Oona King tackles Co-op questions

The Co-operative Party has asked both candidates for their views on co-operatives in London as part of the Mayoral selection. Oona King gives her response below, Ken Livingstone’s responses will come later today.

1. The Co-operative Party is the sister party of the Labour Party with more than 7,000 members. What has been your formal involvement in the Co-operative Party and the broader co-operative movement?

I first became involved in the Co-operative movement in my late teens and early twenties. My Mum’s cousin, Ted Graham, had been a towering figure in the Co-operative movement and I remember him showing me and my A-level politics class around Westminster when he was an MP. Ted was – and remains – an inspirational figure in my life. He now sits in the House of Lords and distinguished himself by being the only Peer to speak against Lord Halsbury’s Bill attempting to ban the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality by local authorities, which was later re-introduced in the commons as the notorious ‘Section 28’.

What I love about the co-operative movement is that it puts principles into practice. I have done this throughout my life and career, from supporting co-operative initiatives and charities as a politician through to making co-operative choices as a consumer.

I have always seen the values of the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party as inseparable. Given the chance, I would proudly run as a Labour and Co-operative candidate for London Mayor.

2. One of the stated objectives of the Co-operative Party is to promote co-operatives and all forms of mutual organisation. What specific actions have you taken in your political career to advance this objective?

As the MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, I supported a number of co-ops and mutuals within my constituency. I was a founder member of the Tower Hamlets Credit Union and believe we need to do more to ensure access to finance for those who are often excluded from mainstream banking, particularly in the wake of the global banking crisis. I also worked with a number of local housing associations in an effort to promote co-operative approaches to housing solutions – something which remains a political priority for me.

Since leaving parliament, I have continued to support co-operative ventures wherever possible. An excellent example is my local leisure centre, and the football and swimming classes that my 5-year-old son, and 2-year-old daughter attend. Their classes are run by Greenwich Leisure Ltd (GLL) which is a co-operative staff-owned trust. It was set up when Greenwich Council cut spending. It was a co-operative solution which transformed services, saved money, and provided kids with great activities. It reaffirms my conviction that, in the present climate, co-operative solutions can not only help to avert the threat of cuts to services, they can also generate a better experience for service users.

I’m also a massive enthusiast for co-operative banking. When I established a local charity in Tower Hamlets I ensured that we banked with the Co-op Bank and my campaign fund is held with the Unity Trust Bank.

3. The policies and resources of the Co-operative Party have historically been a great benefit to the Labour Party. If elected Mayor, what specific plans do you have to introduce co-operative policies?

As Mayor, I will show Londoners how a co-operative approach can not only avoid cuts, but provide better services.

100,000 Londoners live in overcrowded homes, stifling life chances for children and straining family relationships. Nearly a third of all homes still fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard. I have set out a raft of measures to improve housing for Londoners, including the delivery of high quality affordable housing – including the kind of intermediate home ownership for families advocated by the Co-operative Party in our general election manifesto. My policy paper on securing the Olympic and Paralympic Games contains bold proposals for the regeneration of the entire Lower Lea Valley, including co-operative housing.

As a co-operator, I believe strongly in the transfer of power to communities through community-based and new mutual organisations running local services. Lambeth Council, under the leadership of Labour’s Steve Reed, is setting out an exciting vision to make Lambeth Britain’s first co-operative council. I think the co-operative model can be extended to help tackling crime and antisocial behaviour, through engaging young people and regenerating run-down neighbourhoods. My policies for tackling gun and knife crime and gang culture have won the notable support of Richard Taylor, father of murdered schoolboy Damilola Taylor and chair of the Damilola Taylor Trust. At the heart of these proposals is a return to the core philosophy that Labour failed to deliver upon in government: not just tough on crime, but tough on the causes of crime.

As Mayor I would also do all I can to provide support for co-operative and mutual enterprise and put the creation of new mutual and employee-owned businesses at the heart of my strategy for encouraging innovation and enterprise within our city.

Finally, I would provide leadership on those areas that fall outside of the Mayor’s formal remit, but where the office can bring influence bear. The City of London is an important engine for economic growth, not just for London – but for our whole country. But we must never allow a culture to develop again where traders can play fast and loose with our money without shareholder responsibility. To help ensure our future economic stability, and ensure that banks pay the full cost of their bailout, I would support calls for a form of international transaction tax, sometimes referred to as the ‘Robin Hood Tax’.

4. The relevance and importance of the Co-operative Party and its policies and campaigns have grown considerably in recent years. What are the major challenges facing the co-operative movement and how can they be addressed?

Our single biggest challenge is making sure we don’t allow the Tories to steal our clothes. Seeing David Cameron using the language of the co-operative movement to superficially re-package the Conservative Party during the general election made me sick. His ‘Big Society’ is a big con to dupe voters as his government launches savage attacks on vital public services.

But herein also lies a great opportunity for our movement. I have set out how, as Mayor, I would champion co-operative solutions to public service challenges. We need this approach to run throughout Labour’s policy agenda as the party seeks to renew under new leadership. At the last general election, the Co-operative Party manifesto set out radical new ideas for co-operative models in education, health and social care that should be at the heart of Labour’s alternative government in opposition and our manifesto at the next general election.

As we emerge from the global financial crisis we have an opportunity to create a new financial model, through the mutual ownership that puts people, rather than shareholder interests, at the centre of its approach. It’s why I support the re-mutualisation of the failed banks to create a more balanced approach to our economy and our banking system.

5. Co-operative Party members want to play an active part in the future of the Labour Party. Why should members of the Co-operative Party vote for you as Mayor?

This election is critical for London’s future. It is also critical for the prospects of Labour and Co-operative MP’s returning to government after the next general election. To win back London we need a new candidate – with fresh ideas and a laser-like focus on the future – to beat Boris Johnson.

With respect for all that Ken achieved during his time as Mayor, I believe I have a much better chance of building the winning coalition we need in 2012. Polling by London Councils after Ken’s 2008 defeat showed that just over 20 per cent of those who chose to vote Tory came from people who didn’t want Boris in – they just wanted Ken out. Ken himself says he’s “Marmite” – you either love him or hate him. But we won’t win back the suburbs with a polarising offer – instead we need unity, a bit of inspiration, new ideas for new times.

I will put co-operative ideas and values at the heart of my Mayoralty and also work with fellow co-operators across the capital to build our Party and take the Co-operative movement from strength to strength.