Branch Meeting: Saturday 21st November

There will be a meeting of the East Sussex Branch of the Co-operative Party on Saturday 21st November, 2015 10.30am

at the Central Methodist Church, Langney Road, Eastbourne.

A G E N D A

1. Apologies for Absence

2. Minutes of the last ordinary  meeting  held March 2015 (and draft minutes available  from the June AGM)

3. Matters Arising

4. Reports:

         a) Membership

         b) Treasurer

         c) Constituency Labour Parties

         d) Sussex Co-operative Party Council

5. Conference Reports and next steps;  Jane Marter will report from the Co-op Party Annual Conference, and Paul Richards from Labour Party conference.  

6. Co-op Campaigning- including the BBC Co-operative campaign

7. Any other business

Tea and Coffee will be available at the meeting.

Congratulations to our new General Secretary (an Eastbourne girl !)

We are especially pleased by appointment of Claire McCarthy as the General Secretary of the Co-operative Party.  Claire first joined the Labour Party in Eastbourne, and was secretary of Eastbourne Young Labour, before leaving us for Cardiff University- from where she was elected to the Labour Party NEC as its Youth Representative.

As Head of External and Political Affairs, Claire has played a key role in the Party’s activity over the past two years.

She has led on much of our work with the wider co-operative movement, while the Party’s recent success in securing credit union services for the armed forces is but one example of the skill with which she has overseen the Party’s work with Co-operative MPs and Peers.

Claire McCarthy has more than ten years experience as a Special Adviser, public affairs professional and charity leader developing public policy ideas, influencing policy and political debates and changing legislation.

Having worked as a Special Adviser when Labour were in government and served on the Labour Party National Executive Committee and National Policy Forum, Claire is well-placed to develop our vital relationship with the new Labour leadership. Her influencing skills were put to good use in the run up to May’s General Election when she won key policy commitments within Labour’s policy platform and pledges to implement Co-operative Party proposals from Ed Miliband.

As we look towards the Party’s Centenary in 2017, Claire’s combination of co-operative movement, Labour party and wider political and policy experience puts the Party in an excellent position to take on the opportunities and challenges ahead.

Open Party Meeting in Hove: Come and Join Us !

South East Region Co-operative Party

Open Party Meeting

Saturday 31 October 2015 at the Cornerstone Community Centre, Church Road, Hove, BN3 2FL - 10-30 a.m. to 1-30 p.m.

Come and join us!

Discussions will include “Moving on from the General Election and the Labour Party leadership election”

Discussion leaders will include: Matt Rodda – Councillor and former PPC for Reading, Michelle Harfield – National Youth Committee representative for South East, Lynda McDermott – former Member, National Members’ Council, Co-op Group.

For further information contact Les Lawrie, Secretary, SERP, on by email here or  phone 07919 935481.

The scheduled meeting for Saturday 12th September has been postponed due to several members attending the Special Labour Conference that day. Details of new date soon.

Co-operators and the Labour Leadership

For almost a century, the Co-operative Party and the Labour party have stood together to build a society where power is more fairly shared. As Labour elects its next leader and deputy leader, the Co-operative Party organised an opportunity for members to hear what the candidates have to say on issues of importance to our movement. The video below covers the whole of the leadership hustings which took place on 21st July 2015 in London.

AGM 2015: Saturday 27th June

The Annual General Meeting of the East Sussex Branch of the Co-operative Party will be held on on Saturday 27th June, commencing at 10.30am at the Central Methodist Church, Langney Road, Eastbourne.

A G E N D A

1. Apologies for Absence
2. Minutes of the last AGM, held on May 17th 2014.

3. Reports:

• Chair,
• Vice Chair,
• Secretary/Treasurer (including annual accounts)
• Constituency Labour Parties
• Party Council

4. Elections:

• Chair
• Vice Chair
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Any other officers
• Delegates to Party Council (2)
• Delegates to Constituency Labour Parties (Hastings and Rye, Bexhill and Battle, Eastbourne, Wealden, Lewes and Brighton City [Kemptown CLP]

5. Plan of Work for 2014-15, to include confirmation of meeting dates for the year.

6. Any other Business

Tea and Coffee will be available at the meeting.

Urgent- Use your vote for the Co-op Group AGM

After 98 years of changing Britain for the better, the Co-operative's voice in politics could be silenced.  You have the power to keep it.

Showing a grotesque ignorance of the history, values and strength of the Co-operative Movement,  Allan Leighton the new Chief Executive of the Co-Operative Group (Britain's largest co-operative, and a major supporter of the Co-operative Party) has said that "It's the apples not the activists that will transform the Co-op"

If you have received a Co-op AGM pack via post or email, the deadline to vote online is noon on Wednesday 13th May.

The Co-operative Party is at risk. Time is running out save it. Vote 'YES' to motions 9 and 10 to keep the link.

For more information visit http://keepit.coop/how_to_vote or watch the film below.

There's also a great article from Paul Routledge in the Mirror, where he exposes what he calls a "Trojan Horse" style plot to strip the progressive politics from the Co-op.

