Ed Balls unveils co-operative manifesto

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Ed Balls has today unveiled a ‘co-operative manifesto‘, as he heads to the Co-op Party conference. Launching the manifesto, Ed said:

“I’m proud to be a Labour and Co-operative MP – and the first Co-op MP to stand to be Labour leader. That’s because I believe in the co-op vision of people working together for the benefit of the whole community, of a society that values all the people and makes sure that they are heard, and which knows we can only achieve our goals of social justice and equal chances for all through collective action.”

Ed’s manifesto covers three main areas:

* Recognition for co-operative enterprise.

* A financial services sector that serves people instead of banks

* Putting the people into public services.

I’ve only had a quick glance at the manifesto, which is a weighty document, but the thing that jumped out at me as a potential vote winner was the section on allowing football fans to take control of their clubs:

“We should explore how to empower sports fans to take control of their clubs, including by learning the lessons from other countries. I would consult on the option of introducing legislation to allow supporters the right to buy their club if a certain proportion of season ticket holders are in favour of the move.”

This links up with some of the debate that look place in Westminster Hall yesterday on the governance of football clubs – something which Andy Burnham has shown an interest in before.