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Article

The Co©\op's Golden Opportunity? Exploring the Prospects of Labour's Sister Party under Keir Starmer's Labour Government

Details

Citation

Kippin S (2025) The Co©\op's Golden Opportunity? Exploring the Prospects of Labour's Sister Party under Keir Starmer's Labour Government. The Political Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923x.13505

Abstract
The Co-operative Party is back in power. Forty-three of its members of Parliament sit on the government benches in the House of Commons, of which four sit in the Cabinet, including the business and trade secretary. Six ¡®metro mayors¡¯ also wear the co-operative badge, along with over 1,600 local councillors and representatives in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd. With Labour back in government, this under-explored party may be on the cusp of its peak relevance in British politics. In partnership with Labour since 1927, it pursues a co-operative agenda in politics and policy making. This article explores the role it may play in a Keir Starmer-led Labour majority government. It places these observations in the context of Labour and the Co-operative Party's previous period in power between 1997¨C2010, considering some opportunities and potential barriers to the party's ability to influence government policy in the UK's post-Brexit, multilevel polity.

Keywords
Labour party; Co-operative Party; public policy; co-operative movement; mutualism; British politics

Journal
The Political Quarterly

StatusEarly Online
Publication date online31/01/2025
Date accepted by journal20/01/2025
PublisherWiley
ISSN0032-3179
eISSN1467-923X

People (1)

Dr Sean Kippin

Dr Sean Kippin

Senior Lecturer, Politics