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Last week, a comment appeared under my last LDV piece from Dennis Delice, in which he said he would be interested in an internal party group focused on furthering the case for economic democracy by encouraging a more co-operative and mutualistic economy. After reading it, I got in touch with Dennis via LinkedIn, and within a few hours, we had brought the idea to life.

The Grimond Society launched on Wednesday, 2 July, to put economic democracy (in this context, a focus on co-operatives, mutuals, social enterprises, co-production, co-determination, and co-ownership) at the heart of Liberal Democracy policy.

We named it after Jo Grimond because this was the same cause he championed over six decades ago. He wanted workers to stand alongside shareholders in company law, praised employee mutuals long before they were fashionable, and helped found Job Ownership Limited; the forerunner of today’s Employee Ownership Association.

He called employee ownership “socialism without the state”. This wasn’t in praise of socialism, but a dig at the statist belief that workers can only benefit from a complete overhaul of capitalism and an over-concentrated state, which could be disproven by economic democracy. We believe this still holds, and it’s time the party makes it clear once more.

None of this is a new idea, even inside our party. Richard Warren argued the very same thing back in 2016, and the comments on his piece talk about a group similar to this one that ultimately fell through.

We took these lessons, we learnt, and applied them to the Grimond Society. It’s built differently, and deliberately. Members join in one of two tiers: an active core takes on named tasks and carries the work between meetings, and a wider circle of supporters is called on only for specific tasks: a signature, a share, a room filled.

Nobody is ever assigned work they didn’t choose, and nobody will ever just get noise from us.

The Society’s first objective is already set: a policy motion to the Spring Conference in York next year. The motion will rest on the principle of parity, not privilege. We’re not looking to force organisations to become co-operatives, and we do not believe the state should “pick winners”. What we believe is that the state is no longer a neutral actor, with company law benefitting shareholder firms, and investors in conventional start-ups enjoying tax reliefs not reciprocated for co-operative capital.

A co-op could outperform a private firm but still be unable to raise money on equal terms, not because the market is biased against them, but because the rules are. We want to level the playing field for cooperatives, mutuals and social enterprises, then let the market decide.

If this sounds like your kind of politics, membership is open to every party member, and there will be a place for you if you either want to take on a named role or support us when it counts, by signing petitions and sharing posts. You can join here and find us on Facebook and Instagram at The Grimond Society.

Jo Grimond had a vision. We believe it is time to enact it.

* Jack Meredith is a member of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and an active campaigner and canvasser with Swansea and Gower Liberal Democrats. His writing focuses on democratic reform, social justice, trade unionism, economic democracy, and the institutional foundations of effective government. He has written for the Fabians, Lib Dem Voice, Liberator, Nation Cymru, Bylines Cymru, and Centre Think Tank.