When David Cameron MP made that speech in Manchester last November about the Conservatives wanting to support people to set up co-ops, it at least got the Co-op Party some press coverage and set hares running about Co-op's links with Labour.
We've not hear more much since, but we might very soon? A booklet, entitled "Nuts and Bolts - Or, How to Start a Food Co-op", by Amy Cole is due to be published later this year. Not sure if it will carry any new information but let's not judge it before reading it.
The BBC carried a story on Friday 18th January - Co-operative vs co-operative with quotes from Jesse Norman - Conservative Co-op Movement (sic) and Peter Hunt the Co-operative Party Secretary. Too sceptical to believe this is the new compasionate conservatives. Peter Hunt makes the reasonable point that if it wasn’t about the conservative party, Norman would join the existing co-operative movement, rather than trying to start his own from first principles (whilst also campaigning to become an MP)...
