The Co-operative Movement and Communities in Britain, 1914-1960: Minding Their Own Business. By Nicole Robertson.

Abstract

This thematically structured book about the British co-operative movement is a welcome addition to the field of co-operative studies and historical studies in general. The themes covered in the book are: ‘the impact of the movement on the economic and recreational lives of its members; consumption and consumer issues; and the role of the co-operative movement played within the labour movement’ (p. 11). Geographically we travel from the capital to mining communities in Wales into the Midlands and up to Scotland. The eight retail societies studied reflects, according to the author, both the general development of a consumer co-operative movement in Britain and the variations in character that was the outcome of interaction between central and local levels within the movement. Besides writing a history about co-operative developments, Robertson also wishes to use the co-operative material to tell us something about community life in a number of villages, towns, and cities in times of war, boom, depression, and prosperity in Britain.