Co-operative Sector: Government Support

Alice Macdonald Excerpts

Tuesday 21st October 2025 Westminster Hall

[Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton (Jim McMahon) for securing this important debate. Like him, I am proud to be a Labour MP and equally proud to be a Co-operative MP. I also thank Joe Fortune, the party’s general secretary, who has joined us here today. I pay tribute to the many co-operators across our constituencies. There are too many in my constituency to name, but in particular I pay tribute to Danny Douglas and Councillor Chrissie Rumsby, who work tirelessly to make the case for co-ops and to drive the practical changes we need.

Founded in 1917, the Co-operative party has for over 100 years been the bedrock of community-driven enterprise, shared endeavour and equal empowerment. In Norwich, our connection with co-operativism extends even further. It was in 1858 that Norwich formed its first co-operative society, embracing a movement that has shaped my city ever since. As co-operators, we recognise that there is more than one north star guiding business. A successful enterprise can be run not only by the largest shareholders in a boardroom, but through the democratic will of those who use the business, work for the business and provide for the business. Members of a co-operative seek prosperity for one another and the community they serve. These enterprises are not only enriched by their social contract; they are enriching our economy by exhibiting a resilience that surpasses other business models. In fact, co-operative businesses are twice as likely to survive their first five years, compared with businesses following other ownership models, so this makes economic sense, too.

It is therefore no surprise that the Government plan to double the size of the co-operative sector through their small and medium-sized business strategy, which I welcome. With growth being the Government’s No. 1 priority, now is the time for us to seize the opportunity of co-operativism and knock down the barriers holding it back. So many people think of the food store when they hear the word “co-operative”. Many of us shop there, and in fact, many of us campaigned with it for some of the changes we have seen, such as the crackdown on shoplifting.

Too few people know that there are co-operative ventures across virtually every sector, and we have heard about some of those today. They range from animal health to arts and culture, childcare, finance, energy, housing, telecommunications and tourism. There is so much more we can do to increase awareness of the opportunities of co-operativism, how to access them and, indeed, how to establish a co-operative. By virtue of being a member-run organisation, access to finance can be a particular challenge. That is important, and I hope the Government will consider all options to increase access to external investment among co-ops.

I also want to mention credit unions, which play a very important role. It is important to think about what co-operatives are, but also what they are not. I was just reading about Norwich’s Wherry Dragon credit union, which has won a national award for its campaign against loan sharks. Credit unions offer an important facility to many people in different areas. They are financial institutions owned by members living in the same area, working for the same employer or having a common bond, who all hold savings in the union. Not driven solely by profit, they are relative unicorns in the financial world, but they are competing against giants that can overpower those that are smaller. We must therefore do more to support credit unions, to increase their access to finance and to support them as they take their first steps. I know the Government have already signalled their intention to do so, and I hope they will engage closely with members of the co-operative movement to achieve the best outcomes.

At the beginning of my speech, I referred to Norwich’s, and indeed Norfolk’s, history in this movement, but now I want to look to its future. With local government reorganisation and enhanced devolution on the horizon, Norwich stands to gain even more from co-operation. There are huge opportunities to provide co-operative solutions to the ownership and delivery of local services and governance—protecting public assets, empowering communities and spreading wealth fairly. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton for all the work he has done on the devolution agenda. It is important that co-operativism is at the heart of that, and I hope that we will soon see more co-operatives in Norwich, Norfolk and across the nation.