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Written By Phillip Blond in the Financial Times

On Monday, Nick Clegg called for the UK to become “more of a John Lewis economy”. The department store has become an emblem of a new capitalism; more mutually owned businesses has been an oft-mooted ambition of all three main UK political parties. But actually making this happen will require radical action.

While in opposition, David Cameron proposed a policy that would encourage public sector workers to create employee owned companies or co-operatives, along John Lewis lines, to take over their own services in the public sector.

Jesse Norman MP has warmly welcomed the announcement today by David Cameron that the Government is planning a new Co-operatives Bill to enhance and extend co-operative ownership in the UK.

Summary of the Bill

The Bill will devolve greater powers to councils and neighbourhoods and give local communities more control over housing and planning decisions.

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In recognition of the immense role co-operatives play in the global community, and to help spread awareness in the hopes for more to develop, the United Nations (UN) launched its International Year of Co-operatives (IYC) on Monday, October 31 in New York.

As the Prime Minister said last year - Big Society is a vision of a society where people in their everyday lives, their homes, their neighbourhoods, their workplace, don’t always turn to officials, local authorities or central government for answers to the problems they face, but instead feel both free and powerful enough to help themselves and their own communities.

Local Government Minister Grant Shapps is urging parish councils to safeguard struggling village shops and pubs for the benefit of local people.

The UK government is moving toward transforming the Post Office, which is currently state-owned, into a mutual.