Speakers

Keir Starmer MP

Keynote
Keynote 1
Saturday 10th
@Keir_Starmer
Sir Keir Starmer is the Leader of the Labour Party, MP for Holborn and St Pancras, and a proud member of the Co-operative Party.

Anneliese Dodds MP

Keynote
Keynote 2
Saturday 10th
@AnnelieseDodds
Anneliese Dodds is the Shadow Chancellor, the first woman to hold this position, and Labour & Co-operative MP for Oxford East. Before her election to Parliament, she was a MEP for South East England and a lecturer in public policy at King's College London and Aston University.

Dr Wanda Wyporska

Panel
Owning The Future: Ideas for a More Equal Recovery
Saturday 10th
@WandaWyporska @EqualityTrust
Dr Wanda Wyporska is the Executive Director of The Equality Trust, a national charity campaigning to reduce social and economic inequality. Wanda has over a decade of experience working in the trade union movement, and is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of York and an Equalities Advisor to the London Recovery Taskforce.

Professor Andres Velasco

Panel
Owning The Future: Ideas for a More Equal Recovery
Saturday 10th
@AndresVelasco @LSENews @LSEPublicPolicy
Andres Velasco is the Dean of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He was Chile's Minister of Finance between 2006 and 2010, when his work to save Chile's copper windfall and create a rainy-day fund was internationally recognised, and he stood as a presidential candidate in 2013.

Ian Murray MP

Quiz
Awards & Quiz
Saturday 10th
@IanMurrayMP
Ian Murray is the Labour MP for Edinburgh South and Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland. Thoughout lockdown, Ian ran regular isolation pub quizzes - building on his experience running IRL pub quizzes before becoming an MP! You're guaranteed an authentic quiz with a political twist.

Paul Monaghan

Policy Debate
Policy Debate 1: Making Business Work for the Common Good
Sunday 11th
@PaulJMonaghan @FairTaxMark
Paul Monaghan is the co-founder and Chief Executive of the Fair Tax Mark, a certification scheme launched in 2014 that seeks to encourage and recognise organisations that pay the right amount of corporation tax at the right time and in the right place. Previously, Paul has led sustainability programmes across the Co-operative Group and campaigned on Third World debt and ethical lending.

Hazel Blears

Policy Debate
Policy Debate 1: Making Business Work for the Common Good
Sunday 11th
@HazelBlearsCoop
The Rt Hon Hazel Blears is the former Labour MP for Salford and Eccles, and served as the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government under Gordon Brown. She is a Member Nominated Director at the Co-operative Group, and is also Chair of the Social Investment Business Foundation and a trustee of the Social Mobility Foundation.

Steve Reed MP

Policy Debate
Policy Debate 2: Connecting communities: from buses to broadband
Sunday 11th
@SteveReedMP @LabourCLG
Steve Reed OBE is the Labour & Co-operative MP for Croydon North and serves on Labour's front bench as Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. He was leader of Lambeth Council from 2006 to 2012, during which time he led the Co-operative Council Commission and has since become honorary president of the Co-operative Councils Innovation Network.

Monica Lee

Policy Debate
Policy Debate 2: Connecting communities: from buses to broadband
Sunday 11th
@dig2agig
Monica Lee is a founding member of Broadband for the Rural North (B4RN) and is one of its first directors as well as being on the management team and serving as company secretary. B4RN is a professionally designed fibre optic network, registered as a community benefit society and run by a local team with the support of volunteers. They are non-profit, and part funded by community shares. They provide affordable higspeed connections to rural communities as well as offering free connections to places of worship, small village schools and village halls. For many years, Monica was visiting professor at Newcastle Business School and is passionate about the way that co-operatives can change people's lives for the better.

Laura Price

Policy Debate
Policy Debate 2: Connecting communities: from buses to broadband
Sunday 11th
@ladylauraprice
Cllr Laura Price is a Labour & Co-operative councillor in Oxfordshire and has been heavily involved in setting up a people's bus company following cuts to rural services in 2016. Her professional background is in academic publishing where she worked as a commissioning editor.

