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43-728: Co-operatives UK is a British co-operative federation described as "the central membership organisation for co-operative enterprise throughout the UK". It was founded in 1870 as the Co-operative Central Board, changing its name to the Co-operative Union before finally becoming Co-operatives UK following its merger with the Industrial Common Ownership Movement (ICOM) in 2001. Historically associated with consumer co-operatives ,

86-478: A Congress President was elected to preside over the event: to begin with, a President was elected for each day of Congress, but from 1896 a single President was elected for the whole event. Being president was considered the highest honour in the UK Co-operative Movement, with societies nominating individuals for the position in recognition of their contribution to the movement. The President

129-560: A history of the area the event was being held in and details of the co-operatives that were based there. From 1869 to 1899, Congress Papers on topics that would be discussed and debated at the event were also published, often in pamphlet form. Examples of these are held in the National Co-operative Archive , maintained by the Co-operative College . Beginning with the first modern Congress in 1869,

172-614: A national organisation to bind the Movement together and emphasise the role of co-operatives in wider society. Co-operatives UK also took responsibility for organising the Co-operative Congress, and the annual meetings were the centre of the national Movement: most major changes in the movement came out of the Co-operative Congresses, such as the abandoning of political neutrality and the formation of

215-584: A nominated seat on the National Executive Committee of the Co-operative Party. The modern organisation began to take shape when Dame Pauline Green became the first female chief executive of the Co-operative Union on New Year's Day 2000. Her first action in the position was to write a letter – co-signed by Lord Graham of Edmonton , Graham Melmoth, and Len Fyfe – to then Prime Minister Tony Blair for his help in creating

258-408: A second Co-operative Commission , to help revitalise the movement for the next century. Green served on the commission, chaired by John Monks , and then took the job of coordinating the union's response to the final report. The union began a "deliberate attempt to secure and celebrate [the] co-operative advantage", forming closer ties with other organisations across the movement in an attempt to create

301-479: A variety of rented premises in the Long Millgate district of Manchester . Its purpose was described "propagandist and defensive action" and it listed the objectives of establishing and organising co-operative societies and provided advice and instruction on the co-operative principles . These educational activities were formalised first in 1882 with the creation of the education committee and then in 1919 when

344-728: Is a Grade II listed building , and was built in 1911 in memory of the co-operative activist George Jacob Holyoake . Membership of Co-operatives UK includes organisations as diverse as the Woodcraft Folk , Suma Wholefoods and the Co-operative Group . It is controlled by a board elected by its membership, is a member of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) , the trustee of the Co-operative College, and retains

387-563: Is made up predominantly of other co-operative enterprises – making Co-operatives UK a co-operative federation – but also includes other co-operative federations, such as the ABCUL, the Plunkett Foundation and Supporters Direct . It also has Co-operative Development Body (CDB) members, and associated and affiliated groups who are not themselves co-operatives but are supportive of the co-operative movement and its principles, such as

430-659: Is the national conference of the UK Co-operative Movement. The first of the modern congresses took place in 1869 following a series of meetings called the " Owenite Congress" in the 1830s. Members of Co-operatives UK (previously the Co-operative Union) send delegates to the annual congress, where reports of national bodies are made and debates held on subjects of importance to the Co-operative Movement. The meetings also include

473-612: Is widely cited as the first of the Owenite Congresses. However, George Jacob Holyoake , in The History of Co-operation , describes the discovery of a record of an even earlier Congress, at which Robert Owen had been present, this first Co-operative Congress being held in Manchester on 26 May 1827. The Owenite Congresses stopped in 1835, being replaced by Socialist Congresses with a broader range of delegates - but

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516-450: Is “to develop the spirit of solidarity among societies and... in a word, to exercise the functions of a government whose authority, it is needless to say, is purely moral.” Co-operatives UK and the International Co-operative Alliance are examples of such arrangements. Regional agricultural co-operatives , such as Land O'Lakes and the former Farmland Industries , are co-operative federations owned by local farmers' co-operatives. Like

559-548: The Annual General Meeting of Co-operatives UK. The first Co-operative Congresses were the Owenite Congresses, which provided a gathering place for the fledgling co-operative movement that was growing in the wake of the 1795 foundation of the Hull Anti-Mill, a corn mill that was also an early co-operative. The Manchester Congress of 1830, organised by the Manchester and Salford Co-operative Council,

602-563: The Co-operative College was created. The initial intention of the Union was that it would support and promote the interests of worker co-operatives but, given the number and financial strength of the consumer co-operatives, these soon began to dominate the organisation. Ultimately, this led to the splitting of the worker and consumer sectors of the UK Movement, prompted by the CWS' rejection of

645-775: The Co-operative Party (1917 Congress), the formalisation of ties to the Labour Party (1927 Congress) or the founding of the Independent Co-operative Commission chaired by Hugh Gaitskell (1955 Congress). The Congress has carried on to the modern day as a two-day event, with the only break being in 1944 when war conditions meant it was impossible for delegates to travel. Verbatim proceedings of Congress used to be published by Co-operatives UK shortly after each event. Between 1880 and 1960, Congress handbooks were also published giving

