Celebrating the Co-op Group's Democracy

There is no doubt that the Co-operative Movement like all progressive movements underwent a near death experience during the onslaught of Thatcherism. Today we have a vibrant and exciting sector that to be honest is in a much better shape than we ever thought possible but perhaps not in as good a position as it should be. This was what went through my mind as I sat in the Annual General Meeting of the Co-operative Group in Manchester on a very hot weekend. The Group is the giant of the UK Co-operative sector a collection of significant individual businesses that have grown from a series of amalgamations of smaller consumer retail societies and the shared services the old Co-operative Wholesale Society used to undertake on behalf of the entire consumer co-operative movement. The AGM in Manchester is as you would perhaps expect in society with 7.2 million members a huge example of representative democracy with delegates from all the regions and devolved nations and from affiliated independent societies. Making for hundreds of representatives in a huge co-operative parliament. The Group has a lot to celebrate, with a store in every postal area of the UK we are all familiar with the Co-op food stores but did you know it is Britain’s 3rd largest pharmacy chain, as well as Britain’s biggest farmer and funeral director? Then there is the Banking Group and the travel arm with Thomas Cook. This is a huge business conglomerate when they have to some extent gone out of fashion. With a turnover of £13.3billion and £585million operating profit there is a lot to discus. A large part of the chair, Len Wardle’s, report to the members was taken up with the proposed purchase of banking branches from LloydsTSB. Frankly members have been disgusted with the way this had been reported in the financial press. The attacks on the Co-op Group board members as, a nurse, a Methodist Minister, a civil servant, a farmer, etc and therefore unfit to run a bank drew the response that if more Banks had been managed by people with common sense and real world experiences the country would not be in the mess it is in now! This attack on the democracy of the Group is a fundamental issue. We cannot allow the FSA or our enemies in the City who are against our democratic culture to determine our structure. Better in my opinion to pass over the opportunity for quick growth and stick to slower more organic growth than allow ourselves to be dictated to in this way. There is also a school of thought that in the present crisis in the banking sector it is impossible to do any accurate due diligence on these banking operations. The Group also has some new irons in the fire with the expansion of Co-operative Legal Services widening access to the law with the creation of 3,000 new posts. This is an area where trust is paramount and is a testimony to the integrity of the brand. Members however where not resting on their laurels. Clearly as a community retailer the Groups fortunes rise and fall with the communities they serve. There where key motions on improving the food store proposition and a demand that the Co-op Group supports the Living Wage Campaign. This latter is a tough ask for the Group as competition in the food sector is vicious and a 10p increase in the hourly rate is £50million off the bottom line. Also the competition in the form of Asda-Wallmart, Tesco and others has deep pockets. However the Board where anxious to find ways within the means of the Group to see what could be done and to report back to next half yearly meeting. There were tough questions on, supporting the communities in which we trade, e-business, joining with other European Co-operators in international buying, as well as issues around packaging and waste, and executive remuneration. The board where certainly put through their paces. I think however we are fortunate in the quality of the management team and the excellent quality of the CEO’s of the independent societies on the board. People like Ursula Libetter of Lincolnshire, Martyn Cheadle of Midlands, and Ben Reid of Midcounties stand comparison with any CEO’s in the corporate sector. The AGM had some more pleasant duties like voting through the distributions of £50.8million to the individual members and £24.4million to employees. I must say also I was deeply impressed with the contributions from the delegates from the Group regions, the quality of the arguments put forward, even if you did not agree with them was impressive. The passion for the communities they represent shone through, with rich accents from all parts of the United Kingdom. The democracy and representativeness of the Co-operative Groups Parliament feels and sounds like the real thing unlike some of the noises that emanate from the Palace of Westminster which these days sound like bland waffle in comparison. As I said at the beginning we are in a stronger position than we dared expect but we know we can do better and we will have too if in the present period we are to withstand both the competition and the destructive nature of the government’s economic policies.