BUILDING COMMUNITY POWER 

A Co-operative Party Regional Conference

for the West Midlands

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 West Midlands are invited to take part in this online Zoom event on Saturday 26 February 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.

Programme

• Keynote address on the current work of the Labour & Co-operative Party Parliamentary Group and it’s influence in Westminster:
  • Bill Esterson MP, Shadow Minister for Business and Industrial Strategy
• 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:
  • Tom McNeil – Assistant Police & Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands (chair)
  • Carl Taylor – Director, Redditch Co-op Homes
  • Lisa Trickett – chair The Active Wellbeing Society & Places in Common
  • Phil Beardmore – Community Energy Birmingham & Co-ops West Mids
  • Sue Beeston – listing community assets in Newcastle under Lyme
  • Cllr Sheree Peaple – Director Tamworth Co-op Society & Deputy Leader Labour Group, Tamworth Borough Council
  • Cllr Sharon Thompson JP – Cabinet Member for Vulnerable Children and Families, Birmingham City Council
• Co-op Party policy consultations for 2022 – chaired by Emma Hoddinott, Co-op Party Assistant General Secretary.   Members are are invited to join these workshops as we explore these important areas of policy in further detail:
  • Health, with:
    • Chris Bain, West Mids HealthWatch
    • Cllr Lucy Caldicot – Cabinet Member for Health, Lambeth Council
  • International development, with:
    • Adam Gardner, Head of Campaigns, Fairtrade Foundation

Click here to register on Zoom