Co-operative Group National Members Council South West

A few items have caught my attention since I last posted.  A random collection, but the theme as usual is Co-operation. Paris.   I was moved by the response of everyone I knew after the atrocities in Paris.  Those of us active on Facebook would have seen an overwhelming people adopt the Tricolour for their profile as an act of solidarity with the people of France. It was also good to see that the Co-operative reflect our collective feelings by illuminating the air in-take towers in front of Angel Square. Co-operation is a international movement and I was delighted to see that Monique Leroux was elected to be the next President of the International Co-operative Alliance. Moniques profile  can be found here Member Nominated Directors This week, the process to elect two members to our Board of Directors started. We're looking for members who can help drive our businesses forward in our unique co-operative way.  Both the Council and the Board are actively involved in this

The second week in September saw the National Members Council gather in Manchester for our autumn meeting.  The day before the meeting, I, along with other members of the Council attended a social media training session. We concentrated on how we could use Social Media to interact with you, our members. I was delighted that this blog was mentioned!   We talked about blogs, Facebook and Twitter, and how our individual posts could be pulled together in one central area on the Co-operative Group Membership site. As a start we agreed to tag our posts with #coopmembers as a means of keeping track of our efforts.   Click #coopmembers to view other posts from around the UK. The first session of the Council was an update on the half years results of the Group. My previous blog carried the headlines.   The big positive that I took from the presentation was that each of our major businesses increased their profitability, with both the Food business and the Funeral business doing we

The September of the Co-operative Group Members Council is fast approaching, after which I'll be blogging my usual thoughts and observations.. In the meantime, I thought I would share some interesting items that have caught me eye recently. Co-operative Group Half Yearly Results. Group revenue stable at £4.6bn (2014: £4.7bn) Core Food convenience business delivered like-for-like sales increase of 3.3%, with like-for-like sales up 0.8% overall for the Food business Funeral volumes increased by 12%, driven by the busiest start to a year since 2008 General Insurance (GI) revenue reduced in line with expectations, ahead of implementation of the new member-focused business strategy Group underlying profit before tax* of £64m (2014: £1m loss), reflecting robust trading in Food and Funerals and improved General Insurance performance Statutory profit before tax of £36m (2014: £9m loss) Investment in the Rebuild is underway Capital expenditure increased to £144m (20

National Council Members Report. The National Council met over the weekend of the 3 rd and 4 th of July. It was a very busy weekend! A number of important elections were held for the post of President, two Vice Presidents and the Senate. The Senate acts as the “executive” committee for the Council, ensuring that urgent day to day business is conducted quickly and efficiently. After the candidate speeches and round table Q&A sessions, the following members were elected for a three year term. ·          President.                                               Nick Crofts – North West   Region ·          VP – Business                                       Mark Bicknell -   North Region ·          VP– Co-operative Performance             Dan Crowe –   London Region Interestingly, all three positions are now occupied by men.   This is stark contrast to the interim posts which were filled by three women and one man.   The question that the Council members have

The AGM was followed by my first Council meeting , after I was elected for a two year term, by members in the South West. The good news is that we have a fully functioning Council representing all sectors of the Co-operative Movement. We welcomed 15 members from the Independent Co-operative Societies, and 35 new members to the Council.   The remaining 43 Council members had previously sat on the Transitional Council, and had either qualified as a continuity member or were re-elected by the members. The Council will at its next meeting look to Co-opt 7 members on the basis of increasing representation from three important sections of our Movement. Young Members, Black and Minority Ethic members and Working Colleagues. The challenge for the Council in the next six months is how to organise its meetings to ensure that we can hold our Board to account. It is refreshing that the Chief Executive and senior Executives brief the Council on Business performance, and it was goo