The Co-operative Group will not take a decision on whether to withdraw up to £1m of annual funding from the Co-operative party until after the general election, as it prepares to publish the findings of an extensive public survey.
A review of the annual funding to the Labour-affiliated Co-op party – which has 32 MPs including shadow chancellor Ed Balls was raised in the online questionnaire issued by the troubled chain of supermarkets and funeral homes in February.
The outcome of that survey – which also asked about distribution of profits, its role in the community, and how to improve goods – has been kept secret despite promises by the Co-op that it would be released in May. Its publication was delayed by the sudden departure of chief executive Euan Sutherland and a row over how to overhaul the way the business was run.
The Co-op Group would usually be expected to discuss its political donations at its half-yearly winter meeting but this event is thought to have been cancelled following changes to the governance of the organisation, which has set up a “members’ council” to replace the intricate structure of regional boards which previously oversaw the group.
The first meeting of the members’ council is to be held this weekend in Manchester and the next will be held in December, when the findings of the “have your say” survey are expected to be discussed. It is thought that the survey could be published in early December – a move which many alarm some members of the council as the questionnaire was conducted nine months ago and at the behest of the previous management. The final decision on whether to change the political funding will now be taken in the annual meeting the late spring or early summer, which is expected to take place after the general election on 7 May.
This timetable is thought to have been communicated to members of the board. The last time the members voted on donations was in November 2013, when the half yearly meeting was held, when it was agreed that £1m could be used for political donations. Some £625,000 had been handed the Co-op party for the 12 month period which is just about to end, and it is thought that over another £370,000 – which is left over from the £1m agreed by members a year ago – could be handed over ahead of the next vote in May.
In 2013 the Co-op donated £805,000 to the Co-op party and councillors. The Co-op group would not comment on Wednesday evening. Karin Christiansen, general secretary of the Co-op party, said the decisions about funding was matter for the co-operative societies. “The relationship between the party and the co-operative movement has delivered real achievements in promoting co-operative values and principles over almost a century. Today there is a both a real need and a real opportunity for co-operatives – working with their political party – to make the case for why they offer a genuinely different way of doing business and organising our society,” she said.
Headhunters from Odgers Berndtson have placed adverts to look for a new chair – to replace Ursula Lidbetter – and non-executives for the new style board. In its previous guise the board was made up of 15 members of the regional boards, which in turn represent members owning 78% of the Co-op, and five members of the independent societies which own the rest.
