Please leave the politics and do your job!

Who can vote:

www.co-operative.coop/get-involved/voting

It was probably 73% of members who voted...

I get email invites to the actual meetings. I had one to this too.
And I voted.

www.co-operative.coop/2025-motions

Motions 12 - 13: Individual Member Motions

These are Ordinary Resolutions and are motions put forward directly by our Individual Members. They are advisory (non-binding).

The Board recommends that members read the Board’s response to these motions before voting.

12 Motion from Individual Members - Animal Welfare

CARRIED

For: 90.04%

Against: 9.06%

13 Motion from Individual Members – Trading with Israel

CARRIED

For: 72.8%

Against: 27.2%

assets.ctfassets.net/5ywmq66472jr/3t5zeE9NtECWOcbwe6EbFl/cb688a2ccd70c908325f4d6ebe96011f/Motion_13.pdf

GrannyGravy13

Claremont Hugo Boss supplied the Nazis with uniforms, Mercedes and BMW supplied vehicles and tanks, doesn’t seem to have damaged their public profile or bank accounts.

Did you actually read my post? My grandfather, once he realised what was going on in Germany, refused to see anymore Nazi uniform. Not because what was happening did him any harm, but because he knew it was wrong. So it did damage his bank accounts, and his public profile, as many didn't understand why he felt so strongly about it.

Hugo Boss, Mercedes and BMW continued regardless.

Refused to sell any more. He cancelled the contracts at great cost to him. The factory never recovered actually, and he died just before I was born, in 1950.

Claremont

So when my grandfather refused to continue to make German uniforms in the late 30s, despite them being one of his biggest client and boycott would severely affect his business at the worst possible time (after the big commercial Crisis of the 30s) because of what was happening to Jews- he was 'virtue signalling'.

Ah well.

No, he wasn't, he was acting in accordance with his principles.

Refusing to export uniforms to the Government of a hideous regime is understandable and he deserves our admiration.

A supermarket refusing to import food from farmers in a country where they object to the regime is the converse of that.

Exporting military uniforms to a Government intent upon invading other countries and eradicating a whole race of people is different from importing food from farmers who may in fact disagree with their own Government's actions.
You said yourself that Israeli friends disagree with Netanyahu's actions.

But that's just my opinion and I don't know what the answer is.

The thing is, Allira, if you were a Christian bookshop you would be unlikely to stock anti-christian texts... Logically you could but the choice is not to.

Any store will have its own ethical base. It may have a very low bar - like some fast fashion seems to - and it may aspire to something very different.
There were brands in the 1980s (such as M&S and Next) who decided to pull their fabric sourcing out of South Africa. They didn't have a "membership" as such, to ask but may have gone to shareholders to ask.

www.aamarchives.org/campaigns/boycott.html

Claremont

Refused to sell any more. He cancelled the contracts at great cost to him. The factory never recovered actually, and he died just before I was born, in 1950.

What an interesting and poignant comment.

From the Co-op website:

Become a member
We’re owned by our members.

Join us for £1 and you’ll get:

personalised offers, including your £1 back off your first food shop instore
exclusive Member Prices
early access to ticket sales at Co-op Live
a chance to have a say in how we're run and support your community

Allira

Claremont

So when my grandfather refused to continue to make German uniforms in the late 30s, despite them being one of his biggest client and boycott would severely affect his business at the worst possible time (after the big commercial Crisis of the 30s) because of what was happening to Jews- he was 'virtue signalling'.

Ah well.

No, he wasn't, he was acting in accordance with his principles.

Refusing to export uniforms to the Government of a hideous regime is understandable and he deserves our admiration.

A supermarket refusing to import food from farmers in a country where they object to the regime is the converse of that.

Exporting military uniforms to a Government intent upon invading other countries and eradicating a whole race of people is different from importing food from farmers who may in fact disagree with their own Government's actions.
You said yourself that Israeli friends disagree with Netanyahu's actions.

But that's just my opinion and I don't know what the answer is.

Thank you for your opinion Allira, and yes, I can see the difference.

As said above, I can only base my comments on the boycotts of South AFrican products during Apartheid. Some of the farm owners did not support Appartheid, but they were very few. And of course their workers, no longer slaves, but honesty not far better, did lose out. But most would agree now that it was worthwhile and did help lead to change.

As said before, no-one suffered from from the banishment of slavery, than the slaves. Owners were heavily compensated- slaves got 'freedom' - freedom to have no work, no housing, no nothing at all, for a long time, and then lose everything they had worked for since, at the time of Apartheid. NONE would wish to be back to slavery all the same.

no-one suffered more

Ditto Monica.. didn’t the Palestinians vote in Hamas?

