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BUILDING COMMUNITY POWER 

A Co-operative Party Regional Conference

for the South West region

In 2022, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Co-operative Party is once again holding a series of virtual Conferences across all regions and nations of the UK.  Members and supporters from across the South West region are invited to take part in this online Zoom event on Saturday 26 March from 10am to 1pm.

The pandemic has shown that we respond to crisis with kindness – shown in the hundreds of mutual aid groups that have established, in the way that community and co-operative businesses have stepped up to support those in need, and in the way that people made huge sacrifices to limit the spread of the virus. As we rebuild from Covid-19, we want to look at how we ensure this co-operation can live on.

The theme for this Conference is Building Community Power – how we can strengthen community wellbeing and resilience by examining how communities themselves can make a difference.  By empowering our communities we can actively involve them in the decisions that affect their lives. We will examine how we can widen ownership in our economy and give people the tools and support to tackle the big issues from inequality and hunger to green jobs and high street regeneration.

The programme

10:00    Keynote address on the current work of the Labour & Co-operative Party Parliamentary Group and it’s influence in Westminster, followed by Q&A:

  • Luke Pollard MP, Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces and MP for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport

10.30    Spotlight on Local Government in the South West

  • Cllr Doina Cornell, Leader of Stroud District Council

10.40    Spotlight on MidCounties Co-operative Society

  • Pete Westall, Chief Values Officer, MidCounties Co-operative

11.00    Building Community Power – hear from a series of speakers representing the breadth and diversity of community projects across our region as they share their learning and identify common principles that can be implemented on a wider basis, followed by a Q&A.  Speakers include:

  • Jeff Turner, Go-op
  • Cllr Yvonne Atkinson, Devon County Council
  • John Merritt, Cooperative Development Worker, Co-op Action Network
  • Chris Penberthy, Plymouth City Council

12.00    Co-op Party policy consultations for 2022 Members are are invited to join these workshops as we explore these important areas of policy in further detail:

  • Emma Hoddinott, Co-op Party Assistant General Secretary – chair.

International development, with:

  • Dr Nicola Bradbear – Director, Bees for Development
  • Jonathan Wallcroft- Labour Campaign for International Development Exec

12.30    Health, with:

  • Chris Bain, Chair Co-op Party Policy Sub-Committee & West Mids Healthwatch

13.00    Final words and thank yous

  • Pat Juby, NEC representative for the South West
Register your interest in attending here:

Details

Date:
Saturday, 26 March 2022
Time:
10:00 am - 1:00 pm

Location

Virtual

Organiser

Co-operative Party Events
Phone:
020 7367 4150
Email:
events@party.coop