22nd May 2019 Eating or heating? United Nations report shames government on extreme poverty James Butler Campaigns Officer Glue that has held society together "deliberately removed and replaced with a harsh and uncaring ethos" says Philip Aston, UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights. Help us push the government on zero hunger.
21st May 2019 Government’s largest suppliers not compliant with Modern Slavery Act James Butler Campaigns Officer 29% of the Government’s largest suppliers are not compliant with the Modern Slavery Act. Compliance is not a ‘nice to have’, it’s the law – and yet there is no penalty for noncompliance
21st May 2019 Democratising energy: our thoughts on Labour’s energy proposals Claire McCarthy General Secretary Labour's proposals for publicly owned energy networks were published last week. As these plans develop, our General Secretary Claire McCarthy puts forward the case for further widening ownership and democratising the sector.
16th May 2019 Richer Sounds shows that employee ownership should be the ‘new normal’ Caitlin Prowle Youth Organiser In an economy that is increasingly working in the interests of the wealthy, it’s time to make the collective strength of employee-ownership the 'new normal'.
7th May 2019 Are social rights a way to tackle food insecurity? Imogen Richmond-Bishop Right to Food Project Coordinator at Sustain and Policy and Advocacy Manager at Just Fair “We need to accept social rights! Surely the British electorate can be mobilised by a right to social protection!” Professor Philip Alston, UN Special Rapporteur on the poverty and human rights at a public event in London in April 2019.
30th April 2019 Local election roundup: co-operative ideas in local manifestos Anna Birley Policy Officer Caitlin Prowle Youth Organiser This Thursday is election day for over 500 co-operative candidates across England from Swale to Sunderland. We took a look at some of their manifestos to see the difference that co-operative councillors could make…
26th April 2019 Reaching consensus in tackling climate change through Citizens Assemblies Tom Hayes Oxford City Councillor for St. Clement's Ward Building on the Co-operative Party’s longstanding commitment to action on climate change and our belief that we can achieve more for our environment when working co-operatively than we can alone, I’m pleased to be outlining plans for a Citizens Assembly for dealing with our climate crisis.
18th April 2019 Free meals for kids in Greenwich Cllr Danny Thorpe Leader of Royal Borough of Greenwich I have seen first-hand the difference our meals make when dropping into to meet some of the young people tucking into their bowl of spaghetti, or making their own chicken salad wraps, before they run off to play with their mates.
18th April 2019 Co-operative Group of AMs ramp-up Campaign for Food Justice in Wales Huw Irranca-Davies AM/AS Chair of the National Assembly for Wales Co-operative Group / Grwp Cydweithredol Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru Let’s start from the basics: healthy, nutritious, and affordable food should be a right for everyone.
11th April 2019 Labour & Co-operative Gain Emma Hoddinott Local Government Officer The local elections are still a few weeks away for many Labour & Co-op Candidates, but Christopher Foxon has already been elected.
10th April 2019 Bedford campaigns for a Labour & Co-operative Mayor Emma Hoddinott Local Government Officer The Labour and Co-operative Parties, as two of the most powerful and successful social movements in the country, have a fantastic and exciting opportunity in the weeks ahead to make the case for our shared values, principles and politics.
8th April 2019 Switching the UK onto mutual credit Oliver Sylvester-Bradley Co-Founder of The Open Co-op The Open Credit Network is changing the way businesses trade, launching a mutual credit trading scheme to support co-ops and SMEs. Guest contributor Oliver Sylvester-Bradley explains.
8th April 2019 Evelyn’s response to food poverty Cllr Caroline Kalu Councillor Caroline Kalu, a Co-operative Party member and Board member of Lewisham Homes, writes about her own community’s response to tackling food poverty in Evelyn ward in Lewisham.
3rd April 2019 Long read: proposals for a new public banking ecosystem Anna Birley Policy Officer A new report came out this week with detailed proposals for a transition to a banking ecosystem that puts the public interest first. Our Policy Officer, Anna Birley, shares some highlights from the report.
