Cambridge & South & West Essex Co-operative Party Council

“This Co-operative Party Annual Conference recognises the merits of the policy development process which produced the 2015 Election Manifesto, a co-operative Agenda for Britain, and welcomes the ongoing further development programme, with the opportunity for all members to participate. However, this is a long-term process, and at any one time focuses on a limited range of topics such as this year, Brexit and the economy. Yet there are many other issues, both ongoing and new, that are not included in this framework, and that the Party should have a collective view on. Campaigning for co-operative principles and policies is not restricted to an election period, but continues all year round. There must remain scope for members to raise any topical issue which they feel the Party should have a position on, outside the main programme, and not merely resolutions on Party organisation.

Conference therefore agrees that one session of conference should be open for motions on any topic not covered in the main policy documents, that conference should be balloted on their order of importance, and that as many as possible of them be debated in the time allocated.”