Following the change to structure of the NEC from 2023, each local party and branch has two regional NEC representatives, in addition to those elected to represented BAME, (dis)Abled, LGBTQ+, Youth and elected members.

In England, both regional NEC members represent the whole of your section so you can invite either to your Party Council or branch meetings, particularly if the meeting is to take place on line.  For in-person meetings, please bear in mind the travel time and costs – the party council or branch should meet the travel expenses of any NEC member they invite.

For regional parties, both NEC members should always receive notice of meetings.

Each quarter, the General Secretary reports to the NEC on the Party’s activity and progress towards our Strategic Objectives.

Detailed work on towards the Party’s Objectives is set out in the Strategic Plan 2022-24.  2024 is the final year of the current three-year plan, which will be reviewed by the NEC for 2025-27 when it meets for its strategy weekend in June.

Here is a summary of the report to the NEC in February:

Co-operative Party Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC) work

The Party has continued take part in a wide number of Westminster selections through the period, particularly in ‘non battleground seats’. The Party has submitted tens of nominations for these seats. It has also taken part in a much smaller number of official selections. In relation to the member mobilisation work the Party has started online ‘meet your candidates’ sessions and officers have attended several candidate CLPs.

2024 Candidate Build

The Party has continued to build its Local Election candidates team and now has some 320 candidates in the Candidate Development Programme. The Candidate Development Programme has restarted in earnest with a range of sessions taking place in the period of reporting including Candidate Coffee Mornings, selection training and a session with Party Chair Jim McMahon MP.

The Party has also written to sitting Councillors to aid our retention and has started to target some of the areas of potential increase with individual contact. In addition, the Party has sent out ‘recruit a ward’ candidate materials.

Welsh First Minister

Following the retirement announcement of FM Mark Drakeford, two Co-operative Party MSs Jeremy Miles and Vaughan Gething put themselves forward for selection. The Party has carried out an online hustings event with both candidates and a ballot of Welsh members is underway to determine the Party’s nomination.

Police and Crime Commissioner candidates

The Party has built on the number of official Co-operative Party supported Police and Crime Commissioner candidates. There are now 16 official Co-op candidates. There have been members meetings with PCC candidates taking place around the country.

This has remained one of the key areas of party work through this reporting period.

Joint Labour Party/Co-operative Party Social Economy work.

The Party completed a consultation, events and report with the Labour Party on the Social Economy’s needs from a new Labour and Co-operative Government. The consultation focused on:

• The Social Economy’s contribution to Labour’s industrial strategy
• The Social Economy’s needs from new capital raising powers and instruments.
• The Social Economy’s contribution to good work.

Following the consultation period, the Party has completed four roundtable events with social economy experts and stakeholders and Shadow Secretaries of State and Shadow Ministers to discuss the evidence gathered through the consultation. The final report has now been submitted.

Unleashing Community Ownership Report

Through the period the Party has published a report titled ‘Unleashing Community Ownership’, it was authored by Professor Mark Gregory (former Chief Economist at EY) and Commissioners. The launch was supported by a Westminster launch event with Party Chair and Shadow Local Government and Devolution Minister Jim McMahon. The event was attended by a wide range of community power organisations and well received. The Party achieved the below coverage from the work:

• Community Ownership: defending the assets that matter most | LocalGov
• Labour mulls plan to boost local buyouts of community sites in England | Communities | The Guardian

The report can be found here: Unleashing Community Ownership – Co-operative Party

Building Societies Bill

The Party has supported the introduction of a Private Members Bill which is aimed at growing the Building Societies sector. The party has issued a ‘write to your MP’ tool for the Bill and carried content from the Bill’s sponsor Julie Elliot MP.

Other work in support of this strategic objective

• Co-operative Growth – In relation to the Party’s work on co-operative growth the Party has further developed on co-operative development support.
• Party Officers have attended and supported co-operative growth events with the BSA, Co-ops UK and AFM in Westminster.
• Jim McMahon asked an oral question of the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change to call upon the Government to support the rapid development of the community energy sector.
• Birmingham Council passed the Party’s Diverse Council Charter.
• Westminster Council passed the modern slavery charter.

