Why in a climate crisis and cost-of-living crisis do we all keep buying so much stuff? Well we don't have to. The Library of Things is a collection of things that people don't use very often but have to buy.

The Co-operative Party have long campaigned for food justice in the UK, calling for action to be taken at a local and national level to end food poverty across the nation.

Last year’s attempt to demutualise the UK’s second largest mutual insurer, LV=, brought the debate around mutual ownership, and indeed the process of ending that mutual status in to sharp relief.

We need to recruit more members and encourage more people to stand as Labour & Co-operative candidates. Engaging with Labour Party meetings is essential to highlighting our values and principles locally.

As a direct result of the Co-operative Party's Right to Food motion, at least in our part of the world, fewer people will go hungry.

The next Labour Government would reverse the Government’s decision to merge together both the Foreign Office with the Department for International Development.

We’ve been working with local Co-op stores to understand more about why those who perpetrate this behaviour do so, and by addressing the root causes of the problem, we can give them the treatment and support that they need to break that habit – potentially even giving them roles in the store.

As we reach the summer recess in Parliament it’s an opportunity to look back and celebrate some of the achievements and successes of the Co-operative Party in recent months and look forward to the future.

At the Co-operative Party we are committed to building an economy where power and wealth are shared – join us at our fringe event at Labour Conference this year and come find out about our plan for delivering a co-operative economy.

The announced policies will put community ownership directly at the heart of the next Labour & Co-operative Government’s vision for “levelling up”. We want to give communities the power, time and funding they need to transform their own local areas.

We continue to adapt our approach to combatting modern slavery as those who seek to profit out of human misery seek to evade law enforcement. Let’s hope that the Government reflects on what an achievement the Modern Slavery Act was and not as we fear, seek to unpick it. 

We need a more co-operative approach to governance in our country to deliver a better outcome for the whole of the United Kingdom. As leader of the Scottish Labour Party, I will be publishing a series of papers on how Scottish Labour working alongside our UK colleagues can deliver a stronger Scotland in a modernising United Kingdom.

Last week saw the start of our 2022 Summer School – a series of sessions for new members to learn and get involved with the Party. It’s an exciting time to be a member of the Co-op Party as we continue to grow in members, election candidates and co-operators at every level of government.

When the Co-op Party highlighted that the Government was consulting on an Online Sales Tax as a way of levelling the playing field between Internet-only businesses and those retailers that need a shop front presence, our branch was keen to help.

Hard work will be what it takes for us to move our Party forward in the way we want. The good news is our Party is becoming a fantastic team prepared to go above and beyond. 

Co-op Fortnight, the annual celebration of co-ops, runs this year from 20 June to 3 July and Co-ops UK are asking people involved in co-ops to celebrate why they love co-operatives so much.

We have spoken to branches, party councils and the wider Co-operative community all across the country to build a more well rounded document.

Last week, I was proud to announce a £300,000 community energy fund - supporting Hackney’s journey to net zero and forming part of the Council’s plan to tackle the climate crisis as well as helping residents with their rising energy bills.

We are clear in our aim and clear in our approaches to achieve co-operative communities right across the country – and as a movement, I've outlined what we must do.

I was absolutely delighted that Hazel Grove Constituency Labour Party unanimously passed the Co-operative Party’s model motion in support of an Online Sales Tax last week.

While it is a missed opportunity by the Government to create a fairer, more co-operative society – there are several pieces of legislation which we believe can be made more co-operative and progressive.

Millions had the chance to vote for co-operation and they did, returning a record number of over 1200 Co-operative Councillors to office. This was especially true in Scotland and Wales where we saw the number of Co-op Councillors double, following on from record parliamentary co-operative groups elected last year.