Fighting the climate emergency and fuel poverty by reducing bills, are all ways that the City Council leads and adopting the Fair Tax Foundation standards seemed to be a natural extension of this.

As Co-operative MP James Murray puts it 'ending the race to the bottom is crucial to taxing fairly, and to helping our high streets and British businesses to thrive'.

We must be focused on how we clean our energy, decarbonise heat and transport, and create high-paying green jobs. 

This weekend over 30 Co-operators from across the East Midlands came together in Gedling to knock on doors, deliver leaflets and run a street stall.

It’s time to give young people a seat at the table – a say AND a stake – so that we can put in place the bold, co-operative solutions we need to tackle the climate crisis – before it’s too late. 

Time is running out to get to net zero and avoid a climate disaster—Oxford is just one example of a co-operative city taking bold climate action.

It is critical that the untold stories of Black Britons are not just told but celebrated. Black History is intrinsically part of our British History  and if these contributions are not known we are all robbed of our British History.

That not a single river in England meets an acceptable standard of environmental health isn’t just of huge concern for the ecological and natural wellbeing of our waterways, but is further symptomatic of a broken water and sewage system in our country.

We need fundamental reform – scrapping unfair and broken business rates system and replacing them with a new system which protects high streets, incentivises investment and rewarding businesses that reopen the shutters on empty shops.

Credit unions are our movement's best kept secret – on International Credit Union Day, the two million credit union members in Britain should celebrate their success.

Although our Building Community Power conference is over, our work mustn’t stop there. Our exciting announcements will ensure that spirit of co-operation and the best ideas of our movement continue.

High streets form the backdrop to our social life, the stage for our community action and the centrepiece of our civic pride.

With the Budget coming up, we need a bold announcement from the Chancellor to give communities and bricks and mortar businesses a boost.

We need to create spaces for black women to sit on the big tables in institutions, government and political parties.

It’s incredible to think that thousands, if not, millions of tonnes of fresh food is left to rot when many families are struggling to afford to put food on the table.

I celebrate my co-operative values putting communities at the heart of what I do.

A progressive black movement needs social class issues to be at the fore. This year’s recognition season would welcome the Co-operative Party in joining with us to celebrate Black history, culture, and achievements.

The cost of social care currently is around £23.3 billion, although this may seem a lot, the Government has been cutting the social care budget over many years, leaving local authorities underfunded and unable to provide anything other than very basic essential care.

As a co-operator, I know that problems can’t be solved without co-operation, and partnership working underpins all of my work on tackling violence against women and girls.

Co-operation sits at the very heart of the report, with examples of co-operative organisations, ideas and initiatives highlighting the incredible work being done by those in our movement.

Expertly chaired by Cllr Anntoinette Bramble and Baroness Debbie Wilcox, this group of councillors will be meeting regularly over the next few months to develop a strategy for increasing diversity in council chambers across England.