The Industrial and Provident Societies Partnership Act 1852, also known (somewhat unjustifiably) as Slaney's Act, was a significant legislative landmark in the establishment of the

co-operative movement The history of the cooperative movement concerns the origins and history of cooperatives across the world. Although cooperative arrangements, such as mutual insurance, and principles of cooperation existed long before, the cooperative movement bega ...

in the United Kingdom.

Background

Prior to 1852, co-operative societies had protected their members capital by registering under the Friendly Societies Act 1846. However the act specified protection only for purchases, not for sales; so the co-operative societies were forced to use a legal fiction of dubious merit to cover themselves when selling, and it was this that brought home the need for a new statute to regularise their position.

Passage

John Ludlow played an important role in promoting the Act of 1852. He had initially proposed a comparable Bill for Whig passage in 1851; but was blocked by

Henry Labouchere Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

at the Board of Trade. The following year

Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a centr ...

persuaded his colleagues that promoting such social reform would be politically advantageous for the Tories, as well as offering a route for working-class energies to be incorporated into society; and the Bill passed into law. The Act not only provided a legal framework for the co-operative movement, but also specified much of its future direction - for example laying down the principle that up to 1/3rd of profits could be shared among members, the rest being used to build up the business.D McDonnell, ''Democratic Enterprises'' (2012) p. 70

References

{{Reflist, 2}

Background

Passage

See also

References

Further reading