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From ale to email
Co-operative movement
Leader Monday May 24, 2004 The Guardian
Federation ale, the
beer served in the House of Commons and many working men's clubs, may
be calling last orders on a proud legacy of the 19th-century co-op movement.
The plant that supplies the ale is owned by Northern Clubs Federation
Brewery, a cooperative of 303 clubs, many of them members of the Working
Men's Club and Institute Union
. Last month the coop's board agreed to sell its brewery in Gateshead
to Scottish & Newcastle, and this weekend its membership voted on a £16m
offer by S&N to purchase Federation's remaining assets. For the working
men's clubs, the offer marks a sad end to an era of commercial solidarity
- Federation itself was formed just after the first world war, growing
out of the trade union movement.
Like the trade unions, working men's clubs have waned in recent years,
and Federation found itself in financial difficulty. The S&N deal means
the cooperative could pay off its £8.5m debt and solve its £8m pensions
deficit, while making demutualisation payouts to its member-clubs worth
several thousand pounds apiece. The problems of Federation are a reflection
of those faced by other members of the movement founded on the cooperative
principles of the 19th-century Rochdale Pioneers. In many cases, the economic
advantages enjoyed by their private sector rivals has made it hard for
cooperatives to compete, despite their undoubted strengths in other respects.
Even the Co-op, once Britain's largest food retailer, has had to fight
tooth and nail to hold on against the supermarket giants such as Tesco
and Asda.
Despite the gloom,
there are bright signs that the movement can adapt to meet new opportunities.
A good example is the Phone Co-op, which was only founded in 1998,
but which already has 10,000 home and business customers. That may be
small beer in the telecoms sector, but the Phone Co-op's call charges
are highly competitive against its rivals such as BT. The Rochdale Pioneers
would not recognise the broadband internet services offered by the Phone
Co-op, but they would recognise the spirit that continues to drive it.
*
The RISC phone affinity is managed by Mid
Wales Marketing
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