Co-op chair urges anyone unready to back Myners' reforms to speak to her

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/may/12/co-op-chair-myners-reforms-ursula-lidbetter-vote

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The chair of Co-operative Group said on Monday night she was ready to speak personally to anyone not yet ready to back reform proposals for the troubled chain of supermarkets, funeral homes and pharmacies at a crucial vote on Saturday.

Speaking on a webcast at the start of a crucial week for the Co-op, Ursula Lidbetter said she would be "very concerned" if the vote on a resolution based on the key principles proposed by Lord Myners failed, given the £2.5bn losses the group reported for 2013 and the pressure being placed on it by the banks that were owed £1.4bn.

"Anybody who doesn't understand the seriousness of our position should come and talk to me," she said.

The group holds its annual general meeting on Saturday and will conduct a special vote on reforming the way it is run. Members will be asked to back four principles: the creation of a board of directors elected by members, a structure that gives members powers to oversee the board, a "one member, one vote" system and provisions to protect against demutualisation.

Lidbetter, who became chair in the wake of the scandal at the Co-op Bank last year, insisted that Myners' proposals were not "stapled" to the back of the resolution and opened the door to consultation on a package of measures to reform the group beginning on Sunday, immediately after the vote.

"It would be great if we could have a ringing endorsement of the reform agenda," she said.

Myners, who chaired Guardian Media Group until 2008 when he joined the Labour government during the banking crisis, will resign at the AGM after just four months as the independent director on the board. Asked about the hostility he has faced, Lidbetter said: "Don't shoot the messenger, listen to the message."

Myners has been critical of the current board, made up of five members of the independent societies – including Lidbetter, who runs the Lincolnshire Co-op – and 15 representatives of the regional boards, who own 78% of the group and represent eight million members.

Asked why they had not resigned, Lidbetter said: "Believe me, we have talked about it. You can't just wave a magic wand and have a different structure."

She said the board recognised that a vote in favour of those resolutions would lead to the creation a new board – most likely of 10 to 12 members, including the chief executive, who currently does not have a seat on the board.

The seven regional boards and the 21 independent societies that own 22% of the group are currently holding meetings in advance of Saturday's vote.

The largest independent society, the Midcounties, is backing the resolution after initially being concerned – as are the other independent societies – according to Myners.