We should be looking to the Cooperative party’s key principles of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity to shape Labour party policy at all levels. From the remutualisation of Northern Rock to council investing in cooperative principles for housing, it provides a strong ideological basis by which we can deliver a stronger society.
However, during Cooperative Fortnight the cooperative movement has to answer a question: how does the movement reach out and ensure its relevancy if there is not a clear cooperative solution to a big issue of the day?
Cooperative party Youth is a great example, from which I’ve just retired as chair. Membership has more than doubled in the last two years, its standing in the wider Labour movement has grown and I’m convinced the new committee will push this on.
Yet during the recent handover meeting of the Cooperative party Youth National Executive the age old issue of a standalone campaign for Cooperative party Youth came up. The new committee’s debate retained a similar theme from the last.
The old and new committees agree the big issue for young people is employment. From the minimum wage to EMA, tuition fees to internships and much more. But the question is always raised: should Cooperative party Youth campaign only on issues with a clear cooperative solution?
But, I ask, how can Cooperative party Youth maintain its relevancy compared to other youth organisations, such as Labour Students, Young Fabians and young trade union movements, draw new members and advance the case for cooperative solutions if it cannot campaign on the biggest issues because the cooperative solution isn’t clear?
It’s a catch-22 situation that I believe applies to all cooperatives. Cooperative solutions to housing, energy, banking amongst many others provide the Labour movement with the best way of creating a better society. The task is to get people in the Labour movement and wider public to engage with cooperative principles, to see how cooperatives provide the answer to many questions. But I fear if the cooperative movement, cooperative party and cooperative party Youth can only form an agenda for some of today’s priorities it will always find it hard to compete with those who can.
For me it’s important the cooperative movement and party use the principles of equality, equity and solidarity to influence all areas of Labour politics rather than just seeking to shape ideas which meet the principles self-help, self-responsibility and democracy. Cooperatives needs a complete agenda for governance if the recognition of the areas they are unique are going to be given the attention they deserve.
Cooperative principles mean there is a cooperative solution to all Labour’s policy questions. Having the boldness to speak on the issues less clearly defined, I believe, will allow for greater exposure for the more clearly cooperative solutions we need to be considering.