Co-operatives, Mutuals and Friendly Societies Bill Debate

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Department: HM Treasury
Lord Livermore Portrait Lord Livermore (Lab)
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My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lord Kennedy of Southwark on the success of his Bill. I also congratulate Sir Mark Hendrick MP for steering it through the other place. I know that my noble friend Lord Kennedy has supported co-operatives for over 40 years, and I note that some of the principles of them are democratic member control, autonomy and independence—perhaps not principles you might normally expect to be championed by a Chief Whip, but my noble friend does so with ease. The Bill will help UK mutuals preserve their legacy assets for the purpose for which they were intended, maintain and encourage greater corporate diversity and build a more resilient economy—objectives on which I am sure we can all agree.