A stronger national co-operative

Martin writes: Most people imagine that the Co-op is one organisation. In fact there are dozens of regional co-ops, some with just a single store, and in the past there were hundreds. In South London we have just one co-operative retailer, the Co-operative Group, which operates in almost every part of the country. But up until the 1980s there were two strong local societies covering our area, the Royal Arsenal and the South Suburban.

Some of the remaining regional societies cover quite large areas. And in the last couple of weeks, one of those - the Plymouth & South West Society - announced it was to recommend to its members that they merge with the Co-op Group.

Does that affect us? Well yes, in part. Having many co-ops with different brands confused shoppers, harmed us over the last 50 years. Some of these societies lost any real local identity, and ended up competing with each other. Plymouth is a strong society, committed to its area. But it had already recognised that ensuring that its shops looked like the main co-op brand would help it and would help the co-op cause. And now it sees benefits for its members, its customers and its staff through full merger.

But at the same time, Ursula Lidbetter, chief exec of the fiercely independent Lincolnshire Co-op, made clear to the Co-op News that her members are best served by staying separate. What we need is both diversity, and a sense of our common direction. Co-ops need to work together, to co-operate in fact. And we have to rise to the challenge of remaining true to our principles.

Because that's what these choices are really about, and something we as Area Committee members need to promote. How do we ensure that local shoppers and members have a voice in large organisations? How do we make sure that those people running the shops are working to deliver for our members? How do we serve our local communities but gain all the benefits of being part of a large, powerful, national organisation?

Lincolnshire and Plymouth have chosen different ways of meeting the challenge of strengthening their democracy and their service. We look forward to hearing your ideas for doing the same in South London.