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Tuesday 2 October 2018

Next Branch Meeting: Saturday 6th October


The next meeting of the East Sussex Branch of the Co-operative Party will be held on Saturday 6th October, commencing at 11.00am at the RAF Association, Wish Road, Eastbourne, BN21 4NX. (Please note that the meeting room is up one flight of stairs) (map)  


A G E N D A

1. Apologies for Absence

2. Minutes of the Previous Meeting and any Matters arising

3. Reports:


  • Membership
  • Finance
  • Constituency Labour Parties
  • Party Council

4. PREPARATION FOR ANNUAL CONFERENCE including discussion on motions and agenda.

5. MONTH of ACTION on Modern Slavery and possibility of a speaker meeting later on.

6. Local elections preparation- reference to the Co-op Party's 12 ideas for Local Government Manifestos

7. Any other Business


We will be staying for lunch afterwards, and all members are warmly invited to join us.  The RAFA lunch is always excellent!

Thursday 23 August 2018

Tackling Modern Slavery




13th September to 18th October is the Co-operative Party's Month of Action against Modern Slavery

Over the last year the Co-operative Party has been working with partners in the co-operative movement and others to highlight the scourge of modern slavery and to provide practical measures to ensure this country leads the world in tackling this heinous crime. To date 24 councils have agreed to implement the points in the Co-operative Party's Charter against Modern Slavery.

But it's not enough. Recent figures released by the Global Slavery Index suggest that there could be as many as 130,000 people trapped in modern slavery in the UK. Our Labour and Co-operative MPs have campaigned in Parliament to strengthen legislation, and locally our members have run dozens of local initiatives to raise the profile of modern slavery with the public. But we know we need to do more.


13th September to 18th October is the Co-operative Party's Month of Action against Modern Slavery. Click here to find out how you can get involved in the national campaign, and watch this site for local actions.  You can also read the Co-operative Party's detailed briefing on how local government can get involved, by clicking here

Saturday 14 July 2018

AGM 2018- Lots to do!

The branch held its 2018 AGM at the RAF Association in Eastbourne on 14th July:

We were pleased to welcome Andrew Pakes, from the Co-operative Party NEC as our guest speaker.  Andrew was able to talk about a variety of campaigns the Party is mounting- not least in response to John McDonnell's commitment for an incoming Labour government to double the size of the co-operative economy by 2030.   Housing, transport and co-operative models for community services were amongst the topics discussed.

New Branch Officers:
The branch gave its thanks to outgoing Chair Gill Roles and outgoing vice-chair Jean Couture, and elected Jane Marter as our new Chair, and Geraldine Rolfe as our new vice-chair.  Dave Brinson will continue as Branch Secretary.

End Modern Slavery:

Members of the branch were also encouraged to promote the campaign against Modern Slavery, and to encourage their local Labour Party branches to sign up.

Saturday 30 June 2018

Promoting Co-Operative Fortnight in Eastbourne

#coopdifference

Members of the Branch met with the public in Eastbourne Town Centre today, to promote Co-operatives Fortnight.

Our street stall distributed a range of information about the vital role the co-operative economy has both in the UK and worldwide, and explained more about how co-operatives work, and the work of the Co-operative Party in developing this, and related policies.

A big thank you to Neil, Ros, Jane, Phil and Dave for their hard work.

You can find out more about Co-operatives Fortnight by clicking here.

Branch AGM: 14th July 2018

THE 2018 AGM OF THE EAST SUSSEX BRANCH OF THE CO-OPERATIVE PARTY  will be held in Eastbourne on Saturday 14th July, at 11.00am 

The meeting will elect officers for 2018-9 (Chair, Vice-chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Secretary), delegates to the Sussex Co-op Party, and delegates to all of the Constituency Labour Parties in our Branch area (Lewes, Eastbourne, Wealden, Bexhill and Battle and Hastings.)

GUEST SPEAKER: ANDREW PAKES:
We are pleased to be welcoming our NEC member for the South East Region, Andrew Pakes to the meeting.  Andrew is a phenomenal campaigner who served as President of the National Union of Students in the 1990's,Chair of SERA- Labour's environmental campaign,  a Labour/Co-op councillor in Southwark, and was the  Labour and Co-operative Parliamentary candidate in Milton Keynes at the 2015 General Election.


THE MEETING WILL BE: at the RAF Association, Wish Road, Eastbourne, BN21 4NX (map) on Saturday 14th July starting at 11.00am (note slightly later start time than usual) 

The bar will be open after the meeting, and the club also serves excellent lunches (we all left the last meeting thoroughly well fed!) Please note there is a staircase to the meeting room. We look forward to seeing you there!

Monday 25 June 2018

It's Co-operatives Fortnight!






23rd June to 7th July is Co-operatives fortnight. Co‑ops make a difference to people’s lives right around the world. Every year hundreds of co‑ops and organisations across the UK work together to promote co‑ops during Co‑operatives Fortnight.

There are around 2.6 million co-operative enterprises worldwide, with a combined membership of around 1 billion people.


The beauty of co-ops is that they have a global code of values and principles, so tend to be interested not just in business (as usual), but in re-imagining the economy to be fairer and more sustainable.
You can read case studies about the Co-operative difference by clicking here. 

End so-called "Modern Slavery"

The Co-operative Party is proud to be leading the way in campaigning against so-called Modern Slavery.

The Charter opposite is designed for local councils to commit to action on this issue.  Already Labour councils in Islington, Waltham Forest, Stevenage, Lambeth and Oxford  have signed. 

Modern Slavery
is one of the great evils of our time, and it's happening under our noses. In nail bars, car washes, farms, factories and restaurants, it is estimated that tens of thousands of people in the UK could be victims. 

Find out more about the issue, and how you can get involved in our campaign by clicking here. 


Labour and Co-operative MPs
have been leading the campaign in Parliament.  View the video below to hear some of their contributions. 


Wednesday 4 April 2018

Fairtrade Fortnight!



A big thank you to all who came along to our Fairtrade Coffee Morning with Bexhill Fairtrade on Saturday 10th March.











Tuesday 20 February 2018

Fair Trade Coffee Morning


In partnership with Bexhill Fairtrade, the East Sussex Branch will be hosting a Fairtrade Coffee Morning to mark Fairtrade Fortnight 2018.

This will be at St Mary Magadalene Church Hall, Sea Road, Bexhill (opposite Bexhill Rail Station- see map link here) on Saturday 10th March, 10.00am-12 noon.

As well as coffee, tea and cake, there will be a number of stalls, and opportunities to find out more about the work of the Fairtrade movement and the Co-operative Party.



Saturday 6 January 2018

Next Branch Meeting: 13th January

The next meeting of the East Sussex Branch of the Co-operative Party will be held on Saturday 13th January, commencing at 11.00am at the RAF Association, Wish Road, Eastbourne, BN21 4NX (map)



A G E N D A


1. Apologies for Absence

2. Minutes of the October Meeting and any Matters arising

3. Reports:


  • Membership
  • Finance
  • Constituency Labour Parties
  • Party Council

4. Annual Conference Report

5. Events: Feedback on the Rochdale Pioneers film showing, and the proposed Housing Event with Lord Roy Kennedy

6. Campaigning in 2018, including any local elections- reference to the Co-op Party's 12 ideas for Local Government Manifestos

7. Any other Business


We will be staying for lunch afterwards, and all members are warmly invited to join us.  The RAFA lunch is always excellent!