3rd April 2019 Food poverty in UK schools is unacceptable Caitlin Prowle Youth Organiser The United Kingdom is one of the richest countries on earth. Our economy consistently ranks in the top 10 for size and development, and our richest populations increased their wealth by £66 billion in the last year alone. Take a look inside our country’s classrooms however and you will find a very different story.
29th March 2019 Transforming Rochdale by building community wealth the co-operative way Edward Carpenter In Rochdale, anchor institutions are coming together to build community wealth and grow their local co-operative economy. This case study explores how their initiative, Rochdale Stronger Together, is creating the jobs that people want, the services that they need, communities where people want to live and opportunities for young people to aspire and achieve.
28th March 2019 Remembering Dr Jim Arnold – Preserver of New Lanark Iain McDonald Trustee of the New Lanark Trust Claudia Beamish MSP and Ged Killen MP have tabled motions to the Scottish Parliament and Westminster Parliament respectively to mark the passing of Dr Jim Arnold, former director of the New Lanark Trust and responsible for preserving the hugely important New Lanark site. Iain Macdonald, trustee of the New Lanark Heritage Trust and former Secretary General of the International Co-operative Alliance, has contributed the following obituary.
26th March 2019 PM Theresa May, take action on modern slavery in hand car washes Co-operative Party Today Labour and Co-operative MPs, London AMs, Police and Crime Commissioners, Council Leaders, and City Mayors have sent a letter to the Prime Minister urging action on the compulsory licensing of car washes.
21st March 2019 Support the child victims of modern slavery Mark Whiley Digital and Communications Officer Figures out this week show a shocking rise in the number of UK children in modern slavery - primarily linked to drug related organised crime. We must increase support for all victims from 45 days to a year.
21st March 2019 Hackney’s approach to tackling food poverty Philip Glanville Mayor of Hackney This is a campaign we wish we weren’t having to fight.
18th March 2019 Building a decent society – to live and work Lord Kerslake Crossbench peer in the House of Lords Brexit dominates our political discourse, but our country faces urgent challenges in other areas such as housing and work. Crossbench peer Lord Kerslake speaks to our Common Decency Conference.
14th March 2019 The People’s Money – Financial Institutions that serve people and their communities Richard McCready Political Officer At the Scottish Labour Conference last weekend in Dundee we held a very successful fringe meeting titled, 'The People’s Money'.
14th March 2019 The Scottish Co-operative Party launches Food Justice campaign. Richard McCready Political Officer Last weekend in Dundee the Scottish Co-operative Party launched its Food Justice campaign.
13th March 2019 There is also a Spring Statement today… Anna Birley Policy Officer Our economy needs a radical overhaul to shake us out of stalled growth and our Brexit malaise - but today's Spring Statement looks unlikely to propose anything that will genuinely tackle low wages and poor productivity.
12th March 2019 Help us deliver food justice James Butler Campaigns Officer We need to work to restore common decency for all and that starts with the fight for food justice. Help us to make it happen.
11th March 2019 This is simply too important a decision to freeze democracy and claim it only counted on one day in 2016. Stephen Doughty Labour and Co-operative MP for Cardiff South & Penarth Giving a voice to the people to decide the future of their own country is exactly how it should be. That is why as a Co-operative MP I am campaigning hard to give people a final say.
8th March 2019 Across the World, co-operatives are helping to close the Gender Gap Ria Bernard Volunteer Co-ordinator, Co-operative Party Women's Network This week, to mark International Women’s Day 2019, the Co-operative Party Women’s Network hosted an event exploring how co-operatives have succeeded in empowering women to bring about sustainable change to their communities around the world.
7th March 2019 Common decency in action: Mondragon co-operatives, Spain Ben West Communications & Digital Officer Our vision of Common Decency isn’t just a dream or an idea; it’s a model that already exists. And it works.
6th March 2019 Fairtrade and Co-operatives: Working Together Miriam Rice Vice Chair, London Co-operative Party
4th March 2019 Rebuilding Common Decency Claire McCarthy General Secretary Whether in policy or how we do politics, common decency seems further away than ever. That's why we must all recommit ourselves to building a politics we can all be proud of.