Kate Dearden

Panel
Common decency
Monday 12th
@kate_dearden @CommunityUnion
Kate Dearden is Head of Research, Policy and External Relations at Community Union. Scommunity is a trade union representing and aupporting workers in every sector of the economy. Through lockdown, Kate has been particularly focused on improving support for the sel employed. Kate is also a member of the Labour Women's Network management committee.

Karen Hurst

Panel
Common decency
Monday 12th
@KarenHurst @ABCULCUs
Karen Hurst is the policy officer for Scotland at the Association of British Credit Unions. ABCUL is a co-operative, representing credit unions and championing the need for a more sustainable, inclusive and ethical financial services sector.

Cllr Kirsteen Sullivan

Panel
Common decency
Monday 12th
@KittySull1
Cllr Kirsteen Sullivan is a Labour councillor in West Lothian and deputy leader of the council. She successfully passed the Co-operative Party food justice motion on her council and has led work to map food insecurity, develop an Anti-Poverty Strategy and, following a food justice conference, is developing a food network in West Lothian.

Peter Kelly

Panel
Common decency
Monday 12th
Peter Kelly joined the Poverty Alliance as Policy Manager in 2002, becoming Director in 2004. He is responsible for the overall day-to-day management of the organisation, ensuring that the Alliance is delivering the objectives set by the board and members. Peter also represents the Alliance in a variety of forums and networks, including Scottish Drugs Forum and the Living Wage Foundation’s Advisory Council. He was Vice President of the European Anti-Poverty Network from 2012 to 2018. Peter is also Company Secretary on the Board of the Alliance. Before joining the Alliance he worked at the Scottish Low Pay Unit, helping to campaign for the introduction of the National Minimum Wage.

Ria Bernard

Network Discussion
Co-operating for gender equality
Monday 12th
@RiaB_22 @CoopPartyWomen
Ria Bernard is the Secretary of the London Co-operative Party and former co-ordinator of the Co-operative Party's Women's Network. She is the former Chair of the Young Fabians and London Young Labour. Ria is a PhD student at University College London (UCL), investigating the social, emotional & mental health profiles of children who stammer. As part of her PhD, Ria works as Policy Officer at Action for Stammering Children charity. She is also a qualified Speech and Language Therapist with an MSc in Neuroscience.

Seema Malhotra MP

Network Discussion
Co-operating for gender equality
Monday 12th
@SeemaMalhotra1
Seema Malhotra is the Labour & Co-operative MP for Feltham and Heston, and serves as the Shadow Minister for Employment. Before being elected, Seema was a management consultant and founded the Fabian Women's Network.

Rebecca Harvey

Network Discussion
Co-operating for gender equality
Monday 12th
@Bex_Harvey
Rebecca Harvey is the Executive Editor of Co-operative News. She first joined the publication as deputy editor over five years ago and oversaw its redesign.

Meg Hillier MP

Panel
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
Tuesday 13th
@Meg_HillierMP
Meg Hillier is the Labour & Co-operative MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch and serves as Chair of the Public Accounts Committee. She was a junior Government minister until 2010 and Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change until 2011. Prior to election, Meg worked as a journalist in regional press, and was a councillor and mayor in Islington.

Brando Benifei MEP

Panel
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
Tuesday 13th
@BrandoBenifei
Brando Benifei is an Italian politician serving as a Member of the European Parliament for the Partido Democratico. He supported the Co-operatives Europe #CoopSupporter pledge and believes that the co-operative economy is a central part of the life of European citizens. Brando is one of the youngest MEPs and was responsible for key legislative and non-legislative reports on youth and refugee employment as well as digitalisation and rights of persons with disabilities.

Deb Oxley

Panel
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
Tuesday 13th
@DebOxley @EmployeeOwned
Deb Oxley OBE is the Chief Executive of the Employee Ownership Association, the organisation representing organisations which are employee owned or transitioning to employee ownership. Deb received an OBE in 2019 in recognition of her work in the employee ownership and social enterprise sectors. She is also a champion at the Cabinet Office in the Inclusive Economy Partnership and a board member of Scotland for Employee Ownership.

James Kelly MSP

Panel
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
Tuesday 13th
James Kelly is a Scottish Labour and Co-operative MSP for the Glasgow Region. He was elected as the constituency MSP for Glasgow Rutherglen in 2007 then for Rutherglen in 2011, and a list MSP in 2016. James is interested in co-operatives and chairs the cross-party group on this subject in Holyrood, credit unions, sport and consumer rights.

