29/09/2026
Today the Department for the Economy published our report on the potential for cooperatives in the North of Ireland.
For decades we've been told there's only one way to run an economy: privatise, deregulate, and let the market decide. The results are low pay, precarious work, wealth flowing out of our communities.
When workers and communities own and control the businesses they depend on, profits stay local, jobs are more secure, and people have a real say in their working lives. Co-ops don't outsource and they don't asset-strip. They build.
This isn't a utopian idea. From Mondragón to Emilia-Romagna to the co-ops already working here at home, it's a proven model. With the right support from government, it could be a real part of how we build a sustainable economy here.
https://www.economy-ni.gov.uk/publications/democratic-alternative-unlocking-potential-northern-irelands-co-operative-sector-nigov