The Co-operative Party: at the heart of Labour’s future

By Martin Tiedemann / @mtiedemann

Martin Tiedemann looks forward to the Annual Conference of the Co-operative Party this weekend and the co-operative takeover of LabourList

Starting on Friday, hundreds of delegates will gather in London for the Annual Conference of the Co-operative Party, Labour’s sister party. The Co-operative Party is in fine form. We have our highest membership in twenty years in every part of the country and membership of our youth movement close to 1,000. Our parliamentary group is the largest it has ever been with three in the shadow sabinet including Ed Balls as shadow chancellor and Co-operative politicians hold cabinet positions in the Welsh government, as deputy leader of the Scottish Labour Party and as key candidates for the London elections next year. And there is a resurgent interest in co-operative ideas, from the network of Co-operative councils launched by Ed Miliband earlier this summer to the widespread support for our campaign to re-mutualise Northern Rock.

This weekend we are showcasing the best of our ideas and the achievements of Labour & Co- operative councillors, AMs and parliamentarians. As the Labour Party, our partner over the last 85 years, undergoes a process of renewal, we will make clear that our movement is at the heart of Labour’s future.

Ken Livingstone will be joining us to launch the Co-operative Party’s manifesto for next year’s London elections. Our manifesto sets out bold ideas that address the cost of living crisis hitting Londoners’ fuel bills, their ability to find affordable housing and access to affordable credit. Our manifesto is just one of the ways in which we will be working alongside Ken and our assembly team to ensure a Labour victory in May.

Iain McNicol, Labour’s incoming general secretary, will address our conference as fraternal speaker, underlining the strength of our relationship as Ed Miliband seeks to refound Labour putting an ever greater emphasis on social justice at its heart. And shadow cabinet members Ed Balls and Meg Hillier will lead a host of Co-operative Party MPs speaking at conference, setting out the areas where co-op ideas and mutual values are inputting into the Labour Party policy review. Douglas Alexander MP will address our conference dinner this year, kindly sponsored by the Community trade union.

You can join the debate too. For the third year we are partnering with LabourList to bring readers the latest news from conference and a flavour of the ideas and debate we’re having. You will be able to find out about the visionary plans for co-operative housing of Huw Lewis AM in Wales and read about the work of the party to promote co-operatives in partnership with Labour from university Labour Clubs to our latest campaigns and the work of our politicians at all levels.

Make sure you follow conference on Twitter at @CoopParty and send us your own thoughts and ideas at #CoopParty and on our brand new website at www.party.coop.

Martin Tiedemann is Communications Officer of the Co-operative Party