In is his final speech to Congress 2013, Ed Mayo said that despite the problems the Co-operative Bank faces, the co-operative movement should be louder and prouder than ever.
“I’m proud of the Co-operative Bank and the way it has responded to the crisis,” Mr Mayo, Secretary General of Co-operatives UK, told delegates. “It’s our response to adversity which best shows our character. We use crisis for renewal.”
He reminded those present that the attempted sale of the Co-operative Bank in the late 1980’s led to development of its pioneering ethical policy, launched in 1992.
Problems at the Co-operative Bank should not stop co-operators from promoting the sector, and the bank, he said. “There’s a tendency to marginalise the role and the scale of the sector. For this reason, Co-operatives UK has since 2007 kept a systematic, rigorous account of co-operative entities.”
The latest Co-operative Economy report, released last month, showed the UK has the eighth largest co-operative economy in the world, he told delegates. It also showed the co-operative sector had outperformed the wider UK economy for the fifth year in a row.
The strength of the sector was having a positive effect on local economies, Mr Mayo said. “When you spend a pound in Asda or Amazon it takes flight. Every pound you spend in a co-operative foodstore changes hands five times at diminishing levels before leaving the local economy.
“Everyone recycles paper and bottles. Co-operatives recycle money.”
In this article
- Brand management
- British co-operative movement
- co-operative
- Co-operative Bank
- Co-operative Congress 2013
- Co-operatives UK
- Congress
- Consumer cooperative
- Cooperatives
- Economy of the United Kingdom
- Ed Mayo
- Marketing
- Person Career
- Quotation
- Secretary General
- Social Issues
- The Co-operative brand
- The Co-operative Group
- United Kingdom
Join the Conversation