Co-operative Party (UK)
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The Co-operative Party
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| Leader | None |
| Chairperson | Gareth Thomas |
| General Secretary | Claire McCarthy |
| Founded | 17 October 1917 |
| Headquarters | 65 St John Street London, EC1M 4AN |
| Youth wing | Co-operative Party Youth |
| Ideology |
Co-operatism Social democracy |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| National affiliation | Labour Party |
| House of Commons |
28 / 650
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| House of Lords |
16 / 800
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| London Assembly |
7 / 25
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| Local Councillors |
1,500 / 20,565
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| Police & Crime Commissioners |
1 / 41
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| Scottish Parliament |
7 / 129
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| National Assembly for Wales |
11 / 60
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| Northern Ireland Assembly |
0 / 90
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| Website | |
| http://www.party.coop/ | |
The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom supporting co-operative values and principles. Established in 1917, the Co-operative Party was founded by co-operative societies to politically campaign for the fairer treatment of co-operative enterprise and to elect co-operators to Parliament. The Party’s roots lie in the Parliamentary Committee of the Co-operative Union established in 1881.
Since 1927 the Co-operative Party has had an electoral pact with the Labour Party, with both parties agreeing not to stand candidates against each other. Instead candidates selected by members of both parties contest elections using the description of Labour and Co-operative Party. The Co-operative Party is a legally separate entity from the Labour Party, and is registered as a political party with the Electoral Commission. Co-operative Party members are not permitted to be members of any other political party in the UK apart from the Labour Party and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in Northern Ireland.
The Co-operative Party is arguably the fourth largest party in the House of Commons with 27 Members of Parliament, although as all of its MPs sit in the Parliamentary Labour Party, this distinction is not often made. It also has representatives in the House of Lords, Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and local government.
In keeping with its co-operative values and principles, the Co-operative Party does not have a leader like other political parties. Instead, Gareth Thomas serves as Chair of the National Executive Committee, Claire McCarthy as General Secretary, and Gavin Shuker as Chair of the Co-operative Party Group of Parliamentarians.
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Wikipedia