Our Future Plans - Q&A with Debbie & Phil

Hello everyone, I’m Phil Ponsonby, Chief Executive of Midcounties Co-operative. Welcome back to our joint series of podcasts. You may recall from last week’s episode that we mentioned Debbie and I were both involved in society events this week. I’ve been involved in a number of member consultation events, while Debbie has been in Doha at the Second World Social Summit.

 

Debbie’s there representing the International Collective Alliance and the 50 CEOs across the mutual and co-operative sectors. I would have been there, but I’ve been busy with the member events we mentioned last week. Debbie’s been presenting on stage and engaging with national leaders, other co-operators, and people from across the world who share an interest in the UN Sustainability Goals.

 

It’s a really important conference taking place over in Doha, and we’ll hear more from her on that in the future, no doubt.

Here at Midcounties, we’ve been busy talking to our members about the merger through a series of meetings — two held online and two in person, at Walsall and Oxford. They’ve been really busy meetings with lots of fantastic questions.

 

So here’s a summary of the sort of questions that we’ve been asked and the answers we’ve provided, as well as the information we’ve shared with members.

 


It’s been really good to get our member meetings underway. They’ve been well attended, engaging, and it’s been encouraging to see how invested our members are in shaping the future of our societies. The merger information sessions have been lively, thoughtful, and full of insightful questions from members — both in person and online.

 

Those questions have ranged from financial projections and governance structures to community impacts and national services. Members have shown a deep understanding of the issues and a genuine interest in the success of the proposed merger.

I’d say the sessions struck a great balance — providing members with detailed information through Board presentations, while also allowing plenty of time for questions and clarifications in a constructive way.

 

It’s been a privilege to hear directly from our members and witness the passion they have for bringing our co-operative societies together. Their questions reflected curiosity and care for our colleagues and communities. Many asked about arrangements for colleagues, engagement with our partners such as USDAW, the trade union, and our ongoing commitment to the community — whether through the Doing Good Together Fund, volunteering, or other initiatives ensuring we maintain those commitments long term.

 

There were also lots of questions about our businesses and how they’ll continue to be supported in the new society. These discussions have provided helpful insight into what matters most to members and will guide us as we move into the formal meetings beginning the week of the 17th of November.

This level of engagement is exactly what makes our co-operative model so powerful.

 

I hope it demonstrates that we’re shaping this together — members, colleagues, Board members, and executive management — all pushing the agenda forward as a collective.

It was also great to hear from one of our suppliers at one of the meetings, speaking about our commitment to local suppliers. These meetings are a valuable opportunity to respond to concerns, gather suggestions, and ensure we’re addressing the right topics.

 

I’m looking forward to the next set of meetings — the formal sessions. As a reminder, the first of those is on Monday, 17th November, which is our formal Midcounties meeting. The Central Co-op formal meeting follows on Wednesday, 19th November.

 

That’s it for this week’s update — I hope you’ve found it useful. As always, if you’ve missed any of our previous podcasts, they’re available on all the usual platforms. Please do take the time to listen back, and keep sending in your questions. It’s really important that you continue to ask us about any aspect of the proposed merger, and we’ll do our very best to answer them.

 

And don’t forget the very important meetings coming up for both Midcounties Co-operative and Central Co-op.

• Monday, 17th November – Midcounties formal meeting, where members will be asked to vote on the proposed merger.
• Wednesday, 19th November – Central Co-op member meeting on the rule changes necessary for the merger.
• Tuesday, 2nd December – Midcounties confirmatory meeting, where members will again be asked to approve the merger.

If you haven’t yet booked onto those meetings, please do so. Take the opportunity to exercise your rights as members and make your vote count.

 

In the meantime, thanks for listening, and as always, thank you for the brilliant work you do in supporting our members and our communities.

Thanks everyone.