Co-operators standing in Old Town, Eastbourne

Labour and the Co-operative Party have a joint slate of candidates for Eastbourne Borough Council's Old Town ward on May 7th. Chair of East Sussex Co-operative Party Jean Couture is joined by journalist Paul Richards and Unite Equalities organiser Sharon Wentworth in leading the campaign for co-operative values in Eastbourne. You can find out about them, and their opponents, on the Eastbourne Herald website here.

Sarah Owen is a Labour and Co-op Candidate for Hastings in the General Election; and the Labour candidates in Eastbourne (Jake Lambert), Lewes (Lloyd Russell-Moyle) and Bexhill and Battle (Michelle Thew) are individual members of East Sussex Co-operative Party. Branch secretary Dave Brinson is standing as a Labour candidate in the Devonshire ward of Eastbourne.

For electoral law purposes, the info about Old Town candidates is published by Lisa Gilette on behalf of Jean Couture, Paul Richards and Sharon Wentworth, all of 1 West Street, Eastbourne.

Keep it Co-op ! What's at Stake....

The very act of co-operation is political. 
For over 150 years, working people have been setting up co-operatives to defend themselves against the excesses of the market and working together to improve their lives. While some of the challenges we face today are different, the movement’s cause remains the same. Whether it’s a question of taking on the vested interests of the energy companies, the train operators, or even the payday lenders, co-operative and mutuals are providing a means through which people can help change corporate behaviour for the better. Since it was founded in 1917, the Co-operative Party has been a voice for a fundamental change in the way our country works.

The Co-operative Group is Britain’s largest co-operative
...making up about 85% of the co-operative retail sector - and one of the largest co-operatives in the world. Anyone can join the Co-operative and, as a co-operative, it is owned by its members rather than shareholders. The Group has around eight million members who have a right to vote to elect members of the National Membership Council and the Board and who earn a share of the profits of the business – known as the dividend or ‘divi’. The Co-operative Group aims to be the most socially responsible business in the UK, offering members and customers not only value, but values.

The Co-operative Party was founded in 1917 to represent and defend the co-op movement, though our roots go back all the way to 1844 and the Rochdale Pioneers, the founders of the modern day Co-operative Movement. The Party has had an electoral agreement with the Labour Party since 1927, which enables us to stand joint candidates in elections. While there is an ideological connection, this relationship is also a strategic decision made by the co-operative movement to maximise our ability to influence policy and legislation that is rooted in co-operative values.

Each year the Co-operative Group, along with other co-operative, pays a subscription (its membership fee) to support the Party’s work. In the run up to the May’s Annual General Meeting, the Group will ask its members whether to authorise the subscription and continue the nearly 100 year partnership with the Co-operative Party.

We believe the partnership with the Co-operative Party is vital if the Group wants to be at the heart of a co-operative resurgence. We provide strategic political leadership and support, driving forward policy solutions, opening up new areas for the movement to expand into.

The Co-operative Party is the guardian of the co-operative movement’s powerful values and inspiring vision, and a vital tool in achieving its profoundly political objectives.  Our aim is to deepen and enhance the link so the Group and its Members benefit, as well as society and our communities. We can create a stronger, more sustainable future together.

TAKE ACTION TODAY
Click here to find out how you can support the Keep it Co-op Campaign

Branch Meeting: Saturday 21st March

There will be a meeting of the East Sussex Branch of the Co-operative Party on Saturday 21st March, 2015, 10.30am at the Central Methodist Church, Langney Road, Eastbourne.

Our guest speaker will be Lis Telcs, National Executive Member, about the Keep it Co-op campaign.

Each year the Co-operative Group, along with other co-operative, pays a subscription (its membership fee) to support the Party’s work. In the run up to the May’s Annual General Meeting, the Group will ask its members whether to authorise the subscription and continue the nearly 100 year partnership with the Co-operative Party.

We believe the partnership with the Co-operative Party is vital if the Group wants to be at the heart of a co-operative resurgence. We provide strategic political leadership and support, driving forward policy solutions, opening up new areas for the movement to expand into.

The Co-operative Party is the guardian of the co-operative movement’s powerful values and inspiring vision, and a vital tool in achieving its profoundly political objectives.

Our aim is to deepen and enhance the link so the Group and its Members benefit, as well as society and our communities. We can create a stronger, more sustainable future together.

Members of the Labour Party are also invited to hear Lis, and participate in the discussion about the Keep it Co-op Campaign.


A G E N D A

1. Apologies for Absence
2. Minutes of the last ordinary meeting held November 2014
3. BRIEFLY: Matters Arising

4. BRIEF Reports:
a) Membership
b) Treasurer
c) Constituency Labour Parties
d) Sussex Co-operative Party Council
e) Any other Reports

5. KEEP IT CO-OP: with Lis Telcs- Co-op Party National Executive Committee Member. Update on the threats and challenges facing the Party, and the campaign to promote the political link and a genuine Co-operative movement !

6. Elections Update
7. Any Other Business Tea and Coffee will be available at the meeting.