The next 12 months could be very significant for the mutual sector. All polls currently point to a Labour victory at the next general election, whenever it might be called.
It has pledged a financial services review, outlining plans to work with the sector to drive economic prosperity and underpin greater financial stability.
Included in this review was a commitment to double the size of the co-operative and mutual financial services sector.
It was particularly pleasing to see this policy initiative was borne out of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Mutuals, so will hopefully gain cross-party support.
Why focus on mutuals?
Co-operatives and mutual financial organisations have been singled out because of their focus on members not profits, their heritage and their reliability.
The party appreciates the deep links that most mutuals have to their local community and a desire to make a positive contribution to society.
With the majority headquartered outside of London, encouraging mutuals is one way to make levelling up actually happen in practice.
Labour has also noted the strength of the mutual sector in France and Germany and the benefits this brings to both members and their wider economies.
What changes are likely?
To help stimulate the sector and encourage growth, it is likely that a new government would require regulators and policy makers to properly consider the needs of mutuals when introducing new initiatives.
This would give the sector a platform to air its views and put forward new ideas.
They would also look at measures to reduce barriers to growth and alternative sources of finance to give them the means to introduce new products and raise awareness.
What does that mean for us?
Since becoming CEO of Cirencester Friendly, my focus has been on celebrating our values and living up to our promise to be there for members when they need us the most.
We warmly welcome attention being drawn to the positives of the mutual business model and the benefits that came with that approach.
The Labour Party pledge should be seen as a positive move for our sector, notably for the friendly insurers, providing the right climate and conditions to help us to expand.
There seems to be a growing consensus that a strong mutual sector makes sense for the UK, as set out by the cross-party group on mutuals and endorsed by the Association of Financial Mutuals (AFM).
Cirencester Friendly, like the AFM, is politically neutral and we hope the positive position on mutuality is seen as a progressive policy to create modern mutuals and something that all political parties can get behind.
The Mutual Manifesto created by a collaboration of the AFM, the Building Societies Association, the Association of British Credit Unions and Co-operatives UK sets out the contributions mutuals bring to UK financial services and helps to set out how our organisations can respond to the ambition to double the size of the sector.
I’ve also seen first-hand through dealings with the regional parliaments of the UK, there is strong and rising support for mutuality.
At a time when people are increasingly jaded by the actions of faceless multinationals, we firmly believe that the member owned business model offers a viable and attractive alternative, one that resonates with current values.
The more positive attention and coverage we can attract in the run up to the general election the better.
