The Co-operative Party is searching for a new General Secretary following the announcement that current chief Michael Stephenson is quitting the post at the end of April. Mr Stephenson, a former adviser to ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair, has successfully led the Co-op Party for almost four years, but feels the time is right to move on to new challenges and is to join the Co-operative Group with a brief to promote ways of expanding the society’s influence and income within the European ...

Co-operative organisations and retail societies have come together to get the 2012 UN-backed International Year of Co-operatives off to a flying start in the UK. A number of high-profile events will be staged next Thursday (January 12th) around the country to help kick-start the celebrations, including the launch of a new book on co-operation; receptions in the Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies; and a live online debate being jointly broadcast by The Guardian newspaper and ...