Next Branch Meeting: 11th May

The next meeting of the East Sussex Branch of the Co-operative Party will be held on Saturday 11th May, 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)

(Note- change of meeting date to avoid clashes with local election campaigning)

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. LOCAL ELECTIONS- evaluation of results, lessons for next time, and liaison with (hopefully) elected Labour and Co-operative Councillors

5. Campaigns and Events 

6. Any other Business

We will be staying for lunch afterwards, and all members are warmly invited to join us.  

Co-operators in the Local elections

Lewes, Eastbourne, Wealden and Rother councils all go to the polls on Thursday 2nd May.

Under a long standing electoral agreement, the Co-operative Party stands its members as joint Labour and Co-operative Candidates, and there are a number standing from our branch in these elections:

In Wealden District:

ANGIE SMITH (Uckfield North)
BEN COX  (Uckfield)

In Lewes District:

ALAN TLUSTY-SHEEN (Seaford East)
PENNY LOWER   (Seaford Central)

In Eastbourne Borough:

DAVE BRINSON (St Anthony's)
JANEE SA  (Meads)

Please visit the appropriate local Labour Party sites for more information on their candidacy.

End violence against Shop Workers

Every day, more than 250 retail workers face violence, just for doing their jobs. Six of those incidents will involve a knife, and two a gun. A lot of these shops sit in the heart of the community, and these instances impact on the workers and sense of safety in the community.

"Working in the pet industry we have the right to refuse sales to people who we think will not care for the animals correctly, this has led to several examples of threats and abuse.

We also regularly deal with anti-social behaviour from youth who’ve threatened me with knives and thrown things at my head for asking them to leave and stop destroying the shop. I’ve seen colleagues spat at, and abused, and other customers.

For minimum wage, it’s really not acceptable to have to deal with it."

From alcohol and cigarettes to knives and acid, there are now more than 50 types of products that are restricted by law. It’s staff on the shop floor who we expect to enforce those laws, and who all too often pay the price in the form of violence, threats and verbal and physical abuse from customers.

The Co-op movement is working to raise the profile of this issue through our politicians and affiliated trade unions, and co-op businesses are already taking practical action to work with staff and communities.

Find out how you can support the Co-op Party campaign here

Next Branch Meeting: 19th January

The next meeting of the East Sussex Branch of the Co-operative Party will be held on Saturday 19th January, 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. LOCAL ELECTIONS

5. EVENTS: Film Showing, and Fairtrade Fortnight

6. Any other Business

We will be staying for lunch afterwards, and all members are warmly invited to join us.  

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!

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

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.