Perhaps the example of community owned football clubs is one that can communicate the benefits of cooperatives and mutuals more than any other. AFC Wimbledon was created by fans in 2002 and rose quickly back into professional football after Milton Keynes took over their old club. FC United of Manchester was founded by supporters after the Glazers plunged Manchester United into multi-millions of pounds worth of debt, and have already been promoted three times in their short history. Swansea City, widely acclaimed for their Premier League performances and 2013 League Cup triumph, are 20 per cent owned by their supporters society. In 2011, the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee ' s report ' Football Governance ', backed such arrangements, but legislation has been slow to follow. This must change.
' Swansea City FC, winners of the 2013 League Cup, are 20 per cent owned by their supporters society '
Starting to create a dialogue around how cooperatives and mutuals are a force for good in workplaces, communities, shops and in the places people live is vital to the agenda. Ultimately this is how an alternative vision for the future of the economy and society can be developed. A society in which people have a greater stake will ultimately be one that becomes happier, more productive, more equitable and much fairer. Making cooperatives and mutuals a centrepiece in the political agenda is the way to achieve this.
' If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich '
John F. Kennedy( former US President)
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