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61-627: The commission was announced on 24 February 2000, and published its findings in the document the co-operative advantage: Creating a successful family of Co-operative businesses in January 2001. The first Co-operative Commission was the Independent Co-operative Commission set up in 1956, following a resolution by the 1955 Co-operative Congress of the Co-operative Union calling for a commission to prepare

122-655: 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

183-534: A report and recommendations "designed to secure the greatest possible advantage to the Movement from its manufacturing, wholesale and retail resources". The Commission - which was also known as the Gaitskell Commission after its chair Hugh Gaitskell - was initially set up to consider co-operative production, but had its mandate broadened to consider co-operative retailing as well. The membership of

244-411: 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

305-672: A separate entity and taking the CRS name in 1957. Members voted on the merger on 4 March 2000, and it would change the shape of the retail co-operative movement once confirmed. Against this background, the Chairman of the United Kingdom Co-operative Council ( Lord Graham of Edmonton ), the new Chief Executive of the Co-operative Union ( Pauline Green ), the Chief Executive of CWS (Graham Melmoth) and

366-481: 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

427-644: 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 ,

488-729: 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

549-471: Is also a willingness to embrace change and an awareness that no change is not an option. The commission met formally on nine occasions, and the final three were dedicated to drawing conclusions from all the submissions, debates and findings to decide what changes the Movement would need to make. A series of recommendations was carefully drawn up, with the commissioners being aware that they needed to be "radical, but deliverable" if they were to have any success in

610-566: 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

671-555: The New Statesman , John Monks said: Over the past six months, as chair of the Co-operative Commission, I have been hearing evidence from organisations and individuals with a wide range of views on the direction that the movement should take. My colleagues and I have been impressed by many things: first and foremost, the goodwill towards the co-operative movement that is to be found in many, many places. There

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732-672: The British Army and was seriously injured by enemy fire. Graham was educated at the Co-operative College and held several positions in the co-operative movement from 1939, becoming National Secretary for the Co-operative Party . He was a councillor on Enfield Borough Council from 1961, joining the new London Borough of Enfield in 1964 and becoming its leader for ten years. In 1966, Graham contested Enfield West at that year's general election . He

793-565: 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

854-623: The Co-operative Congress in May 2000 and at the October 2000 Labour Party Conference . They also received a number of collective and individual submissions, and engaged in debate in the pages of Co-operative News . Technical reports and advice were commissioned from independent advisers and consultants, and many co-operative societies also provided the commission with research and statistics that they had compiled themselves. Writing in

915-546: 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

976-676: 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

1037-614: 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

1098-588: The CWS. He made a bid of £1.2bn for the co-operative, which was rejected by the members but led to two senior CWS executives being dismissed, and ultimately jailed for accepting a bribe for an unrelated transaction via a company that CWS sold to Regan. The bid had the benefit of shining a spotlight on the Movement's weaknesses, and it came to realise that its best long-term defence was to operate successful co-operative businesses: that they must succeed "as [businesses], in terms of [their] performance – and as [Co-operatives], meeting [their] social goals". Combined with this,

1159-621: The Chairman of CWS and Chief Executive of Midlands Co-operative Society (Len Fyfe) sent a letter to the Prime Minister on 14 January 2000. The letter emphasised the Co-operative Movements' community involvement and ethical principles (as laid down by the Rochdale Principles ), and asked for Blair to help the movement develop and modernise to "meet the challenges of the next millennium": the Prime Minister

1220-601: The Co-operative Party. Edward Graham, Baron Graham of Edmonton Thomas Edward Graham, Baron Graham of Edmonton , PC (26 March 1925 – 20 March 2020) was a British Labour and Co-operative politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Edmonton from 1974 to 1983, and became a life peer in 1983. Thomas Edward Graham was born in Newcastle . During the Second World War he saw active service in

1281-522: The Co-operative Union (despite the Union's Chief Executive being one of the commissioners) and of being hijacked by CWS to further its "agenda to mop up surrounding independent societies". Supporters of the CWS' Chief Executive dismissed the claims as "ludicrous". The commission's original terms of reference were divided into three key questions: The commission worked for six months to try to answer these three questions, receiving submissions from experts and interested parties, and holding regional hearings at

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1342-523: The UK's two biggest co-operative societies were in the early stages of merging. Co-operative Retail Services (CRS) had been ailing for some time, reporting an operating loss of nearly £60m in 1999, and its board and members recognised the benefits that would come from combining with the CWS - large reductions in operating costs could quickly be achieved by a merger. CRS was originally CWS Retail, formed by CWS in 1934 to open shops in "co-operative deserts" and take over ailing retail societies, eventually becoming

1403-433: 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

1464-520: 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

1525-609: The building itself received Grade II listed building status on 20 June 1988. As well as its responsibility for organising 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

1586-505: 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

1647-582: 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

1708-506: The co-operative retail movement. The Co-operative Movement existed under the threat of demutualisation , whereby a society could be turned into a private company and its assets taken out of the hands of its members and placed under the control of private shareholders. The Co-operative Wholesale Society Ltd (CWS) was particularly attractive to "demutualisers" because of the size of its assets, turnover and customer base, and in 1997 entrepreneur Andrew Regan began making an attempt to demutualise

1769-467: The commission - selected as "suitable persons not engaged in Co-operative management or administration" - was as follows: The commission was set up in response to the co-operative movement experiencing its first ever halt in its growth, caused by the massive changes in retailing following the end of rationing and the beginning of self-service. The co-operative movement still had a large presence in

