Governance

In December 2013, Lord Paul Myners, the Labour peer and former city minister, was appointed as an independent director to the Co-operative Group board to lead the organisation’s review into...

In December 2013, Lord Paul Myners, the Labour peer and former city minister, was appointed as an independent director to the Co-operative Group board to lead the organisation’s review into governance.

The following articles include interviews, analysis and updates of events that unfold in the lead up to and beyond Lord Myners’ examination of democracy from a grassroots level right through to the main board, and the debates surrounding governance reform.

  • How can co-operatives get governance right?

    Lord Myners, the architect behind the Co-operative Group’s governance reform, presented his views on the organisation’s crisis to a group of academics. A conference, Is mutuality the answer to the ownerless corporation?, organised by the London Business School, looked at the role of governance and ownership in business. Paul Coombes, chair of LBS’s Centre for Corporate Governance, said: ...

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  • Lack of capital is the reason why the mutual sector is 'contracting'

    “Limitations in capital” explain why the mutual sector is “contracting”, according to business secretary Vince Cable. “There is a problem of raising capital, mutuals cannot go out to the Stock Exchange to raise capital,” he told delegates at the Is mutuality the answer to the ownerless corporation? conference, held in London last month. “It is why building societies are either very ...

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  • Mutuals are the future face of Britain's public services

    Public service mutuals are the future, but should not be run by staff as worker co-operatives, according to Lord Myners. “From a public policy perspective, the coalition has made a strong and welcome commitment to mutuality,” said Lord Myners, addressing delegates at the Is mutuality the answer to the ownerless corporation? in London. He acknowledged the government has taken steps to ...

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  • The Group's transitional board will see the number of directors reduce from 20 to seven

    Group's transitional board named as new rules registered

    The Co-operative Group has released details of the transitional board to be put in place to run the society. This follows the announcement that the Financial Conduct Authority has today registered the new rules to govern the Society. These rules, which were approved by the Group’s elected Members at a special general meeting in August, come into effect immediately. The transitional board, ...

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  • A member’s view: We need to control the nominations committee

    As the special general meeting to decide the Co-operative Group’s future approaches, the need for reform is clear; but are the current proposals for reform the only practical option? I am writing this because, as a member of the Group, I believe the proposals need a crucial change. The change needed applies to the proposed make-up of the nominations committee. As it stands, the nominations ...

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  • Ursula Lidbetter, Chair of the Co-operative Group and CEO of Lincolnshire

    'No deals and no compromises,' governance is the priority says Co-operative Group chair

    There will be no deals and no compromise on governance, insists Co-operative Group chair Ursula Lidbetter, in an exclusive interview with Co-operative News. On Saturday 30 August, elected regional board members and independent societies will cast their votes on the future of the Group. Members will vote for a set of rules that will see a majority of independent directors, selected by a ...

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  • The Co-operative Group's One Angel Square head office in Manchester

    Co-operative Group's elected members set to vote on reform proposals

    Elected representatives of the Co-operative Group are set to vote this weekend on the society’s future governance structure. Delegates who sit on the seven regional boards, which represent individual members, will be voting on the motion at the special general meeting, which will start at 11.00am. Corporate members of the co-operative, are represented by delegates from independent society ...

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  • Ursula Lidbetter

    Q&A with Ursula Lidbetter: The reform of Britain’s largest co-operative

    Over the past four weeks, Co-operative News readers have been sending in their questions to Ursula Lidbetter, chair of the Co-operative Group, over the organisation’s governance reforms. Questions about the structure, conflicts, business and accessibility of elected members were collected from emails and social media.   Governance structure: Can you define governance in one ...

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  • Ursula Lidbetter: The road to governance reform at the Co-operative Group

    The Co-operative Group’s special general meeting was a momentous day when our members united with one voice to support the need for fundamental reform of our governance. The mistakes of the past have been well documented, and pointed very clearly to the need to strengthen our senior management and board. I am in no doubt that our destiny is in our own hands and that we can set our society ...

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  • The fact that members want change is not surprising

    The outcome of the Co-operative Group special meeting in support of governance reform surprised a few people, not least perhaps, the media. Surely this was a business pulling itself apart? How could a co-operative society which seemed divided on how to proceed have come so readily to a unanimous view on a statement of intent? Given the hostile and often intemperate comments of Lord Myners ...

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  • Four steps to make the Co-operative Group more co-operative

    Co-operative businesses have unique strengths that capitalists would give their right arm for – not that they need to. Before our eyes we see capitalism buying up co-operative businesses and shamelessly continuing to operate them under The Co-operative name – thereby undermining actual co-operatives. It is difficult to under-estimate the breadth and depth of anger and betrayal felt by ...

