Co-op Party Exhibition

There is a small exhibition of Co-Operative Party material at the People's History Museum.

It is located in the Processional Way, which is to say in a corner on the ground floor. Worth a look before you go to the Demon Drink : Temperance exhibition.

It is on until Monday 5th November, and the museum is open 7 days a week.

"this display examines the story of the Co-operative Party; taking the visitor on a journey from its origins within the co-operative movement to the growing political power of its parliamentary members and the 1927 agreement with the Labour Party." Link.



I took numerous photographs, for this is material that you don't ofter get a chance to see. See Flickr set.

So top marks to the PHM for delving in the archives and giving the memorabilia an airing.

Another New World Order

There have been numerous books with "The New World Order" in the title. The words always have a sinister ring to me, possibly because I associate the phrase with world domination. Though I've not got a copy of this pamphlet, it being a "Summary of the Co-operative Party's programme for reconstruction", I was attracted by the title to take a picture of the cover. It is in the Working Class Movement Library. Published by the Nottingham Co-operative Society, in 1944 and it fits into 16 pages. If it was by the Co-Operative Party then there would be nothing totalitarian between the covers.

There was an H.G. Wells book published some four year earlier called "The New World Order". Its a plan to unite the nations of the world in order to bring peace and end war. It was republished in 2007 and you can read it online at Project Guttenberg. I suggest Chapter 6 called Socialism Unavoidable and let me know what he was on about. He was 74 and having a rant.

The Frank Leeman pamphlet is consigned to the archives. As for Frank then I know nothing except he could do a Clement Atlee look-a-likey.

Co-Ops - Obstacle or Inspiration?

Considering this is only a 23 page booklet it has been a struggle to read and understand it. It is a copy of the 10th Blandford Memorial Lecture delivered by Jack Bailey in 1950, and published by the Co-operative Co-partnership Propaganda Committee.

The story behind the names. Thomas Blandford (1861–1899) was co-operative movement activist being Secretary and the driving force of the Co-operative Productive Federation. Founded in 1882 to promote unity of action amongst the productive societies, securing capital, and finding markets for their products. It had some success in the East Midlands. He died after an illness when only aged 38.

Much later a charitable fund and a series of lectures were inaguarated in his memory. The first lecture was in 1941 entitled Towards Economic Democracy by Herbert Tracey, the publicity officer of the TUC. Harking back to the 19th Century the lectures were published to reach a wider audience. Otherwise nobody outside the room in Leicester where they were delivered would know about them.

There were at least 19 annual lectures which takes us up to 1959. Maybe more? Speakers included Prof. G.D.H. Cole on Co-Operation, Labour and Socialism, Will Lawther, the President of the Miners Federation of Great Britain with Can Industrial Democracy Survive? and Alan Birch, General Secretary of USDAW on Industrial Relations in Co-Operative Employment.

Jack Bailey (1898–1969) then Secretary of the Co-Operative Party had the opportunity to craft his address in 1950. In it he poses three long questions and then answers them or rather in that debating technique asks you to discuss them....He also examines the co-operative principles of self-help, mutual-aid, self-supply, and self-government.

"Whether the state in itself be good or bad, whether the power which os vested in it be used wisely or unwisley I believe it to be bad thing to make it too largely the repsitory of economic and social power"....optimistly he points to a sign that the Labour Party wedded to nationalisation programme is searching for alternative methods of social ownership. It didn't find any.

Tribune Archive

Over the years I've subscribed to many a left-ish magazine for a year or so. Some are still around New Statesman, Tribune and Red Pepper. Some have disappeared from the newsstands - Labour Weekly, New Socialist and others I don't recall.

Anyway there is a great archive of articles from The Tribune 1937-2011. It's every political battle for over 60 years. It is searchable, and as ever I put in the word "co-operation". The returns run into hundreds. Everything from Co-operative Party Conference reports, the need for mergers, and the links with the Labour Party. You might prefer the landmarks of Pearl Harbour, Miners Strike, Berlin Wall or the Tet Offensive. It's all there with those typos that come from digitizing print media to e-media.

There is a whole series "At the sign of the Wheatsheaf" which runs throughout the 1950's and 60's - one of those editorial advertisement features about current topics with a plug for CWS products. You'll need the link. Here it is : archive tribune.

Politics and Publicity

I've done two previous posts on the Co-operative Rose Queen and the magnificent landau, now I've found another. It is from 1936, and yet another Chorlton girl Hilda Omerod is the "Queen".

"Politics and publicity were oddly mixed in the mile-long procession of decorated cars and gaily dressed children which wound its way from Ardwick Green to Platt Fields in a mass demonstration for Co-operators' Day on Saturday."

The event was organised jointly by the M&S Co-op Society's Co-operative Party and the Manchester and District Co-operative Party. It took place on the first Saturday of July which is International Co-operative Day. It still is, the first one was in 1923.

The two-horse landau gets a mention...."once the carriage of the Lord Mayors of Manchester. The horses still wore the city arms in their harness, and 'they do enjoy following a good band,' said J. Railton, their coachman...

Besides the floats and the bands there were some political speeches, and two resolutions passed by the crowds listening. Once of them condemned the National Government for abandoning sanctions against Italy. These had been announced during the Second Italo-Abyssian War. That's one Mussolini had won in May, and Emperor Haile Selassie went into exile in Britain with the gold reserves. The National Government had a policy of appeasement of fascist dictators Mussolini, Hitler and later Franco.

Source : Manchester Guardian Monday July 6th 1936.
Picture : Eccles Co-operative Record August 1935 page 183. A horse drawn float from a previous International Co-operative Day pageant.

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Queen For The Season
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Ladybarn Branch

Took a detour through Ladybarn in south Manchester. There are some great old buildings in the district and then there is this former M&SE Co-op branch on Ladybarn Lane dating from the 1920's. Until it closed, it held the meetings of Withington Co-operative Party from the 1930's until the store and hall were closed in the 1970's.

Withington Constituency Labour Party issued a ‘Year Book’ in March 1968. Year book is a bit of an exaggeration. It is a mere sixteen pages slightly bigger than A5 printed on a Roneo or Gestetner machine. A copy survives in Manchester Central Reference Library. It includes some Withington Divisional Co-operative Party details. The membership was approximately 10. The meetings were held on the 2nd Friday of the month in the Ladybarn Co-op Hall, Ladybarn Lane at 7.45pm. Chair - Mrs. Willoughby 41 Lindleywood Road: Secretary Miss H.F.Messenger 8 Westbourne Road (which is the side street by this Co-op store), and Treasurer Mrs. D.Crivat 245 Manley Road. Cost 1/- per year (shortly to rise to 2/6d). That year seven speakers were booked and there were two social events. Contact with the Labour Party was been maintained through Mr. J. Lilley, a sponsored candidate.