Pay inequality, zero-hour contracts and a sense of disempowerment are driving people to form co-operatives, finds a new report. The sector is strengthening despite an uncertain economy
The UK’s co-operative sector has grown by £1bn since 2014, despite – or perhaps because of – economic uncertainty caused by austerity and Brexit, finds a report released today by Co-operatives UK. In contrast, the same period saw blips disrupt the steady growth in the UK GDP that had followed the 2008 economic crisis.
Ed Mayo, secretary general of Co-operatives UK, said co-ops offer a solution to the growing sense of powerlessness people feel over the economy and their lives. “Underlying the political shocks the country has experienced over the last year is a call from many parts of the UK population for an economy over which they have more of a say and from which they get a fair share,” he said.
The annual Co-operative Economy report reveals that there are now 6,815 independent co-ops across the UK, from shops and tech startups, to farms and housing providers – which last year turned over a total of £36bn. It found that UK co-ops employ 226,000 people and the number of active members is growing by almost 1 million each year, currently totalling 13.6 million.
The report’s authors suggest that increasing…
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