i will be around the co-operative party conference with my big phone cage and big orange phone. stop by and say hello if you are around! as long as i’m not filming.

captivating telling of the situation at the BBC from Lewis - I found his conclusion particularly interesting. the co-operative party has said "it should be viewers and listeners who decide its future, not Ministers or opaque committees" - perhaps we could've avoided all this.

last year I wrote for our blog on Respect for Shopworkers Week. the reduction in abuse this last year is promising, but there's still so much work to be done. party.coop/2024/11/15/i...

'we have created a youth wing and put Matt Goodwin in charge' is an idea so mesmerisingly bad that it approaches the level of art

that there isn’t a mainstream 7pm-ish music show on the bbc is bad imo. get your radio stations to pick the lineup for variety each week + charts. make people listen to stuff they wouldn’t otherwise imo

the best way to defend the BBC we love is by putting it in the hands of the people who care about it most. a modern BBC with a modern ownership structure would mean you have more ways to express your thoughts on auntie than just paying or not paying the license fee.

A new Director General, a new Charter... a new model of ownership? It's all change at the BBC, but the change to a mutual model is well overdue. We think the BBC should be owned by you, the public.

where the PM set the challenge, our movement steps up with the answers - from Ministers, Parliamentarians, economists and researchers. modern economies are changing, and how we measure and motivate their success must change with them. very proud of our team for delivering this

the lesson we should all learn from Mamdani is that open primaries are extremely good and we should have them and that I was right this entire time. also that centring co-ops in your campaign is a great move. also, again, that I, personally, was right the entire time

someone should make a political movement about this

In the latest edition of @renewaljournal.bsky.social, Caitlin set out her vision for a new kind of community-centred Labour politics. You can read her essay for free here: renewal.org.uk/articles/rec...

Caitlin Prowle is absolutely right about the importance not just of community in the abstract, but of community ownership of assets as a means of making it a concrete reality - and it’s been great seeing the @coopparty.party.coop successfully push this agenda nationally

Loved reading this inspiring and substantive interview with one of the most exciting rising stars of the Labour movement

who else but @caitprowle.bsky.social as our head of pol could explain our responsibility so well 🫡

badenoch’s “broadly in line” and jenrick’s “probably” both symptoms of a pathetic Tory party circling the drain, desperately spitting out what they can, but fundamentally too cowardly to admit they only hold these views because twitter has radicalised them.

Katie Lam’s comments stink of desperation. This crass racism used to mean she’d be kicked out of the Tories but not now. The Conservative Party seem to be falling all over themselves to chase the tail of Tommy - two names - Robinson. It’s becoming like the BNP in a twin set & pearls.

A pastiche of the modern Conservative Party in adding "probably" in there.

One here for the numpties talking blx about IMF bailouts for the UK on.ft.com/46Whia5

That he has done this in the week of the Thatcher centenary adds a pleasant top note to this deeply unserious post.

The Co-operative Party is pleased to support Labour and Co-operative MP Lucy Powell @lucympowell.bsky.social for Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.

Community Britain is the Co-operative Party’s vision of a better Britain with true community power - a vision made that much clearer today with the government’s Pride in Places Programme. I’m proud of the entire party and movement. This is our answer to the challenges the country faces. 🫶

There’s something special - a je ne sais quoi - about co-operatives. We saw it at L’Onde de Coop 2025 in Paris this week, where co-ops from across Europe gathered, inspired by our world-leading ambition to double the size of the UK co-operative sector. 🇫🇷

there is a… je ne sais quoi… about co-operatives. i love to do copywriting and i love even more that our commitment to doubling the size of the UK’s co-op sector is acting as inspiration for co-operateurs on the continent!!

Reform's ‘plan’ to revoke the legal status of millions of UK residents is morally abhorrent & economic madness The public believe in fairness & mutual respect, not this cruel Trumpian policy that would leave us all poorer. We are not America - we must resist this dangerous turn in British politics.

When you join our Party, you’re more than a member: you’re an owner. 🤝 We live our principles: a co-op, run by members, for members. Join today.

When energy is community-owned, the benefits stay in your hands: community wealth, local power, a greener Britain. That’s why Great British Energy’s strategy puts community energy front and centre.

It’s in our nature. It’s in our politics.

it's Monday, another day when Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, enjoys fiscal powers nobody gave him, and uses them against the government www.theguardian.com/business/202...

This is what we're about - bringing communities together with ownership. That's because we think communities should be at the heart of politics, not just an afterthought.

at @queerdiary.bsky.social oxford. absolutely captivating and so so much fun - thank you to every queer who kept a diary and has the bravery and humility to share the entries. punchlines after punchlines from daily existence - hugely recommend

The BBC was pushed to do thematic reviews of its news content by the Conservative government who felt it wasn't impartial. At the time I wrongly thought they were trojan horse tools... Instead they became some of the best free training resources for journalists. Obviously often ignored by the BBC.

What if your community got a shot at saving the places you actually use - before they vanish? We took that question to the public. Here’s what they had to say. 🎥👇

communities are the first to the brooms when the dust of the far right needs to be swept up and they’re the last bastion of a politics that can defeat them at the ballot box. empowering our communities with ownership rights is morally and electorally right.

Labour’s secret plan to thwart Reform, by @morganj0nes.bsky.social‬

proud to finally have my greatest innovation, the bill-o-meter, out there in the open

In Parliament just now, Angela Rayner set out plans for a new Community Right to Buy: giving local people the power to protect the places that matter. From shops and pubs to sports grounds, this is about control, pride, and real community power.

This government is using the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill to give communities a real stake and a say in their local area. Our movement's values are at the heart of this legislation.

This is the make or break moment for Powell's @federalreserve.gov. If they do not defend Lisa Cook and treat her as still on the Board, the fight over the Fed as an independent agency will officially be over. see my Friday piece. www.crisesnotes.com/trump-vs-pow...

best non electronic i’ve heard all year youtu.be/e5Uq0t8XFME?...

Genuinely baffled as to what Bertie Jenrick would have to do for any of the one in ten Tory MPs from an ethnic minority to go “steady on”. Turn up at their house in a Klan robe?

Had a great time hearing from festival-goers on proposals in the Fan-led Review of Live Music. Also learned just how old I am working with Reading’s clientele.

Thousands of students celebrate A Level results today - but none were taught about co-operatives, despite co-ops being an essential part of our history and contributing £165bn to our economy.

anxiety jazz

🚨 NEW: The Co-operative Party is Britain’s fourth-largest party in Parliament. But in BBC output, our representatives are often labelled simply as “Labour”. We asked how often this happens, but the BBC refused to say. Today, we’re asking for answers.

love this from @mineshparekh.bsky.social 🫶 www.bigissue.com/opinion/prem...

hmmm. when the same nexus of people (Reddit nerds, gamers) have tried to exert pressure on tech firms they have won in the past. I don’t see OpenAI reverting (and it would shock investor conf if they did…) … so where are we left? is the first major collapse on the horizon?

reminder my band (@flirting.noiseistherapy.co.uk) is playing a show August 15th (next Friday) and you (🫵) should be in attendance

This. Having worked frontline customer service, a lot, having to be the face of a policy you likely don't agree with sucks, and I can't imagine getting hundreds of people a day calling to criticise you for it.

Every year, reoffending costs the UK over £21 billion, while key sectors like rail face urgent skills shortages. So our movement is doing something different. The Co-operative Group, in partnership with City & Guilds, is launching the UK’s first rail apprenticeship scheme for prisoners.