Marian Craig

Network Discussion
A fairer environment: co-operation and climate change
Tuesday 13th
@MarianCraig
Marian Craig is a co-chair of the Co-operative Party's Youth Network, representing the London region. She is an experienced public relations practitioner, leading political and community engagement for built environment projects.

Luke Pollard MP

Network Discussion
A fairer environment: co-operation and climate change
Tuesday 13th
@LukePollard
Luke Pollard MP is the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and represents Plymouth Sutton and Devonport as a Labour & Co-operative MP.

Dr Afsheen Rashid MBE

Network Discussion
A fairer environment: co-operation and climate change
Tuesday 13th
@Afsheen_Rashid
Afsheen Rashid is the co-founder director and CEO of Repowering London, the Chair of Community Energy England and a trustee on the board of Friends of the Earth. Prior to founding Repowering she was a senior policy advisor at the Department of Energy and Climate Change. She is a community energy specialist with more than 10 years experience working in the sector at local and national levels, including spearheading Lambeth council’s community energy programme. In 2016 Afsheen was awarded an MBE for her work delivering renewable energy to deprived London communities and, in 2018, she won the Regen Clean Energy Pioneer award.

Ishaa Asim

Network Discussion
A fairer environment: co-operation and climate change
Tuesday 13th
@Ishaa_Asim
Ishaa Asim is a climate activist and former youth MP for Manchester youth council.

Cheryl Barrott

Network Discussion
Impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the disabled community
Wednesday 14th
@CeeChangeAGEnt
Cheryl Barrott is a member of the Co-operative Party's (dis)Ability Network and former NEC member for Yorkshire. She is part of the Shefffield Co-operative Development Group, sits on the Sheffield City Region Co-operative Advisory Panel and was a Labour & Co-operative Party council candidate.

Vicky Foxcroft MP

Network Discussion
Impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the disabled community
Wednesday 14th
@VickyFoxcroft
Vicky Foxcroft is the Labour MP for Lewisham Deptford and is Shadow Minister for Disabled People. Before becoming an MP, Vicky was a Lewisham councillor and worked for Unite the Union.

Valerie Bossman Quarshie

Network Discussion
Impact of Covid on disabled community
Wednesday 14th
@ValerieABossman
Valerie Bossman Quarshie is a community activist from Islington. She is the BAME Officer of Islington North CLP and a member of the Co-operative Party's (dis)Ability Network. She works at a secondary school in new Barnet, is trustee of a community service centre and a local secondary school governor.

Fazilet Hadi

Network Discussion
Impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the disabled community
Wednesday 14th
@FaziletHadi
Fazilet Hadi is the Interim Head of Policy and Research at Disability Rights UK,. She was previously Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the RNIB and is a non-executive directpr of Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust and member of the EHRC Disability Advisory Committee.

Cllr Eleanor Southwood

Network Discussion
Impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the disabled community
Wednesday 14th
@EllieSouthwood
Cllr Eleanor Southwood is a Labour councillor in Brent and lead for housing and welfare reform. She is Chair of the RNIB and has a particular interest in how RNIB and partner organisations can tackle the lack of employment opportunities and representation in civic and public life.

James Murray MP

Panel
Don’t moan, organise! Community-led high street revival
Thursday 15th
@JamesMurray_LDN
James Murray is the Labour & Co-operative MP for Ealing North. He was previously Deputy Mayor for Housing for the Mayor of London and a councillor in Islington.

Hazel Tilley

Panel
Don’t moan, organise! Community-led high street revival
Thursday 15th
@Granby4Streets @GranbyMarket
Hazel Tilley is a co-founder of the Granby 4 Streets Community Land Trust. She has lived in the Granby Street area for 30 years and is the CLT's vice chair. Granby 4 Streets shows what communities can achieve when they work together - creating a thriving, vibrant community in a neighbourhood of Liverpool that had been otherwise marked for demolition. They are renovating homes for affordable housing, oanting and greening public spaces, supporting local businesses including running a local market, and creating jobs and training schemes.

