Eastbourne Labour BBQ with Co-op MP Stella Creasy

Co-operative MP Stella Creasy- a leading campaigner against payday loans companies, will be the special guest at Eastbourne Labour Party's Summer Barbecue, on 29th June, hosted by East Sussex Co-op Party member Paul Richards.

All East Sussex co-operators are warmly invited. Tickets are £5 (£2.50 unwaged) to cover food; bring your own drink. Donations of prizes for the raffle are also invited.

Click here to visit the Eastbourne Labour website for details on how to book.

Time for a Credit Union for Military Families

Every day, members of the armed forces make huge sacrifices to serve the UK. Military families face particular challenges, spending long periods abroad, facing frequent relocation, and their incomes fluctuating between regular pay and lump sums while deployed. These circumstances make financial planning difficult, and make it hard to secure financial services via ordinary high street banks.

Their situation makes service personnel a target for payday lenders such as forcesloans.co.uk, who charge extortionate levels of interest that can easily spiral. It’s a growing problem, with over 11,000 people calling the Royal British Legion’s Money Advice Service each year.

A CO-OPERATIVE SOLUTION: 

We’re calling for the Ministry of Defence to support the creation of a military credit union because our service families deserve better than payday lenders. 

The credit union would provide financial products such as savings, loans and mortgages, which would be designed to meet the specific needs of members of the armed forces. Membership of the credit union would be open to all serving and former members of the UK armed forces and their families. 

As a credit union, it would be owned by its members, with profits used to improve services and to offer competitive rates of interest.

WHAT IS A CREDIT UNION ?:

Credit unions provide many of the same services that you would find at your local bank, including savings accounts, loans and mortgages.

However, unlike banks which are privately owned businesses, credit unions are owned and run by their customers. This makes them well-suited to offer financial products that are tailored to the specific needs of the communities that own them.

Because they aren’t run for a profit, credit unions are also able to charge lower rates of interest than payday lenders

JOIN THE CAMPAIGN:

Visit the  campaign site here, to sign up as a supporter and to find out case studies and more information about how you can support this campaign.

2014 AGM held in Eastbourne

The East Sussex branch of the Co-operative Party held its AGM on 17th May at the Central Methodist Church in Eastbourne. 

Jean Couture was elected as Chair, with Cllr Nigel Sinden as vice chair, and Dave Brinson as Secretary/Treasurer.  The branch also nominated delegates to represent the Co-op at the local Labour Party constituencies in East Sussex.

We are keen to support Labour's campaigns in the forthcoming General Election- and especially noted the recent selection of our branch member Lloyd Russell-Moyle to take on Norman Baker in the Lewes Constituency. We also have several branch members serving as Labour councillors on Hastings Borough Council.

Special congratulations to the outgoing secretary of the Sussex Co-op Party, Lis Telcs, who has been elected to represent the South East region on the Co-op Party National Executive. 

To find out more about the work of the Co-op Party nationally, members are encouraged to visit the website here.