688-635: The "first ever 'all movement' Co-ordination Movement". The fruit of these closer ties was an increased visibility and role for the union across the co-operative movement. The union began providing administration services for the United Kingdom Co-operative Council (UKCC) and the Industrial Common Ownership Movement (ICOM) in 2000. This ultimately led to the UKCC deciding to wind up and allow

731-676: The 1860s saw increased agitation for them to be renewed from co-operators such as ET Craig and Alexander Campbell, and the first of the modern series was held in 1869. The first of the modern Congresses was held in London. It was attended by a variety of British and foreign delegates, with co-operative activist (and author of Tom Brown's School Days ) Thomas Hughes MP acting as its first president. Messages of support were read out from John Ruskin , John Stuart Mill and Florence Nightingale , who offered "any aid in my power to your Co-operative Congress, in whose objects I am deeply interested". It

774-715: The Association of British Credit Unions Limited (ABCUL) and The Co-operative News . The building was extended in the 1930s, and the Training Centre on the top floor was destroyed by an incendiary bomb in the Manchester Blitz of 1940. A collection of Holyoake's letters, papers and other writings are held in store in the National Co-operative Archive , also housed in the building, whilst the building itself received Grade II listed building status on 20 June 1988. As well as its responsibility for organising

817-614: The CWS, the Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society (SCWS) and the Co-operative Production Federation before introducing a motion to the 1955 Congress empowering them to establish an inquiry commission "charged with the responsibility of surveying the whole field of co-operative production and marketing, both wholesale and retail". It submitted its findings to the union for presentation at the 1958 Congress. The union met

860-596: The Co-operative Group (above), Land O'Lakes is actually a hybrid of a primary and secondary co-operative. In some countries with strong co-operative sectors, such as the UK, co-operatives have organized parliamentary political parties to represent their interests. The British Co-operative Party is an example of such an arrangement. Co-operatives whose member owners are businesses, such as retailers' co-operatives , are sometimes called secondary co-operatives , even when their members are not themselves co-operatives. Co-operative Congress The Co-operative Congress

903-430: The Union had traditionally offered, such as its trade Advisory Service, so that the Union had to re-examine and refocus the services it offered its members. On 10 August 1974 it also suffered a serious setback when its newly appointed General Secretary Clarence Hilditch died in office. Co-operatives UK is a secondary co-operative, owned and controlled by its 700+ members through an elected board of directors. The membership

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946-518: The Woodcraft Folk or the Building Societies Association . A number of individuals who were members of ICOM before its merger continue to subscribe but are not recognised by the rules. The membership is diverse, reaching from the world's largest consumer co-operative to Oxted School Young Co-operative, a co-operative set up by pupils to sell Fairtrade goods at the school. Its board has 18 members, with places divided through

989-501: The aim of a co-operative wholesale society , which is owned by retail consumer co-operatives , is to arrange "bulk purchases, and, if possible, organise production". The best historical examples of this were the English and Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Societies , which were the forerunners to the modern Co-operative Group . A second common form of co-operative federation is a co-operative union, whose objective (according to Gide)

1032-480: The annual Co-operative Congresses , the Co-operative Union had a wider responsibility for promoting co-operation throughout the UK and worldwide. During the First World War , the movement began to feel hostility from the government: requests to set up a system of rationing to prevent private traders from hoarding goods and selling them at inflated prices were initially ignored and then, when sugar rationing

1075-503: The co-operative advantage; responding to a government consultation to amend the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965 and encouraging their members to do likewise; and gathering information on the scope and scale of the UK movement, maintaining a searchable directory of UK co-operatives on its website. In 2010, Co-operatives UK coordinated the UK's first ever Co-operatives Fortnight, running from 19 June to 3 July. The fortnight

1118-561: The co-operative movement in Parliament and it was soon renamed the Co-operative Party , funded by individual societies within the Movement. The union was also responsible for the establishment of the Independent Co-operative Commission (sometimes called the Gaitskell Commission after its chair Hugh Gaitskell ). During a period of dramatic change in the retail landscape the union's Central Executive held discussions with

1161-508: The costs of the commission and made its own submission of evidence. The report made 51 recommendations on a variety of issues but failed to have significant impact on the movement, the Co-operative Union concluding in its 1967 Regional Plan that "If the serious warnings of the Independent Commission had been heeded, the Movement would be in far better shape to withstand the impact of new problems which have developed". Through

1204-553: The end of the 1960s and the start of the 1970s the working environment of the Union began to change: Britain joined the European Economic Community (EEC) and so closer ties with the ICA were necessary. The retail industry was changing and the Union published its Regional Plan advocating reduction of the number of retail societies (to a "manageable" figure of 50) through mergers. The CWS began taking over some services