1830-489: The commission's final report. The commission's final report, the co-operative advantage: Creating a successful family of Co-operative businesses was published in January 2001. The report contained sixty recommendations for ways in which the Movement could improve and survive into the new century, covering topics as diverse as the creation of a single brand for the consumer co-operative societies to securing co-operatives' assets for future generations of their members. The report

1891-510: 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

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1952-417: The dividend to compensate for high prices, whilst its final recommendation was that the movement should hold similar reviews "at least once a decade": this went unheeded until the 2000 commission was established. Despite being described by the 2000 commission as "prescient in its analysis, and right in nearly everything it recommended", the report failed to have significant impact for the movement, with most of

2013-553: 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

2074-891: The funding relationship between the Co-operative Movement and the Labour Party , through individual co-operatives' donations to some Labour and Co-operative Party MPs. Commission member Pauline Green dismissed the suggestion as "nonsense", and the final report has only one recommendation relating to the Co-operative Party: recommendation 47 calls for the Party and the Labour Party to continue to work closely to increase "participation and political activity". The commission also received criticism from ex-CRS director Barbara Rogers, who accused it of not consulting

2135-449: 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

2196-449: 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

2257-412: The larger retail societies to help smaller co-operatives in other sectors to grow and thrive. Also included was the importance of ensuring that co-operatives could strongly resist any threat of demutualisation and prevent "the liquidation of assets built up by prior generations of co-operators". Early in the commission's history, rumours began to spread that it was in fact a "quasi-government" inquiry into

2318-399: 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

2379-481: 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

2440-586: 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,

2501-536: 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 ),

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2562-475: The new supermarkets - luring customers away with competitive prices the movement's structure wouldn't allow it to match - had a 25% share. Over nearly three years, the Gaitskell Commission held 35 meetings, carried out visits and launched formal and informal consultations before publishing its final report in 1958. The report made 51 recommendations on a variety of issues, including recommending that society's start selling products at market prices and stop expecting

2623-412: The real world. The chair of the commission maintained hope, writing "In Britain, the co-operative movement is widely seen as dated and out of touch. But the principles it embraces are in tune with modern thinking; the democratisation of communications offered by the internet and other technological developments could yet herald another golden age for co-operation". The final recommendations were published in

2684-442: The recommendations being ignored or brought about by circumstance rather than by free adoption. In its 1967 Regional Plan, the Co-operative Union concluded 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". Instead, supermarkets such as Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer emerged as serious competitors to

2745-585: 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

2806-423: The retail market, with 30,000 shops, 250 factories and 967 retail societies paying dividends to their customer members of over £40m a year. However, these payments were often made at the expense of retained capital, and there was growing concern about the movements ability to fund its future development. There was also concern about the movement's market share, with 1957 seeing the co-operative share at 11.62% whilst

2867-488: 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

2928-695: Was Member of Parliament for Edmonton from February 1974 , serving as a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection from 1974 to 1976, then as a government whip from 1976 to 1979, with the title of Lord Commissioner of the Treasury . He was an opposition spokesman on the environment from 1980 to 1983, when he lost his seat in the House of Commons to Ian Twinn as part of Labour's landslide election defeat of that year. On 12 September 1983, after losing his seat, Graham

2989-399: Was announced that 43 of the 60 recommendations had already been completed, and that a further 14 were "well on their way to being completed". Following the commission's report, the Co-operative Movement reported a "profound" restructuring of its business, a "large" increase in profitability and a "considerably greater" delivery of social benefit. Co-operatives UK Co-operatives UK

3050-568: 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"

3111-427: Was asked to create and sponsor a Co-operative Commission in the mould of the Gaitskell Commission, and was provided with terms of reference for the proposed group. The Prime Minister responded in a letter confirming that he would be "delighted to help in the establishment of the commission, and to support your desire for a fundamental review", and that he had appointed John Monks to chair the commission. The commission

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3172-753: Was created a life peer as Baron Graham of Edmonton , of Edmonton in Greater London . He was Labour Chief Whip 1990–97. He was chairman of the Co-operative Council, and served as President of the 1987 Co-operative Congress . Graham was President of the Institute of Meat and Patron of the Ancient Order of Foresters and of the Edmonton Constituency Labour Party . On 18 December 1986, Graham

3233-406: 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

3294-462: Was diagnosed with myotonic dystrophy , a condition that both their sons would inherit; she died in 2005 and their sons shortly thereafter. Graham was a first cousin of Dr. Miriam Stoppard , Lady Hogg, a physician, and her son, actor Ed Stoppard , Miriam's son, as well as politician Oona King , Lady Hogg's's niece. He was a supporter of Humanists UK and lived in Loughton , Essex. He died at

3355-403: 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

3416-401: 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

3477-443: Was formally announced on 24 February 2000, with its members meeting for the first time on 29 February 2000. Its members comprised: In its first meeting, the Co-operative Commission formally adopted the terms of reference set for it in the Movement leaders' original letter. These included aims to enable the Co-operative Movement to show that it could survive in the modern marketplace whilst still delivering on its social goals, and for

3538-503: Was formally presented to the Movement at the Co-operative Congress in May 2001. In writing the report, the commission had been very mindful of the Gaitskell Commission's report, whose recommendations had been widely ignored despite being "right in nearly everything it recommended". However, this time the Movement proved more willing to put into practice the commission's recommendations: at the 2005 Co-operative Congress, it

3599-401: 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

3660-705: 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

3721-599: Was the only Peer in the House of Lords to speak against Lord Halsbury's Local Government Act 1986 (Amendment) Bill, which sought to prohibit the "promotion of homosexuality" by local authorities. This bill subsequently became law as Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 , when it was reintroduced by David Wilshire in the Commons. Graham married Margaret Golding in 1950. The couple had two sons. His wife

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