Co-operative Party
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The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom supporting co-operative values and principles. Established in 1917, the Co-operative Party was founded by co-operative societies to campaign politically for the fairer treatment of co-operative enterprise and to elect 'co-operators' to Parliament. The party's roots lie in the Parliamentary Committee of the Co-operative Union established in 1881.
Labour Co-op
Since 1927, the Co-operative Party has had an electoral pact with the Labour Party, with both parties agreeing not to stand candidates against each other. Instead, candidates selected by members of both parties contest elections using the description of Labour and Co-operative Party.[1] The Co-operative Party is a legally separate entity from the Labour Party, and is registered as a political party with the Electoral Commission.[2]
Membership
Co-operative Party members are not permitted to be members of any other political party in the UK apart from the Labour Party or Northern Ireland's Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).
In keeping with its co-operative values and principles, the Co-operative Party does not have a leader. Instead Anna Turley serves as Chair of the National Executive Committee, Joe Fortune as General Secretary, and Jim McMahon as Chair of the Co-operative Party Group of Parliamentarians.
In Parliament
The Co-operative Party is arguably the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons with 26 Labour Co-op Members of Parliament, although as all of its MPs sit in the Parliamentary Labour Party, this distinction is seldom made. It also has representatives in the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, the London Assembly and local government.
The 26 Labour Co-op MPs elected at the December 2019 General Election are:[3]
- Jon Ashworth (Leicester South)
- Tracy Brabin (Batley and Spen)
- Stella Creasy (Walthamstow)
- Geraint Davies (Swansea West)
- Anneliese Dodds (Oxford East)
- Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth)
- Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall)
- Chris Evans (Islwyn)
- Preet Gill (Birmingham Edgbaston)
- Mark Hendrick (Preston)
- Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch)
- Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston)
- Rachael Maskell (York Central)
- Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton)
- James Murray (Ealing North)
- Alex Norris (Nottingham North)
- Kate Osamor (Edmonton)
- Luke Pollard (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport)
- Lucy Powell (Manchester Central)
- Steve Reed (Croydon North)
- Christina Rees (Neath)
- Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde)
- Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Brighton Kemptown)
- Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield)
- Alex Sobel (Leeds North West)
- Gareth Thomas (Harrow West)
References
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