By Anthony Murray

The Bill will be made up out of 17 separate pieces of legislation that govern co-operatives across the UK, dating back to 1965, and, according to Downing Street, will be put to parliament before the next election.

In front of a co-op-audience in the Hub Westminster, London, that included Co-operatives UK Secretary General Ed Mayo and Ursula Lidbetter, Chief Executive, Lincolnshire Co-operative, the Prime Minister said the “outdated” legislation will be referred to the Law Commission.

Mr Cameron said: “We know that breaking monopolies, encouraging choice, opening up new forms of enterprise is not just right for business but the best way of improving public services too.

“There are over 12 million co-op members in the UK. That’s more people than there are shareholders in the economy. But right now there are too many barriers in the way . . .  so today I can announce they will all be brought together and simplified in a new Co-operatives Bill that will be put before parliament.”

After the event, Mr Mayo said: “The new act is intended to make it as easy and natural to form a co-operative as any other form of business. We are delighted to see the Coalition taking action to put co-operative businesses on an equal footing and create a diverse economy.

“Co-operatives, as well as being widely recognised for their ethical business practices, are a vital part of the British economy, employing more than 235,000 people, turning over more than £33 billion each year and generating a significant amount of wealth for the country.”

Mr Cameron added that a new form of “popular capitalism” is ready to take-over and that he had “long cared” about the Co-operative Movement, which is the reason he helped establish the Conservative Co-operative Movement that has 40 Conservative MPs as members.

He said: “We know that breaking monopolies, encouraging choice, opening up new forms of enterprise is not just right for business, but the best way of improving public services too. There are over 12 million co-op members in the UK. That’s more people than there are shareholders in the economy and a vital branch of popular capitalism.”

The Co-operative Party, which represents the Movement’s views in Westminster with more than half of the Parliamentary Labour Party as its members, has welcomed the government’s announcement of a Co-operatives Act, but says it needs to include new initiatives to boost the co-operative sector.

Party Chairman Gareth Thomas MP said: “Over the last decade the Co-operative Party secured the most comprehensive package of legislation ever for co-operatives and mutuals. Putting that into one Act is a step in the right direction but the government should be more ambitious and include new measures to help co-operatives.

“2012 is the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives. The government should not miss that opportunity by limiting the Act to a consolidation of existing legislation. They should seize the moment and include new measures such as the Co-operative Party’s plan to enshrine co-operative housing in legislation.

“That plan, which is in a Bill put forward by Labour and Co-operative MP Johnny Reynolds, would establish for the first time co-operative housing tenure in law and update the current feudal arrangements .

“The government should also do more to support co-ops and mutuals in challenging big businesses like Southern Cross, the banks and energy companies which are unaccountable to ordinary people.

“Co-operation and mutuality is an idea whose time has come back. In the year when the whole world celebrates the co-operative model we should look at every possible way to put co-operatives on a level playing field with other forms of business.

Jesse Norman, a founder of the Conservative Co-operative Movement, told the News: “We have been working towards a new piece of legislation on co-operatives for some time now, so the Prime Minister’s announcement is massively welcome.

“At present co-ops are governed by over a dozen pieces of separate law, so a consolidation and updating is badly needed. But this is also a huge opportunity for the Government to level the playing field for co-ops and mutuals, and to give greater encouragement to the creation of new co-ops.

“I am especially pleased that it is a Conservative Prime Minister who is leading the way, and in 2012, the International Year of Co-operatives.”

–by arrangement with ICA; the news.coop

Rajya Sabha approved the  Constitution amendment bill seeking to make the right to form cooperative societies a Fundamental Right on Wednesday.

The bill was approved by the Lok Sabha on December 22.

Participating in the debate, Balavant Apte (BJP) said that mere constitutional status to cooperative societies will not help them, but an action plan is required.

On the provision for setting up a specialised agency for conducting elections in societies, Apte said it would not be possible to monitor all elections as there are lakhs of
cooperative societies.

E M Sudarsana Natchiappan (Cong) said cooperative societies are necessary for the socio-economic development of the country.

Opposing the amendment, P Rajeeve (CPI-M) said the Centre is trying to encroach upon the rights of state governments to make legislations in regard to cooperative societies.

S P Singh Baghel (BSP) said because of undue government interference, the cooperative societies are not prospering. He also suggested that members of a society should directly elect their chairman.

The Mayawati government tabled the Uttar Pradesh Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill on Friday replacing an ordinance promulgated in the month of June to increase the tenure of the management committees of cooperative societies from two to three years.

Cooperative leaders including National Cooperative Union of India President Dr Chandra Pal Singh called it a blatant misuse of political power.

Mayawati government first reduced the tenure of elected cooperative bodies from three to two years in September 2007. She did it so that her party members are able to capture cooperative board sooner than later. Now for the same people, she has increased the tenure first by Ordinance and now by Act. What a classic case of political highhandedness!

In the election in 2009, 11790 of the total 12291 cooperative bodies were held in which she ensured her men victory from village level to state level.

But now, after the completion of two years she suddenly developed love for  the old system of having 3 years term for the Board and Management of Cooperative bodies.

In no time, governor B L Joshi cleared the Uttar Pradesh Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Ordinance 2011 on June 2, to ensure that now management committees whose term was to end on or before the date of commencement of the ordinance, will continue for three years.

The Centre is working on an amendment in cooperative laws which would ensure the continuation of Board of directors of cooperative society for the five year term, no matter who comes and who goes at political seat. This law will be applicable for whole of India and would greatly boost the cooperative movement in the country by keeping Mayas at bay.