Retail Crime

It has been a busy period for the Party’s retail crime campaign. Through the reporting period:

• Rachael Maskell MP asked a Home Office oral question pressing the Home Secretary to support the establishment of a standalone retail crime.
• Jim McMahon MP asked a Justice oral question calling on the Justice Secretary to support the establishment of a standalone offence for retail crime.
• There was an Opposition Day debate on retail crime which was wound up by Co-op MP and Shadow Police Minister Alex Norris MP.
• Yvette Cooper MP and Co-op MPs Meg Hillier, Stella Creasy and Florence Eshalomi raised retail crime through the 2^nd reading of the Crime Justice Bill.
• Both USDAW and the Co-operative Group emailed their membership lists sharing Co-operative Party content on retail crime.
• The Party held an online Welsh members event on the topic of retail crime with Co-operative Party PCC Andy Dunbobbin.
• The Party held a retail crime Co-op Party Live session with USDAW General Secretary Paddy Lillis and Paul Gerrard of the Co-op Group.
• Daniel Johnson MSP had an article on the effect of his own Private Members Act in the Scottish Parliament on retail crime in the Scottish Grocer: MSP highlights retail crime crisis | Scottish Grocer & Convenience Retailer

Member Mobilisation tool

Through the period the Party has collaborated with digital experts to develop, deliver and launch a new member mobilisation tool for use ahead of the next General Election. The new tool captures member volunteer information and points them towards online training, actions and on the ground campaigning. The tool has been circulated to members and now sits on a new election 24 microsite the Party has developed. It can be seen here: Campaign for a Labour & Co-operative Government (party.coop)

The site also holds information on the Party’s official candidates and policy focusses, along with much more.

The Party has emailed members, texted less regular email opening members, sent to Party Council Chairs and Secretaries. This work sits alongside the Party’s organisers dissemination work.

‘Co-operative Party Live’ sessions

In addition to the retail crime co-op live session above the Party has restarted the 2024 Co-op Live sessions. In line with the year plan the Party has expanded the co-operative live offering to include ‘meet the candidate’ sessions and pragmatic campaign training sessions. In the first couple of weeks of the year the Party has carried out the below Co-operative Live sessions:

• Digital training session
• Warm Front session
• Co-operative development
• Community energy

Other activities in relation to this strategic objective

• The Party had an op-ed published in Inside Housing on the policy needs surrounding co-operative housing: Inside Housing – Comment – A more cooperative approach to housing
• The Co-op News carried an end of year Q&A with the General Secretary: End of year Q&A: Joe Fortune, general secretary of the Co-op Party – Co-operative News (thenews.coop)
• LabourList reporting on the Party’s membership and elected representative growth – see the coverage here: Co-operative Party membership grows faster than all main UK-wide parties – LabourList.

• The Party finished the year with an increased membership at 13,500 members. This is the fifth year of year-on-year growth in membership.
• The Party wrote to every Labour Party CLP Secretary with physical membership forms.
• The Party also texted each member with a recruit a friend message.
• The Party also finished the year with an increased supporter list. This rose to 90,000 in line with our year plan.
• As reported earlier in the report the Party developed and delivered a new member mobilisation tool.
• The Party also expanded the co-op live sessions and has started practical campaign training with two sessions being delivered in the reporting period:
  • Digital training
  • Phone-banking training
• The Party held and concluded by- elections for spaces on Equality Network Committees through the period.
• The Party has ensured Subscribing Society attendance at relevant policy roundtables the Party has produced.
• The Party has continued to provide strong officer communications through national and local Buzz newsletters.

• The Party has sought to bring forward further donations in aid of the Party’s General Election work. Through the period further funding was achieved which will allow the Party’s communication to stay in its enlarged (4.5 team members) up until 2025.
• The Party has worked with Party Councils to achieve donations for its central election work. This work is on-going.
• The Party has recruited a new Part time designer because of a member of the team leaving.
• The Party has delivered officer training sessions on the topic of member retention.
• Party organisers have supported a wide range of unofficial Co-operative Party Westminster selections.
• Party organisers have supported many local Party AGMs through the reporting period.
• The Party Campaigns Officer has attended several branches to highlight new campaign packs and provide campaign updates.

Since the last NEC update our Westminster activity has focused on our core campaigns which have been regularly raised with Government.

On Co-operative Growth and our ambition to double the size of the co-operative sector, we have:

• Worked to inform the Labour Party’s Financial Services Review with Shadow Treasury Minister Tulip Siddiq, which includes a commitment to doubling the size of the co-op and mutuals sector
• Made the case for co-operative growth directly with Government Ministers in the Commons, through Parliamentary Oral Questions and contributions from Jim McMahon, Rachael Maskell, and Tulip Siddiq from the Despatch Box
• Supported Julie Elliot’s Private Members Bill on Building Societies which has been welcomed and supported by the sector as a means of modernising governance and reducing barriers affecting the growth of building societies. This has received support from across the House and will proceed to Committee Stage following a successful Second Reading.

