The Co-operative Councils Innovation Network – the local government network that supports collaboration between local authorities committed to transforming the way they work – has called on communities to use co-operation to bring local people together.
Local elections in the UK saw unprecedented fragmentation in Britain’s politics, with many local authorities entering no overall control as multiple political parties and independents secured wins.
Several local councillors involved in CCIN lost their seats, including Mili Patel (chair of CCIN values & principles board), Mike Stubbs (executive oversight committee member) and Sam Pallis (values & principles board).
A statement from CCIN said: “While this political fragmentation shows an emerging divide politically, it also makes clear the importance that cross-party, co-operative approaches to governance must have in shaping the future of local government.”
CCIN works to promote co-operative solutions, working with any political grouping or local authority that shares its common co-operative values.
CCIN vice-chair Cllr Paul Cassidy says: “CCIN has always brought together councils across party lines to deliver practical solutions that deliver for local communities. While political balances have shifted, the commitment to collaborative, community-led government remains strong — and more important than ever as councils face growing pressures to deliver for residents with increasingly stretched resources.
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“Looking ahead, we see real opportunities to deepen this work by continuing to build cross-party partnerships to advance shared priorities, particularly around community wealth building, strengthen local economies and tackling inequality. We will also continue to make an unapologetic case for a cooperative economy that keeps wealth, power and opportunity rooted in local communities.”
Cassidy also paid tribute to “some of the amazing co-operators who have helped shape our network”.
“It has been a tough election for a number of our member councils and we are working through the results to really understand them and the impact on the network,” he added.
“We will be supporting those councils where control has changed, and working to make sure the positive impact of co-operative policies remains.
“We were disappointed to see outstanding co-operative councillors lose their seats, and we hope that many will return to politics in time. Our exciting policy labs will remain, and we will be starting more Labs to build back the network and continue to share positive co-operative policies.”
