Cameron/Engels - A new combination!

"Manchester became great in the 19th century when the words 'Manchester liberalism' stood for free trade and capitalism.

And of course the city also inspired another idea - Friedrich Engels lived here for many years and he wrote about the dark side of the industrial revolution."

The above words come from David Cameron's latest speech launching the Conservative Co-operative Movement at a meeting in Manchester last week. The days when a Conservative party Leader would say "there is no such thing as society" seem to be long gone when the current one can now quote Friedrich Engels in a speech!

He then went on to say:

"But capitalism and communism weren't the only ideas to take their inspiration from Manchester.

"In 1844, a few miles up the road from here, a group of 28 weavers and other artisans formed the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers - a local store, selling household necessities and owned by members of the local community.

The Rochdale Pioneers created the first successful co-operative in the world.

And for me the co-operative model represents an enormously exciting possibility for public service reform and the fight against poverty and social breakdown."

Whilst the initial reaction from some may be to deride Conservative support for co-operatives as just warm words, we should remember that only a few years ago many Conservatives would have seen demutualisation as no different to privatisation in creating only one form of ownership and that being a universal panacea.

In the same way that many of the successors to Engels have realised that a modern complex society requires a mix of institutions with a range of ownership - private, public and mutual - to create both a dynamic economy and a strong society, then the successors to Burke and Smith have also come round to a similar view. The interconnection between all these varied institutions can only strengthen communities and encourage engagement with them.

The Foundation Hospitals movement and the work in the 39 New Deal for Community (NDC's) areas to leave a legacy of community assets are already part of that widening mutual movement. They work at their best through a mix of public, private and local mutual initiative.

The fact there is now an even stronger consensus across the three main parties and beyond bodes well for greater support for this expanding sector in future.