Edward Underwood-Webb

Occupation: Teacher

Co-operative Businesses traded with in last 12 months Food

Skills and experience

I believe in the power of communities. As a local Secondary School Teacher, I am firmly embedded in mine and I care passionately about what happens to it. The Co-op is a significant service provider and employer in my town and I want to help ensure that it puts the needs of its customers first.

Additional information

I am passionate about my community. I grew up here, I work here and now I’m bringing my family up here. So it seems quite natural to me that I should care about its businesses and services. A lot of us in Malvern fill up our shopping baskets at one of the three Co-op stores in town and it makes sense that we should have a say in how they are run.

But I don’t just want you to imagine I’m just focused on my own back yard! If I were elected as a representative for the West Midlands I would make sure that the voice of this fantastic, vibrant and diverse region was heard. I would take the time to listen to a wide range of people and take their ideas forward.

Of course, any business has to be financially sustainable and seek to expand its market share; I would be keen to support the Co-op in these commercial aims. For me, however, there a couple of areas of business operations that are especially close to my heart and would be the focus of my time on the Council.

Getting by seems to be getting a lot harder these days. People are turning to food banks to feed their families and the number of people who are vulnerably housed or sleeping rough in this country is increasing. That’s just not right. I would like to see the Co-op commit to working with local food banks and homeless charities to distribute food which the stores are unable to sell, for whatever reason. I’d also like to see our stores offer a wider range of “imperfect” fruit and vegetables at a competitive price in order to make healthy food easier to afford, support our farmers and those they hire, and reduce the unacceptable level of food waste we have in this country.

As a father of two fantastic children, I want what’s best for them in the future. I want them grow up in a world that tackles the big problems our planet is facing rather than just sticking its head in the sand and pretending it’ll all work out. That’s why I would also want to focus on the environmental sustainability of the Co-operative Group. If we can make our stores, warehouses and logistics more environmentally sound then I am convinced we will win, both environmentally and commercially.

As a teacher at the local secondary school, I’m always telling my students that they can just sit on the side lines with life, they’ve got to get involved. So now’s my chance to practise what I preach!