The Co-operative Party

Jennette Arnold, Labour & Co-operative London Assembly Member for North East London, has written for Ken Livingstone’s campaign website on her support for Ken and for our manifesto for a co-operative London.

In her article for yourken.org, Jennette outlines a truly progressive alternative for London that addresses the needs of Londoners, harnesses their many talents and addresses the growing divide between rich and poor by bringing people together:

As a keen co-operator I have always believed that by working together as Londoners, we can achieve far more than we can alone. In spite of the difficult times that we are living through I have always been an optimist. One of the many reasons I’m so committed to seeing Ken elected as Mayor again is because I know that he, like me, believes that co-operative and mutual solutions can offer London a fair and progressive future. The London Co-operative Party manifesto, which Ken helped launch in the autumn, is packed full of proposals about how we can make this vision a reality.

There are so many areas of policy where co-operative solutions can make a difference. In finance, credit unions offer an affordable and sustainable way of managing money whilst helping to close the vacuum in which loan sharks can prey on the vulnerable. In housing, the “New Foundations” model of co-operative housing offers a whole new way of creating affordable and sustainable housing. London’s young people, as well as being our future, are also our greatest asset. That’s why I think we need to find new ways of engaging with young Londoners, such as through a co-operative youth assembly, similar to the UK Youth Parliament.

Next year is the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives, a year- long celebration of the positive impact that co-ops have globally. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to know that, in that same year, London elected a new Mayor, one committed to co-operation as a way of tackling the issues Londoners care about? I believe that with the support of campaigners young and old, in every corner of our city, together, we can make that dream a reality.