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  • A spring awakening: creating a 21st century co-operative

    When Co-operative Group members from the Manchester area committee launched the springboard.coop website in February, we published seven core propositions for how the governance of the Co-operative Group could be improved. Many people have told us they agree with these proposals, and that they offer a useful way to look at reform. Here, we look at each proposition and what's needed now ...

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  • The Co-operative Group acquired Somerfield in 2009 for £1.5bn

    Big deals led to ‘neglect’ of Co-operative Group’s core focus

    A focus on too many deals, such as Somerfield and Britannia, have led to under-investment in food stores, according to a review of the Co-operative Group’s governance. Lord Myners, who is scrutinising the society, said the grocery market share held by the co-operative was back to same level prior to the £1.5bn acquisition of Somerfield in 2009. He also believed there was “nothing to show” ...

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  • Lord Myners (left) speaks about his review into governance at the Group with Anthony Murray

    The Myners Review: Governance shake-up at the Co-operative Group

    Within the next year, the Co-operative Group’s democratic structure will change. Whether these changes are an evolution of the current configuration or a radical departure is in the hands of the membership – but the man making the final recommendations will be Paul Myners. Appointed as an independent director to the Group’s board in December, the Labour peer and former city minister is ...

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  • Lord Myners was appointed to undertake a review into governance at the Group

    'Urgent steps' are needed to reform Co-operative Group governance, says Lord Myners review

    Recommendations to radically change the democratic structure of the Co-operative Group are to be put its membership in May. The current Co-operative Group board has backed proposals to reduce its power and be replaced by a board made up of executives and independent non-executive directors, while a supervisory board will consist of elected members and employees. Lord Myners, who was ...

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  • 10 steps to 'radical reform' of the Co-operative Group

    The man in charge of reviewing the Co-operative Group's governance has told its members what steps it must now take. Lord Myners says that in the face of a "massive failure of governance, the need for radical reform of the Group board is inescapable". Here are his 10 draft recommendations on how to achieve this ... 1. The Co-operative Group's current board, which is made up of 21 people, ...

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  • The Co-operative Group's One Angel Square head office in Manchester

    Co-operative Group director boasts about controlling more than a quarter of votes

    “A massive failure of governance” of the Co-operative Group board has now made radical reform of the organisation’s democratic structure “inescapable”, according to Lord Myners. The Labour peer was drafted into the Co-operative Group as an independent director last December to review its governance following the failure of the Co-operative Bank. Lord Myners told a live online discussion ...

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  • Co-operative Group needs to enhance connections with eight million members, says Lord Myners

    With a revamped democratic structure, the Co-operative Group will be closer to its members, according to Lord Myners. In the his interim report of his review of the Group’s co-operative governance, Lord Myners said the organisation suffers from a “democratic deficit”. He added: “Ordinary members have surprisingly weak constitutional rights and limited ability to influence the Co-operative ...

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  • How the future Co-operative Group board may look

    According to leaked reports, the Co-operative Group directors are considering a dual board structure because the current structure is "ungovernable". Following a series of leaks over the past few weeks, Group chief executive Euan Sutherland made the comment and has blamed members of his own board for undermining him. As part of a governance review into the Group by Lord Myners, it ...

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  • Infographic: the Myners Model

        For further updates, information and analysis, view the full Myners Review collection

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  • Could New Zealand's Fonterra model of governance work at the Co-operative group?

    International co-operative governance models that work

    As the Co-operative Group made its plans public for a proposed new democratic structure, Co-operatives UK released academic research detailing successful co-operative models from around the world. In the report, Professor Johnston Birchall from the University of Stirling said: “The findings of the research are clear; the participative model of co-operative governance does work at scale, ...

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  • Independent societies – mostly the retail ones – are entwined with the functions of the Co-operative Group

    Analysis: Role of independent societies in the Co-operative Group is under threat

    While the focus of Lord Myners' review into the Co-operative Group’s governance has been on a more direct relationship with individual members and an expert board, this comes at the expense of a long-standing historical relationship with independent societies. There are currently around 80 independent societies in membership of the Group, ranging from smaller organisations such as ...

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  • Analysis: Co-operative Group directors are to blame

    The directors are all to blame. They squandered billions of pounds on deals and have brought the Group to its knees. This is all according to Lord Myners, whose sole purpose is to pull apart and examine the Co-operative Group’s governance. So it may seem like an attack on democracy – but this is exactly why the Labour peer has been brought in. Asking him about the failure of management has ...

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