding through co-operation around the world.
- We helped thousands of Co-op Group members write to their MP to encourage the government to support the role of co-operatives in helping build lasting peace in post-conflict zones throughout the world.
- We also invited and hosted peacebuilding co-ops in Parliament, such as the co-operative peace village Wahat al-Salam – Neve Shalom where Israelis and Palestinians have lived side by side in peace for generations.
- We worked with Government ministers to ensure the inclusion of co-operative development within the Government approach to international development.
Promoted by Joe Fortune on behalf of the Co-operative Party, both at Unit 13, 83 Crampton Street, London, SE17 3BQ, United Kingdom. Co-operative Party Limited is a registered Society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. Registered no. 30027R.
Our achievements this year with the co-operative movement
The Co-operative Party’s strength is that we combine a movement outside Parliament with a voice inside it. That’s exactly what the co-operative movement understood in 1917, when they founded our party: co-operation isn’t just a different kind of business model, it’s a fundamental rethink of how our economy is owned and run. They knew then, as we know now, that if we want to make that change real, our movement needs a political voice.
With a record number of Co-operative elected representatives in government, our movement has a massive opportunity right now to put worker-owned, customer-owned and community-owned businesses at the heart of how our economy is run. That's an opportunity we have already begun to deliver on.
By organising at every level of government as well as in our communities, the co-operative movement has already succeeded in turning its priorities into new laws, new policy and new opportunities. Here’s just some of the wins we have achieved together this year.