Opinion: In the spirit of Cooperation

The reason it is a little-known fact is, since 1927, there has been an electoral pact between the Labour and Cooperative parties.

Last weekend, we welcomed Alex Norris, Labour, and Cooperative MP for Nottingham North, to Peterborough who joined us and our Labour and Cooperative parliamentary candidate, Andrew Pakes, on the campaign trail. I am a proud Co-operator. I am also proud of the fact that every Labour councillor here in Peterborough is also a member of the Cooperative party.

Co-operators, as we are known, are committed to building a society where wealth and power are shared. We believe in democratic, public ownership of the services and utilities that we rely on.

Does anybody not realise there is a housing crisis? We believe in cooperative housing schemes rather than having to police exploitative private landlords. Or how about fans having more say in their sports clubs? We are reading more about Premier League football clubs being state owned, the latest being Newcastle United owned by the Saudis as an example.

How about setting up credit unions as a fairer, more democratic alternative to rip off pay day lenders that cause so much misery and distress?

As co-operators, we believe that the principles that lie behind successful cooperatives - democratic control by customers and workers, and a fair share of the wealth we create together - ought to extend to the wider economy and our society.

The modern Cooperative movement was founded on what became known as the ‘Rochdale Principles’. As the mechanisation of the Industrial Revolution was forcing more skilled workers into poverty, a group of tradesmen decided to band together to open their own store selling food items they could not otherwise afford. Over a period of four months, they raised £10 to rent premises in Toad Lane, Rochdale.

On 21 December 1844, they opened their store with a very meagre selection of butter, sugar, flour, oatmeal for sale. Within three months, they expanded their selection to include tea and tobacco, and they were soon known for supplying high-quality, unadulterated goods. It was the birth of the Cooperative shops and the ‘divi’ those old enough will remember.

The Rochdale Pioneers, as they became known, had clear goals:

To improve the social and domestic condition of its members. Sell provisions and clothing of good, safe, quality. Improve the living conditions by helping each other to improve their housing.

They also started to help the unemployed and those whose wages were constantly being cut by unscrupulous mill owners. They got land so that people who were out of work or poorly paid could cultivate. This was all before the welfare state and the NHS, of course, introduced by the Labour party a century later.

Roll forward to today. The ever-growing need for food banks. The growth in allotments such as the esteemed Green Backyard to help people not only feed themselves and others whilst providing mental health benefits. They are founded on the principles of self-help and helping each other to improve our own lives and the lives of others.

As we enter the fourth industrial revolution, I and my fellow Labour and Cooperative councillors ask that we continue to take care of those in danger of being left behind whilst being ready to take advantage of the new technologies that will advance our city and our lives by creating better jobs with higher pay from which we will all benefit, not just the wealthy few.