The Radical Scribe

"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." –Justice Louis Brandeis

Words spoken many years ago that are just as relevant today.

We must continue the fight to get big money out of politics.

The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben picture beside text reading 'Final Submission for DBT's Call for Evidence'

We have submitted to Government's call for evidence on business support for mutuals.

This is a once in a parliament opportunity to make the collective voice of EO heard.

Discover more and read the final submission in full

➡️ employeeownership.co.uk/Site/content...

You can still get tickets for: Future Co-ops 2026: Power to the People.

📍Birmingham, 27–28 February 2026.

It's a two-day conference exploring how collective action & co-operation can rebuild trust & deliver real power to communities.

Tickets: buff.ly/7ydLFMt
@coopfutures.bsky.social

A graph showing the Gini co-efficient for Great Britain (1961 - 2020) showing inequality before and after housing costs and showing a huge rise in inequality in the 1980s which has never been reversed since. It is now entrenched.

📢 INEQUALITY GRAPHIC OF THE WEEK (No.3) 🔽

The surge in inequality in the 1980s ripped the UK apart. No govt since has reversed it (or even tried). It is entrenched.

Source: Prof. Danny Dorling
Shattered Nation: Inequality and the Geography of a Failing State
www.dannydorling.org/books/shatte...

Rooted in resistance: The legacy and power of Black cooperatives | Black Future Co-Op Fund For generations, Black communities have turned to cooperative economics as a means of survival, resistance, and self-determination. We take this moment to reflect on the history of cooperatives, and t...

𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭, 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

#BlackHistoryMonth

A green square graphic with purple confetti running down the right hand side and the logo for the UK Employee Ownership Awards in the bottom left corner. The text reads: 'Celebrating your people powered success #OwningIt'

Nominations have officially opened for the UK Employee Ownership Awards 2026!

You’ve got until 8 April to get your submissions in.

Share success, showcase how you’re Owning It, and help us propel EO into the mainstream.

employeeownership.co.uk/Site/content...

#UKeoAwards #OwningIt

'Devolution will ultimately succeed or fail based on whether people see real improvements in their lives, including their health.' Katherine Merrifield, Assistant Director at the Health Foundation Tom Lloyd Goodwin, Deputy Chief Executive at the Centre for Local Economic Strategies

With our country facing deep and growing health challenges rooted in, and with consequences for, the wider economy and society, Katherine Merrifield and @clesthinkdo.bsky.social​'s Tom Lloyd Goodwin argue health improvement should be a core test of devolution.

Read more ⬇️
https://bit.ly/3MqZcp2

Workforce Composition of the Sector Race and Ethnicity of Workers 42% White 37% Hispanic or Latine 13% Black or African American 5% Asian 1% American Indian or Alaska Native 1% Middle Eastern or North African <1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander Gender Distribution 64% Women 30% Men 3% Nonbinary 2% Gender Nonconforming <1% Another Gender Worker Ownership Among Respondents Nearly eight in ten workers (79%) are member-owners, while the remaining 21% are non-owner employees. Leadership Representation Nearly three-quarters of the sector identified as women-led. Businesses were asked to self-identify their leadership representation, with the option to select more than one category. 72% Women-led 42% LGBTQIA+-led 30% Immigrant-led 22% Black-led 17% Other

@usworker.coop's State of the Sector reports on the democratic and worker-owned economy in 2025.

The report showcases a prevalence of diversity and inclusivity in the workforce and in leadership. Workplace democracy is actively empowering the marginalized with a voice in our economy.

How do you expect the Scottish economy to change over the next five years and what can the government do to help? As we chew over the details of the Scottish budget, Holyrood consults our panel of experts

"We shouldn’t simply accept that poverty, inequality and environmental degradation are worth the price of a growing economy"

@naomimason.bsky.social for @holyroodmag.bsky.social's The Huddle on the future of Scotland's economy 🖊️👇

www.holyrood.com/inside-polit...

💡 Are you looking for a different approach to your business or community enterprise? Are you thinking about starting a co-operative? Our 'Is a co-op right for you?' FREE webinar series continues in 2026 delivered through Business Support for Co-ops, in partnership with The Co-operative Bank 👇

Graph showing international comparison of child poverty rates from 2012-14 to 2019-21. The UK is the worst performer of all the nations with a proportional increase of around 20%.

📢 INEQUALITY GRAPHIC OF THE WEEK (No.2) 🔽

The UK has a terrible recent record on child poverty, the worst of all the nations below, worsened by the 2-child benefit cap from 2017.

Source: Prof. Danny Dorling
Peak Injustice: Solving Britain’s Inequality Crisis
www.dannydorling.org/books/peakin...

A graph showing the wealth share of the top 1% in US, France, UK, and Sweden falling from 1895 to around 1980 and then going into reverse and increasing for the past 4 decades.

📢 INEQUALITY GRAPHIC OF THE WEEK (No.1) 🔽

A century’s worth of progress in reducing inequality has been thrown sharply into reverse in the past four decades.

Source: Prof. Danny Dorling
The Next Crisis: What We Think About The Future
www.dannydorling.org/books/thenex...

When our staff asked a @unioncabcoop.bsky.social driver-owner why he didn't work for Uber or Lyft, he responded,

"Because I grew up here & I’d rather work for a local company than line the pockets of some fat cats in Silicon Valley." ❤️‍🔥 #WorkerPower

www.usworker.coop/blog/coopera...

A New Loan Product Is Helping Power Brooklyn’s Coops A Brooklyn credit union just launched a new loan product designed for worker-owned cooperatives. For one agricultural coop, it’s already made a difference.

Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union has created a new loan program to help worker-owned co-ops access capital, addressing an often significant barrier for the model.

This is impactful for the growth of the democratic economy and in the creation of an alternative system where wealth is shared.

A testing ground for children's care reform More children are in care in the north west than anywhere else in England. A number of pilot schemes now underway could provide solutions for fixing a broken system nationwide.

England's children's care market is broken. Foster carers down 10%, costs spiralling, kids placed hundreds of miles from home. Can Greater Manchester's reforms fix a system in crisis?

Read my piece below for @newstatesman1913.bsky.social: www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/20...

Are you based in #WestYorkshire? Looking for a fairer, more democratic way to start or run a business? Join one of two FREE webinars being run in partnership with Business for Good West Yorkshire – introducing #coops, their benefits and how to access support to start one 👇👇

Senior Digital Engagement Officer - Equality Trust Title: Senior Digital Engagement OfficerHours: Full time (35 hours a week) – we are open to job shares and part time workSalary: £42,064.78  (3.1% inflationary pay increase from 1st April 2026)Location: London (Vauxhall) – we are open to hybrid working with at least 2 days per week working in personBenefits: closure between Christmas and New […]

Do you believe inequality is a crisis? Think you're good at convincing others that's the case? We're looking for a Senior Digital Engagement Officer to develop and implement our digital comms strategy. Apply by 5th Feb!
https://equalitytrust.org.uk/job-vacancy/senior-digital-engagement-officer-2/

Image of a member from Greencity co-operative from the short film - Co-operatives: Owned and controlled by our members.

It’s International Day of Education, a perfect moment to share how co-operatives work and why they matter.💪

This short film, Co-operatives: Owned and controlled by our members, is an ideal way to explain what co-operatives are, how they work, and the impact they make.

For those that may be unfamiliar, a worker co-op is a worker-owned business that practices workplace democracy (one person, one vote). Workers have a say in compensation, working conditions, and the production of goods/services. Worker co-ops are becoming increasingly popular among working people.

Powering up our local economies I am particularly excited about starting 2026, because at the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES), we will be celebrating our 40th birthday. This milestone...

2026 is special to CLES, because it's the year in which we turn 40! 🥳

@sarahlonglands.bsky.social outlines what else we can expect in local economic policy this year, for the MJ ✒️

www.themj.co.uk/powering-loc...

Unbalanced Claire Godfrey, Executive Director of the Balanced Economy Project, talks to Jack Jeffrey about how concentrated corporate power threatens democracy, innovation, and fairness

Unbalanced: Claire Godfrey, Executive Director of @balancedeconomy.bsky.social, talks to Jack Jeffrey about how concentrated corporate power threatens democracy, innovation, and fairness

Are you passionate about championing ethical businesses that do more for people and planet? We have an exciting role that’s all about raising awareness of member-owned businesses - and supporting both new and existing co-operatives.

The average FTSE 100 CEO is making 113 times the median full-time worker's wage – but why rely on averages? Our calculator can tell you exactly how long it'll take a CEO to get paid your salary 🫵
Try it now: https://equalitytrust.org.uk/news/ceos-paid-a-full-years-wage-in-just-29-hours/

Fairness is key to a more cohesive Britain Fairness isn’t just a moral ideal. It is one of the civic conditions that makes collective life possible.

Fairness isn’t just a moral ideal. It is one of the civic conditions that makes collective life possible. A guest article by @emekaforbes.bsky.social

Taxpayers miss out on millions after ‘phoenixism’ at UK recruitment firms Practice where companies are liquidated and reacquired, free of debts, thought to cost taxpayers about £800m a year

🚨 "Phoenixism" is a problem across the economy. It's an easy fix, especially now we have director ID verification. It just needs political will but UK govts (including this one) tend to give firms an easy ride for fear of being seen as "anti-business". 🙄 www.theguardian.com/business/202...

“My hope for 2026 is really simple – that the foundations we laid this year begin to translate into real, tangible change.”

Read our CEO @rosemarley.bsky.social’s wrap up of 2025, and hopes for 2026, in @coopnews.bsky.social ✨👇

A vertical bar graph showing FTSE 100 CEOs grabbing £150,576 almost 4 times the average annual wage (£39,039) over the 12 Days of Christmas.

📢 THANK YOU for your support this year ♥️ Below is a reminder of the gross #inequality that ruins the UK every day. Figures are based on the High Pay Centre’s findings that, in 2024/25, the AVERAGE FTSE 100 CEO gouged a “salary” of £4,580,000. Divide by 365 and you get a daily pay out of £12,548 🤮🤮🤮

♥️ HUGE THANKS to everyone who has followed us, liked, or re-posted our stuff. We're now at 4k followers which is approaching double what we had over at The Bad Place. With your help in 2026, we can amplify the message that we cannot improve our world without reducing economic and social #inequality.

Beloved Community Incubator: Organizing cooperatives, organizing the community | Seed Commons Building power for excluded workers in Washington, DC

Worker ownership empowers marginalized workers, particularly in exploitative and low-wage industries like home care and cleaning. Unlike traditional companies where workers lack agency, co-ops grant them direct control over their jobs and deliver the dignity they deserve.

A photograph of Co-operatives UK CEO, Rose Marley, on stage with arms aloft, addressing a packaged audience at Co-op Congress 2025.

Members. Value. Impact. Co-operation.
Our CEO @RoseMarley1 reflects on a landmark year for the movement and the foundations we’ve built for 2026. Read and share: buff.ly/EYkW1bF