Yes, Hamas was voted in by the Paelestinians. They subsequently took permanent power and disposed of political opponents.

Mt61

Ditto Monica.. didn’t the Palestinians vote in Hamas?

How interesting, they voted for Hamas. Who were the other candidates and what would happen to a family who wished to choose somebody other than Hamas.

Public criticism of Hamas is rare, with protests violently dispersed and opponents jailed, tortured and killed - this protest took place in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza on 26 March

Source BBC ( that crazed left wing organisation)

lafergar

Mt61

Ditto Monica.. didn’t the Palestinians vote in Hamas?

How interesting, they voted for Hamas. Who were the other candidates and what would happen to a family who wished to choose somebody other than Hamas.

In 2007 they were the good guys who promised a new future. That didn’t last long the very quickly changed their colours and stockpile arms to attack Israell

Exactly David49

Claremont

Allira

Claremont

So when my grandfather refused to continue to make German uniforms in the late 30s, despite them being one of his biggest client and boycott would severely affect his business at the worst possible time (after the big commercial Crisis of the 30s) because of what was happening to Jews- he was 'virtue signalling'.

Ah well.

No, he wasn't, he was acting in accordance with his principles.

Refusing to export uniforms to the Government of a hideous regime is understandable and he deserves our admiration.

A supermarket refusing to import food from farmers in a country where they object to the regime is the converse of that.

Exporting military uniforms to a Government intent upon invading other countries and eradicating a whole race of people is different from importing food from farmers who may in fact disagree with their own Government's actions.
You said yourself that Israeli friends disagree with Netanyahu's actions.

But that's just my opinion and I don't know what the answer is.

Thank you for your opinion Allira, and yes, I can see the difference.

As said above, I can only base my comments on the boycotts of South AFrican products during Apartheid. Some of the farm owners did not support Appartheid, but they were very few. And of course their workers, no longer slaves, but honesty not far better, did lose out. But most would agree now that it was worthwhile and did help lead to change.

As said before, no-one suffered from from the banishment of slavery, than the slaves. Owners were heavily compensated- slaves got 'freedom' - freedom to have no work, no housing, no nothing at all, for a long time, and then lose everything they had worked for since, at the time of Apartheid. NONE would wish to be back to slavery all the same.

I do remember that and we did ourselves boycott S African produce. That was started by a politician who was leader of the anti-apartheid movement, I think.

I'm not sure about the Co-op's stance or if it will make any difference. As usual, it will be ordinary people who will suffer, farmers and farm workers in this case if the movement took off.
Food is being used as a weapon by Israel anyway.
We can, as individuals, make up our own minds what to do.

It's a very difficult conundrum.

PoliticsNerd

From the Co-op website:

Become a member
We’re owned by our members.

Join us for £1 and you’ll get:

personalised offers, including your £1 back off your first food shop instore
exclusive Member Prices
early access to ticket sales at Co-op Live
^a chance to have a say in how we're run and support your community^

I can't remember my Co-op number and my membership must have lapsed but I can remember my mother's number which I had to recite often when I ran errands.

I never shop at the co-op, way too expensive now. Ours went years ago, but do see them in other towns.

The way I see it, the Co-op and any other business, food related or not can boycott goods from any country they choose and us, the shoppers can equally boycott those stores if we choose.
Since there isn’t much on supermarket shelves from Israel it doesn’t matter to me.

Mt61

I never shop at the co-op, way too expensive now. Ours went years ago, but do see them in other towns.

They are more expensive than most supermarkets it’s true, but handy if round the corner for a few items you run out of.

Oreo

The way I see it, the Co-op and any other business, food related or not can boycott goods from any country they choose and us, the shoppers can equally boycott those stores if we choose.
Since there isn’t much on supermarket shelves from Israel it doesn’t matter to me.

I haven't seen any fruit or nuts from Israel for a long time anywhere.

Not that I've been in a Co-op for years either, there is one about half an hour away with a Lidl next door to it.

Oreo

The way I see it, the Co-op and any other business, food related or not can boycott goods from any country they choose and us, the shoppers can equally boycott those stores if we choose.
Since there isn’t much on supermarket shelves from Israel it doesn’t matter to me.

Yes, they can, of course, my concern is that some of the countries on the Co-op's blacklist have populations which are extremely poor, farming is high on the list of occupations and the people will suffer even more.

It's all very well having high ethical standards if you can tolerate the thought of others suffering because of that.

Surely the alternative is to support corrupt regimes by default though Allira?
It would be very interesting to have an in depth look at other supermarkets. At least the Co Op has always been upfront about its operating principles, whereas I suspect a similar deep dive into the way other supermarkets operate would not make pretty reading.