CO-OPERATIVES FORTNIGHT

That this House notes that the UK Co-operative movement has grown in 2017 to now boasting a combined annual turnover of £36.1 billion owned by 13.1 million members and 234,577 employees; further notes that co-operatives in the UK span across a wide range of sectors from agriculture to arts and culture all guided by the international values and principles of co-operation which include democratic member control, member economic participation and concern for community; recognises that globally there are three million co-operatives worldwide with more than 1.2 billion members and that the top 300 co-operatives and mutuals report a combined turnover of $2.1 trillion US dollars; welcomes the important role that co-operatives play in democratising our economy; and considers that it is in all of our interests to see our co-operative movement continue to grow at an ever increasing rate.