The co-operative movement is a global success story for the North West and one of Britain’s biggest exports – that’s the message from Manchester as the world co-op movement has descended on the city.
Greater Manchester is the historic home of the co-operative movement, which was inspired by the Rochdale Pioneers and the principles they created in 1844. The Co-operative group is still based in Manchester city centre and is one of the world’s largest consumer co-operatives.
Hundreds of delegates from 59 countries have been in Greater Manchester this week as part of the celebrations for the International Year of Co-operatives 2025. They have visited key co-operative linked locations from FC United of Manchester to Toad Lane in Rochdale.
Meanwhile this weekend will see Co-operatives Ƶ hold its annual congress in Rochdale, and Saturday, July 5, marks the International Day of Co-operatives.
Shirine Khoury-Haq, CEO of the Co-op Group, said: "The values of co-operation were born in the North West and they remain just as relevant today. This is a moment to reflect on where we came from and to show how we are still working with communities, both here and around the world, to build a fairer future. What’s more, this year demonstrates how co-operatives are leading the way in creating global economic connections that benefit everyone.
“180 years after we were founded in Rochdale, our co-operative values still guide how our Co-op does business. Our model—the strength of which lies in being run by members for members—balances purpose with profit, enabling positive impacts in a changing world. Co-operatives have a vital role to play in demonstrating a fairer, more values-led way of doing business - and in delivering better outcomes for members and society."
And speaking to BusinessLive, Russell Gill, head of community delivery at The Co-operative Group, said: “What we have in the North West is probably one of Britain's biggest exports, if you think about it. That idea that started in Rochdale, in the middle of the 19th century, has spawned a movement that has now got genuine global impact and it all began here.
“So it's really fitting that the International Co-op Alliance should choose Greater Manchester to mark the significance of the movement in this really important year for us. “
The global delegates visited the Co-op Group’s headquarters in One Angel Square and met council leaders. But they also got to meet local co-operative organisations and got to pay tribute to the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, founded in 1844 and the inspiration for what would become a global movement.
Mr Gill said: “We've taken them out to visit co-operatives throughout the city region – everything from visiting Hulme Community Garden Centre, which is a co-operative established to promote environmental work in the city, through to FC United of Manchester, through to our outstanding Co-op Academy School, in Belle Vue.
“Really importantly, we've had people visiting here for the first time who wanted nothing more than the chance to visit Toad Lane, Rochdale, the home of the very first co-op that was established in 1844. I think for many people it felt almost like a pilgrimage to be able to come back to the place where it all began. Because be in no doubt – everywhere, across the globe, people see what began in Rochdale in 1844 as being the spark that then subsequently inspired their co-operative movements to develop in their country.”
The co-operative movement has a proud history in the North West, and Mr Gill says it also has a bright future.
“We have a Ƶ government has said its ambition is to double the size of the co-operative and mutual sector. We have a Greater Manchester Mayor who is a co-operative mayor – he's not just a Labour Mayor, he's a Labour and Co-operative Mayor. And part of his ambition is to see co-operatives being part of the fabric of all aspects of the economy in the North West.
“You've got in the Co-op group, based in the centre of the city, that is not just a really, really important business for the city but also works across the North West and beyond.
“So if you take those three elements, that creates a huge inspiration for an opportunity to see co-operatives develop – not just in some of the traditional sectors like retailing and the like, but increasingly in new sectors. Whether that is public service, social care, digital areas.. these are all possible areas co-operative enterprises may have a future.
“There’s a real bright future for the co-operative model, which is about a business that is owned by its members, being an alternative way of structuring the economy. And there's no reason why the North West can't be a leading player in that.”
BusinessLive regularly hears from social enterprises and from companies that have moved to employee or co-operative ownership.
Mr Gill said: “Most definitely there is a growing interest in seeing co-operatives and social enterprises as being a third way, a different way of doing business, an alternative to being either private enterprise or public sector.
“There is the employee-owned model, and in the co-op movement we have worker cooperatives where the workers control the co-op. But there are other co-operatives that are controlled by other stakeholders. So for example, my co-op, the Co-op group, is effectively controlled by its customers. Our members are our customers.
“But equally there are, there are other forms of co-operatives where perhaps it's the members of the wider community who want to have a stake.
“It's all about seeing that there are alternative ways of having democratically controlled enterprise where the people who have the greatest interest in them being a success have a say in how they are run and who benefits. And I think that model lends itself to so many different forms of enterprise.”
