co-operatives
We the People's Supermarket
David Barrie, advisor to and member of The People's Supermarket, on Camden's new form of co-operative enterprise
"... A key objective of the supermarket is to help families and low income groups in the community have access to food that is affordable and more locally sourced and it’s through volunteer time, expert sourcing of product and maximum use of recycled fixtures, fittings and waste that the enterprise can afford to match, if not undercut the prices of its for-profit competitors ..."
Adult Economics
Chief Executive of the Urban Forum, Toby Blume, explains the logic of intervention in a market where irrationality is sometimes rational
"...Although it is seen as acceptable to lose money in a declining market, failing to match profits in the midst of a bubble is regarded by financial institutions (and their investors) as a cardinal sin. So instead institutions blithely follow the herd in offering products they know to be of dubious quality. It may be rational for an individual institution to follow this path in order to retain their investors, but the overall effect is anything but rational. The only way to sort out these perverse incentives is through positive, measured government intervention..."
The Local 'Local'
Secretary-General of Co-Operatives UK, Ed Mayo, on how co-operatives are getting the rounds in
"...The pub closure rate has increased over recent years, from 316 net closures in 2006, to 1,409 in 2007 and 1,866 in 2008. The UK currently has around one pub for every 1,100 people, but pubs stand or fall by being local. Research I have put together for Co-operatives UK shows that consumers are less concerned with what drinks are on offer than that the ‘local’ is in fact local..."
Are We About To Remake The Broken Middle?
ResPublica's Director, Phillip Blond, on why the debate is shifting towards ownership
"...The lack of self-critique on both left and right underpins the lack of economic vision and the dearth of transformative thinking. Where for instance will future British growth come from? Consider that the majority of our economic growth over the last ten years was in financial services, housing and the public sector, and this precisely is why radical public sector reform is a sine qua non of a transformative economic platform, and why today's news on the Conservatives' approach to co-operative ownership in the public sector is so exciting..."
