The Conservative Co-operative Movement, set up to explore creative ways in which communities can deliver public services, will today call on the Conservatives and other political parties to take new steps to boost volunteer participation in co-ops.

These include:

• greater relief from business rates for struggling rural shops that turn into co-ops and use people power to grow
• allowing the tax-deductibility of small donations to co-ops
• and most radically, Participation Tax Relief, by which start-up co-ops could earn better tax treatment by recruiting new members and putting them to work.

The Conservative Co-operative Movement is headed by one of the Conservative party's leading thinkers, Jesse Norman. Norman is Senior Fellow at Policy Exchange and the Conservative candidate in Hereford and South Herefordshire. He has written several books that discuss the philosophy and possible policies of a future Tory government under the banner of 'Compassionate Conservatism'.

Jesse Norman, Chair of The Conservative Co-operative Movement, said:

"We are working on new ways to empower communities and create greater citizen energy.

"Every day we see the limits of the State's power to deliver better public services. Co-ops are a British invention, and we believe they have the capacity to promote better standards in schools and hospitals. Not only that, they can also help develop more responsible citizens, who act in ways that demand the best of them and others.

"The ideas we are announcing today spring naturally from Compassionate Conservatism, because they build independent institutions and encourage and reward social responsibility."

For more details contact Jesse Norman on

or 07930 650 164.