gordonbrown

Co-operative Futures welcomes PM’s

manifesto pledge

CO-OPERATIVE Futures, a business development agency that encourages the formation of new co-operatives and other community owned enterprises in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire has welcomed the news that co-operative principles will be at the heart of the next Labour manifesto.

The prime minister, Gordon Brown, this week said he would draw heavily on the manifesto of the Co-operative Party – a separate political party allied to Labour – in preparing his own programme.

The move signals a support for the business model adopted by co-operatives and mutually-owned companies, which are owned by their employees or customers.

The co-operative movement has long argued that it offers a fairer, more sustainable way of conducting business than that of publicly traded companies.

Co-operative development consultant Jim Pettipher said: “Mutual and co-operative businesses and their employees have fared much better than publicly traded companies during the financial crisis, because they are operated by and on behalf of their members, whether those members are employees or are customers, like members of the Co-op supermarket.

“If Cadbury PLC, for instance, had been owned in a similar way to the John Lewis Partnership, then the Kraft takeover could not have happened and 30,000 British workers would still own their own British company.”

“After the bail-out of the banking sector – which fared far worse than mutually-owned building societies – share holders and bankers are looking to recoup “their” losses from the public purse.

“It seems the prime minister has reached the same conclusion as the rest of us – that the co-operative business model is the fairest and most sustainable.”

In the current financial year, Co-operative Futures, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this month, has registered, or is in the process of registering, 30 new co-operative businesses – about the same number that it registered during the entire period from 2000 to 2009.

“We are experiencing a co-operative boom – and the figures back this up,” said Jim. “Last year in the UK there were 4,820 co-operatives, employing 205,800 people, contributing £28.9 billion in turnover and owning £9.7 billion in assets.”

Anyone interested in starting or growing a business that is a co-operative or community owned enterprise can contact Jim Pettipher at Co-operative Futures on 0845 456 2506 or at info@co-operativefutures.coop.

For case studies of newly-formed co-operatives in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire visit www.co-operativefutures.coop and click on News Stories.