1247-447: The future of the co-operative movement. Green announced that she intended to retire as chief executive of the organisation in 2009, saying: "I will be 60 at [that time] and I have always intended to retire when I reached that milestone. The Board [of Co-operatives UK] and I agreed that it made sense for me to finish after Co-operative Congress 2009, which is, to all intents and purposes, the end of our co-operative year." In July 2009, it

1290-447: The idea of profit-sharing with its employees in 1880. From that point the Co-operative Union became an organisation that predominantly dealt with co-operative retail societies. In 1906 the co-operative activist George Jacob Holyoake died and the Co-operative Movement decided that to commemorate him by building a permanent headquarters for the Co-operative Union. The building was designed by architect F. E. L. Harris, who had also designed

1333-510: The membership as follows: The current Chair is Nick Matthews of Heart of England Co-operative Society . As well as its federal members, Co-operatives UK maintains links with other co-operative organisations: it is a member of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) and the trustee of the Co-operative College, and retains a nominated seat on the National Executive Committee of the Co-operative Party. Cooperative federation According to co-operative economist Charles Gide ,

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1376-533: The membership voted in December 2002 to rename it Co-operatives UK. The new identity was launched in January 2003, with Green calling the change "our way of showing that the Co-operative Movement now has a single strategic voice in the UK" and using the opportunity to push the revitalised organisation into developing new services, and vigorously promoting the values of the co-operative movement. A "New Ventures" panel

1419-525: The merger broadened its scope to include worker co-operatives and it now exists to support and promote the values of the entire co-operative movement throughout the UK. During its history it has been responsible for the organisation of the Co-operative Congresses , the establishment of both Co-operative Commissions and the creation of the Co-operative College and the Co-operative Party . The head office, Holyoake House in Manchester,

1462-532: The nearby CWS building in the year of Holyoake's death. It was erected in 1911 on Hanover Street (also home to the Co-operative Bank ) and named Holyoake House. A plaque was erected outside the building dedicating the building to Holyoake's memory, reading: Holyoake House is also home to the Co-operative College (although between 1940 and 2001, the College moved to Stanford Hall , near Loughborough ),

1505-584: The resurgence in co-operation following the successes of the Rochdale Pioneers and the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) , the Co-operative Movement began to lift itself out of the decade of society failures between 1834 and 1844. The success brought pride but also anxiety for the movement's leaders as they began to fear that societies might forget their co-operative ideals in the face of material success. The solution, it

1548-483: The union to take over its functions, and ICOM merging with the union to bring together the retail and worker co-operative sectors for the first time since they split in 1880. The two groups' members voted to merge in the Autumn of 2001, with ICOM moving its staff and membership to the Manchester offices of the union when the merger was formalised in December 2001. The union went through a two-year transitional period before

1591-566: Was announced that Ed Mayo would become Secretary General of Co-operatives UK, resigning as Chief Executive of Consumer Focus to take up the post. He took up the position officially the following November. Co-operatives UK continues to work on behalf of the co-operative movement as a whole, opposing recommendations from the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) that would have seen co-operative members' share capital classed as debt and "destroyed"

1634-404: Was decided at the first of the modern Co-operative Congresses , was the creation of a national organisation that could hold the movement together and emphasise the important role that co-operatives could play in society at large. The Co-operative Central Board was established in 1869, before changing its name to the Co-operative Union, and spent the first 40 years of its existence operating out of

1677-477: Was established to promote new co-operative ideas, a Corporate Governance Code of Best Practice was published to help promote good practice and the union began encouraging its members to report on key social and co-operative performance indicators to demonstrate their commitment to co-operative ethical principles. All three initiatives were recommended by the Co-operative Commission to assure

1720-400: Was finally introduced, the union was refused a seat on the commission set up to control it although co-operatives were the largest wholesalers and retailers of sugar in the UK. A motion was put forward to the 1917 Congress to abandon the principle of political neutrality and when it was passed The National Co-operative Representation Committee was formed. Its purpose was to represent the views of

1763-401: Was made possible by eight "founding sponsors": The Co-operative Group , The Midcounties Co-operative , Midlands Co-operative Society , Anglia Regional Co-operative Society , The Southern Co-operative , Chelmsford Star Co-operative Society , Lincolnshire Co-operative and Channel Islands Co-operative Society . Co-operatives Fortnight has continued as an annual fixture since 2010. During

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1806-705: Was marketed as an opportunity to promote the co-operative alternative to tradition business models, under the slogan "There is an alternative". The fortnight included over 150 events in every region and devolved nation across the UK, with over 3,000 stores promoting the Fortnight nationwide and over 4,000 people watching the Co-operatives Fortnight film. During the fortnight, thirteen co-operative schools were established and two parliamentary motions were passed in Westminster and Holyrood . The event

1849-403: Was the only one of the modern series not to be organised by Co-operatives UK: this was because one of the orders of business for the first Congress was the creation of the organisation, then called the Co-operative Central Board. Co-operatives UK was founded out of concerns that the success of the Co-operative Movement might lead to a loss of identity and its original vision, and was intended to be

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