On tackling retail crime and giving greater protection to shop workers against violence, threats, and abuse, the Co-operative Party Parliamentary Group has:

• Tabled amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill that would introduce a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker. This was introduced in the legislation’s Committee Stage by Alex Norris and replicates the changes made by Co-op MSP Daniel Johnson in Scotland. This amendment was voted down by the Government and we will continue to press it at subsequent stages of the Bill.
• Raised the issue from both the Despatch box and backbenches with Minister and made the case for greater protection from violence, threats and abuse through contributions from Alex Norris, Feryal Clark, Jim McMahon, and Rachael Maskell.

On Local Ownership, and giving communities a greater stake and say over the places and areas that matter to them we have:

• Launched in Parliament the Community Ownership Commission report on how we can unleash community ownership, which brought together commissioners, practitioners, partners and Jim McMahon as a frontbench representative to launch the policy ideas
• Raised with the Prime Minister directly during PMQs through Julie Elliott the case for greater control and ownership for local communities and further support in taking control over their high streets and town centres
• Jim McMahon also called on Ministers in the commons to take urgent action to support our high streets and introduce greater initiatives and support for local ownership

In Westminster through both debates and questions of Ministers from both the frontbench and backbenches we have also been active and engaged on:

• Pushing for a continuation of the Household Support Fund which will shortly be ended by the Government, with contributions from Rachael Maskell and Liz Twist on the need to continue offering financial support to families
• Ensuring there is continued access to cash for those who require it, with questions in the Commons from Jim McMahon and Tulip Siddiq
• Supported efforts in the Leasehold Reform Bill to end the leasehold scandal and give a great role for commonhold in the housing sector.

Summary

At the end of 2023, our total individual membership at 13,422.

• Including affiliates, our total membership stood at 13,439.
• Total recruitment for the year 2023 was 1588, this includes both new joiners and those who re-joined after being lapsed.
• Our total subscribed supporter list (those with valid emails) at the end of 2023 stood at just under 89,000. Converting supporters to members is our main recruitment source. We continue to gain our greatest share of new members through a diverse range of targeted “Join Asks” (see p5).
• Membership income up for 2023 was just under £482,000.
• In 2023 we finished the year with around 225 net new members.
• Total recruitment for 2023 was 1,588. This includes both new joiners and those who re-joined after being lapsed.

From October, we returned to net growth after the loss incurred from the Spring 2023 lapses.

Unison Labour Link voted to affiliate to the Party in November and will come into effect in 2024.

Throughout 2023 we continued to look at ways to increase both local recruitment & retention, and to expand our national email supporter list, which is by far the biggest source of new member recruitment. This included involving the co-operation of local parties and branches in pro-actively recruiting, using text messages to remind members that they are in arrears, localising the new member journey so that new members received immediate information from their region, and asking CLPs to invite Co-operative Party guest speakers to their meetings and to spread the word about the Party locally.

It is anticipated that recruitment into 2024 will continue to be challenging, and we will continue to devote considerable attention and time to retention and to improving the member experience and journey. The coming general election will provide opportunities for this in conjunction with member mobilisation.

Membership Demographics

Equality questions are now part of our core forms, including the ones for new members, member updates and since 2021 council candidate applications, giving us accurate data on new members, and building data on existing members.

Our recruitment has improved significantly across all equalities groups since we first reported, building a more representative Party membership:

• 8% of new members and 8.4% of all members are BAME
• 4% of new members and 12.5% of all members are disabled
• 2% of new members and 7.7% of all members are LGBTQ+
• 8% of new members and 38.5% of all members are Women
• 3% of new members and 9.1% of all members are aged 14-30 (Youth)
• 3% of new members and 0.6% of all members are non-Binary

Proportions of almost all the demographics have increased since the last quarter as we gain more data from new members and existing members. This has consistently increased the overall percentages.

The percentage of women joining has levelled back to nearer the percentage of all members, but the percentage of members in the Youth category continues to increase, as a much larger portion of newer members are in the Youth category than in the membership.

For members applying to the local government candidate development programme, we introduced a “caring responsibilities for young children” tab to the questionnaire so we can help with accessibility issues for potential candidates and meetings in terms of Zoom times, etc. So far, we have had about 1.7% of all members who have declared this. For members who have joined in 2023 this rises to about 3% of all new members.

See here for details of the NEC. You can contact your NEC representative via the link on that page or by emailing Karen Wilkie, Board Secretary at board@party.coop.  The next scheduled meeting of the NEC will be in May.