Co-op members send open letter supporting Balls

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

A small group of influential members of the Co-operative Party have today sent an open letter expressing their support for Ed Balls in the Labour leadership contest.

The letter, signed by one of Balls’ nominating MPs in the PLP, Chris Leslie, and former MP Sarah McCarthy-Fry, who is co-ordinating Balls’ campaign, is printed below. It’s also signed by the Co-op Party’s former general secretary, Peter Hunt.

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“Ed Balls is the most effective Co-operative Party MP of recent years.

For most aspiring Parliamentarians, the decision to seek to become a Labour and Co-operative MP is a bold step in itself. To start with, you must be selected by two parties, not just one, and then there is a whole niche of specialist policy to get to grips with. Doing it well is not easy.

It means that those who choose this route are serious about advancing the Co-operative agenda. Once in power though, the pressure of the mainstream Labour Party and competing challenges means that too often, Co-operative Party ministers are deflected from their chosen path.

Not so Ed Balls. Ed’s record as a Minister promoting the co-operative agenda is unparalleled. Both as a Treasury Minister and as Secretary of State at DCSF, Ed sought to drive forward the co-operative vision of society with an energy and decisiveness that is all too rare.

As Economic Secretary and the first Labour and Co-operative ‘minister for mutuals,’ Ed ensured Government support for the modernisation of co-operative law through a range of statutory instruments that built on recent Private Members Bills.

Long before it became fashionable, Ed then pulled off an exceptional piece of cross party co-operation by ensuring Treasury support for a Conservative backbench Private Members Bill that led to the creation of the first ever ‘super-mutual’ bringing Britannia Building Society and the Co-op Bank together in the interests of customers, rather than the banking elite.

Even before his election to Parliament, Ed was a strong friend and supporter of the Co-operative Party. As Economic adviser at the Treasury, he helped to facilitate Government support for key co-operative legislation, including the passage of three Private Members Bills.

Many thought that his move to Education would limit his ability to promote further co-operation. Yet, within months as Secretary of State at the DCSF, he took the radical step of supporting the establishment of co-operative trust schools – often in the face of the strong opposition from civil servants.

Ed is a determined and principled politician. He is also a loyal and honest friend of the co-operative movement. Co-operative members should seize this opportunity to support Ed as he contests the leadership of the Labour Party.

Co-operative Members for Ed Balls

Peter Hunt – General Secretary of the Co-operative Party 1998-2008

Len Wardle – Chairman, the Co-operative Group

Sarah McCarthy Fry – Labour/Co-operative MP for Portsmouth North 2005-2010

Chris Leslie – Labour/Co-operative MP”