The Labour government set out its first legislative programme in the King’ speech today, including policies on areas where co-ops are active, such as energy, housing – alongside proposals to tackle retail crime after sustained lobbying from the retail co-op sector.
The government will create make assaulting a shopworker a standalone offence and introduce stronger measures to tackle low-level shoplifting.
The Co-op Group, which has campaigned for the change to the law alongside the other retail co-op societies, the wider industry, unions and the Co-op Party, hailed the news “as a positive shift in the crackdown on repeat and prolific offenders that blight many communities”.
Last year the Group revealed record levels of retail crime, and today unveiled its latest crime data which shows more than 172,000 incidents in the first half of 2024.
While the rate of increase has slowed, these figures still mark a 4% increase on last year’s unprecedented levels of crime, and a 42% increase since 2022. The figures comprise more than 22,750 incidents of anti-social behaviour, abuse, harassment, attacks and assaults – which equates to more than 125 of its store workers impacted mentally or physically every day.
It is recognised that the majority of retail crime is driven by repeat and prolific offenders, and local organised criminal gangs – often stealing goods for re-sale or for the funding of addictions.
Related: Co-op Party hails appointment of 21 MPs and peers to frontbenches
Paul Gerrard, the Group’s director of campaign and public affairs, said: “Today’s news marks a seismic shift in the crackdown on retail crime, and will send a clear and powerful message to those who think it is acceptable to attack, assault or abuse shopworkers that, put quite simply, the law does not accept this behaviour and, it will now make it easier and much more straightforward for the authorities to investigate and prosecute – which means all shopworkers will be safer.
“We know it will make a difference, because in Scotland – where they have had the standalone offence since 2021 – we see 60% of incidents of violence and abuse towards shopworkers (that are reported to the police) resulting in arrest, while in England and Wales, without that standalone offence, the figure is just 10%. The news today comes as we also champion the co-operative model and demonstrate how it gives member-owners a real voice – we say ‘Owned By You, Right By You’ and today’s development, along with our partnership approach with numerous Forces, shows that co-operation can provide a solution to many of the challenges we face in society today.”
James Wright, policy and development lead at Co-operatives UK, said: “We are thrilled to see the new Community Right to Buy included in the English Devolution Bill, underscoring the government’s commitment to fostering co-operative growth.
“Government’s decision to establish Great British Energy has huge potential to channel investment into co-operative and community-owned energy projects. The opportunity for co-operative growth in this sector is huge with so many benefits for people and planet.”
He added: “We welcome the focus in the King’s speech on reforming key public services. On railways, we know that empowering passengers and staff through co-operative models can lead to more effective and socially beneficial outcomes. A railway system that prioritises stakeholder engagement and public benefit will improve service quality and also foster greater trust and accountability.
“Government’s announcement on water company reform is really encouraging. Embracing elements of the consumer mutual model demonstrate a commitment to public welfare and sustainable management. We are eager to see similar principles applied across other sectors, including transportation.”
“We’re here and ready to assist government and industry in adopting best practices from the global co-operative and mutual sectors. By learning from successful models around the world, we can ensure that our public services are not only efficient but also equitable and resilient.”
Joe Fortune, general secretary of the Co-op Party, Labour’s sister party, said: “After less than two weeks in office, the King’s speech revealed that our new Labour & Co-operative government is already taking action on our key priorities.
“And because of the hard work of our members and supporters, those focuses include many of our key campaign pledges. We have a new Devolution Bill, where the government is pledging to put power back into the hands of local communities through a new community right-to-buy.
“A new Policing and Crime Bill, which includes protecting shopworkers through a new standalone offence of assaulting retail workers.
“A new Great British Energy Bill, so communities benefit from clean, green energy run at the local level.
“These are alongside many other wins on other campaign areas we’ve been pushing for, such as leasehold reform and football governance.”
Fortune said the wheels have been set in motion but called for more support for the Co-op Party, warning: “Navigating the complexities of Parliament is hard work. We need to make sure that our priorities remain on the agenda and aren’t lost in all the big changes to come. For that, we need your voice and your involvement.”
He added: “We are so pleased to see so many of our key campaign areas finally being heard and supported by the government after what has often been many years of relentless campaigning. The above is just the start of what we intend to achieve however, and deciding what to prioritise next is why we need new members who can bring fresh ideas for the months ahead.“
Meanwhile, Community Energy England (CEE), the apex for the community energy sector, responded to the energy proposals in the speech, which gave a prominent place to climate action. Labour restated its commitment to a clean energy transition and set out its plans to establish GB Energy, a publicly owned clean energy company with a remit for driving investment in renewables.
While community energy was not namechecked in the speech, CEE notes that Labour’s Local Power Plan states that GB Energy’s first major programme will be to “build cheaper, cleaner power in cities, towns and villages across the country.” It plans to do this by investing up to £400m a year in low interest loans for communities alongside up to £600m a year in grants for local authorities.
The GB Energy Bill will require energy secretary, Ed Miliband to make a strategic priorities statement, which will set the direction for the company.
The speech also set out planning reform as a priority, with Labour viewing it as a key driver of growth. In chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first major speech since assuming the role, she announced that the de facto ban on new onshore wind turbines would be overturned immediately. Labour will bring a Planning and Infrastructure Bill to the House which will set out further reforms, adds CEE. These will include efforts to accelerate upgrades to the national grid, which has been a major barrier to many community energy projects.
Plans for further devolution of power to the regions was welcomed by Tony Armstrong, CEO of Locality, who said:
“The English Devolution Bill is a major opportunity to ensure local people really can ‘take back control’. A new Community Right to Buy will be a big help to communities trying to save valued local spaces – this is very welcome and is something Locality has long campaigned for.
“More powers for mayors and combined authorities will help us on the journey to community power. But to really tackle the big problems in our society, from sluggish economic growth to NHS waiting lists, we can’t just stop there. The bill should also ensure local neighbourhoods and communities have the power to decide where funding goes, what opportunities are created, and how services are run.
The government has promised to ‘transfer power out of Westminster, and into our communities’. We look forward to helping make sure this bill delivers that long overdue transformation”.
Robin Fieth, CEO of the Building Societies Association, said: “We welcome the plans to revise the planning framework to get Britain building again. A coherent plan to build more homes across all tenures, enabling diversity of supply, as well as delivering the necessary infrastructure, is vital to address the current housing crisis. Building societies and credit unions look forward to working with the government to help more people buy a home of their own.
“The Renters’ Rights Bill which aims to improve the private rented sector to prevent no fault evictions and empower tenants to challenge unreasonable rent increases is welcome and we look forward to seeing the detail.
“We welcome the government’s commitment to publish draft legislation to reform audit and corporate governance and remove unnecessary rules on smaller companies defined as Public Interest Entities. Audit fees for the sector have almost tripled over the past five years. We will be looking for greater proportionality in the audit regime for smaller, simpler businesses that are currently classified as Public Interest Entities.
“The announcement to establish the Industrial Strategy Council is welcome as business needs to be involved if the government is to deliver on its growth agenda. By including mutuals and co-operatives the government will make a strong start to delivering on its commitment to double the co-operative and mutual economy.”
