The first Co-operative party MP was elected in 1918, but by 1924 the party had forged links with Labour and agreed to field only joint candidates. Nowadays, the party headquarters is slap bang in the gaudy banality of Leicester Square. The Co-op party logo is emblazoned on the front door on a gold panel. But the organisation is moving out of Victory House and on to London Bridge to save money. I'd feel it was unfair because you'd be balloting people with all sorts of affiliations.
New mutualism is a close cousin of New Labour.
When it first raised its designer head, it gave the political cartoonists a collective giggle. But when the Co-op party talks about how people can work together, can own together, and take on if not defeat the multinationals, it sounds more radical than Labour. What's more, the party has not denounced the word socialism, though Hunt is quick to distinguish his brand from state and muncipal socialism. Co-operative socialism is not something you do to people. It's something people do for themselves.