Co-op 'chaos' as Myners quits amid opposition to reforms
Group was 'very uncomfortable' with former City minister's plans to tear up boardroom structure
LORD MYNERS, the former City minister brought in to reform the troubled Co-operative Group just four months ago has handed in his resignation.
Myners was tasked with drawing up a blueprint to revive the fortunes of the Co-op, which is on course to report a £2bn loss next week.
But, according to The Guardian, he quit after his proposals were met with a barrage of opposition, and his departure leaves the group in "chaos".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Myners, who took on the role of independent director for a salary of £1 in December, had planned to tear up the existing boardroom structure and replace it with a publicly listed company style model. However, the largest of the group's independent societies, the Midcounties, voted against his proposals earlier this week.
The initial findings of his review said the Co-op's elected directors had overseen "breathtakingly value-destructive" decisions, such as the group's takeovers of the Britannia building society and supermarket chain Somerfield. Too many directors did not have any serious business experience and were therefore not qualified to keep senior managers in check, he said.
The Co-op says Myners' review will continue despite his resignation, but his departure is "another significant blow for the business", reports the BBC.
The group's chief executive, Euan Sutherland, resigned last month after he described the business as "ungovernable".
Kamal Ahmed, BBC business editor, says the spate of resignations suggests that the Co-op is "very uncomfortable" with the radical changes being proposed.
"Many in the Co-op are convinced that it was not the organisation's democratic structures and mutual status that were to blame for the business's woes. Rather, they argue that it was hubristic managers who have since left," says Ahmed. "Lord Myners, who said that the governance standards he found at the Co-op were 'shocking', would beg to differ."
It has been a disastrous year for the Co-op, which revealed that its bank had a £1.5bn hole in its balance sheet last May. Its former chairman, the Reverend Paul Flowers, was also embroiled in allegations involving class A drugs.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The four presidents who were assassinated in office
The Explainer The unlucky men who fell victim to successful plots against their lives
By David Faris Published
-
Canada's carbon tax in the crosshairs
Under the radar PM Justin Trudeau's flagship green policy has become increasingly unpopular as citizens grapple with high inflation and cost-of-living crisis
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: October 14, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Labour shortages: the ‘most urgent problem’ facing the UK economy right now
Speed Read Britain is currently in the grip of an ‘employment crisis’
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will the energy war hurt Europe more than Russia?
Speed Read European Commission proposes a total ban on Russian oil
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will Elon Musk manage to take over Twitter?
Speed Read The world’s richest man has launched a hostile takeover bid worth $43bn
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Shoppers urged not to buy into dodgy Black Friday deals
Speed Read Consumer watchdog says better prices can be had on most of the so-called bargain offers
By The Week Staff Published
-
Ryanair: readying for departure from London
Speed Read Plans to delist Ryanair from the London Stock Exchange could spell ‘another blow’ to the ‘dwindling’ London market
By The Week Staff Published
-
Out of fashion: Asos ‘curse’ has struck again
Speed Read Share price tumbles following the departure of CEO Nick Beighton
By The Week Staff Published
-
Universal Music’s blockbuster listing: don’t stop me now…
Speed Read Investors are betting heavily that the ‘boom in music streaming’, which has transformed Universal’s fortunes, ‘still has a long way to go’
By The Week Staff Published
-
EasyJet/Wizz: battle for air supremacy
Speed Read ‘Wizz’s cheeky takeover bid will have come as a blow to the corporate ego’
By The Week Staff Published