Florence Eshalomi MP

Panel
Changemaking during Covid
Thursday 15th
@FlorEshalomi
Florence Eshalomi is the Labour & Co-operative MP for Vauxhall and London Assembly Member for Lambeth and Soutwark. She has worked in a variety of campaigning and public affairs roles including being a local councillor in Brixton, as a regional organiser for the Labour Party, and for the Runnymede Trust.

Cllr Kemi Akinola

Panel
Changemaking during Covid
Thursday 15th
@BeeKemiA
Cllr Kemi Akinola is a Labour & Co-operative councillor in Wandsworth, deputy leader of the Labour Group and a community organiser. She is the founder and CEO of Be Enriched, which runs community canteens in Tooting, Battersea and Elephant and Castle, as well as a social enterprise, the Brixton People's Kitchen. Through lockdown, she has moilised the community to co-ordinate a direct aid food service to those who otherwise would be without easy access to food.

Andrew Ogun

Panel
Changemaking during Covid
Thursday 15th
@BLMGwent
Andrew Ogun is an anti-racism campaigner, helping to initiate the Black Lives Matter Gwent group and was one of the organisers of a successful Black Lives Matter event which saw 2,000 people safely march through Newport. Andrew has since launched a book club so that people in the city can come together via Zoom to learn about race in modern Wales and the UK.

David Howard

Panel
Changemaking during Covid
Thursday 15th
David Howard is one of the community organisers behind the Howden Helpers, a mutual aid group in a small town inrural Yorkshire. He also organises Christmas and Company, providing a Christmas Day lunch to people who would otherwise be alone and supporting the local foodbank. He is a town councillor and an event producer and filmmaker.

Dr Gregory Roberts

Network Discussion
BAME Communities and the Potential for Deepening Co-operation
Friday 16th
Dr Gregory Roberts is a member of the Co-operative Party's BAME co-operators council. He has a doctorate from the University of Birmingham and is managing director of StrateJ Financial Education Ltd.

Chrissy Meleady

Network Discussion
BAME Communities and the Potential for Deepening Co-operation
Friday 16th
Chrissy Meleady is an equalities campaigner and founded Sheffield-based Equalities and Human Rights UK. She was awarded an MBE in 2000 for services to the Sheffield Children's Centre

Cllr Rupinder Singh

Network Discussion
BAME Communities and the Potential for Deepening Co-operation
Friday 16th
@Rupinder2010
Cllr Rupinder Singh represents the Lower Stoke Ward in Coventry as a Labour & Co-operative councillor. He is also an IT professional for local government.

Cllr Sanchia Alasia

Network Discussion
BAME Communities and the Potential for Deepening Co-operation
Friday 16th
@SanchiaAlasia
Cllr Sanchia Alasia is a Labour & Co-operative councillor in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. She's also a board trustee for Endometriosis UK, a Global Diversity Advisory Panel member for the Chartered Management Institute and an Equality and Diversity Manager at Brunel University.

Cllr Chris Penberthy

Network Discussion
More than a night at the pub: protecting LGBTQ+ venues after Covid
Saturday 17th
@ChrisPenberthy
Cllr Chris Penberthy is a Labour & Co-operative councillor in Plymouth and the cabinet member or housing and co-operative development. He was elected chair of the Co-operative Party's LGBTQ+ Network in 2018.

Tracy Brabin MP

Network Discussion
More than a night at the pub: protecting LGBTQ+ venues after Covid
Saturday 17th
@TracyBrabin
Tracy Brabin is the Labour & Co-operative MP for Batley and Spen, and is the Shadow Minister for Cultural Industries. She is passionate about arts venues and co-operative models which support freelancers and the self-employed in creative industries. Prior to entering politics, Brabin was an actress and television writer, having appeared in several British soap operas, including Coronation Street, EastEnders, Casualty and Emmerdale.

James Lindsay

Network Discussion
More than a night at the pub: protecting LGBTQ+ venues after Covid
Saturday 17th
@theRVT
James Lindsay is the CEO and managing director fo the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, a much loved London landmark and award winning cabaret, performance and club night desination. It has been a vital part of the LGBTQ+ community since the 1960s and has been designated an Asset of Community Value and is listed by English Heritage for its importance to the LGBTQ community.

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