Co-op says Supreme Court ruling is “a step back”.

[MsPoppoff]

So says a statement from its female boss (my boss).
“This feels like a huge step back, and I want to reassure all our colleagues impacted by the ruling, that you have our support, that you have my personal support, and that we’re doing everything we can to explore how we can do right by our colleagues, stay true to our values…

“Our policies have not changed…. colleagues can continue to use toilets and changing facilities in accordance with their gender…”

Apart from the unwisdom of making clear that they are signed up to misogyny and batshit....

wtf is the sense of alienating your customers and income? The minute you loudly declare a political position's side you've immediately alienated everyone with a different view. It's not like the big virtue signals like 'yay world peace' or 'save the environment', this is majorly devisive, extremist and partisan stuff.

The main point of retail is people wanting to buy your stuff and give you money. Gormless.

It’s Stonewall thinking - anyone who doesn’t agree with us is a bigot, and we don’t want money from bigots anyway.

Hopefully that attitude won’t last long now that everyone complying with the law is a bigot too.

That ratio is a cost saving choice.

The design could be calculated on "able" provision with the extra cost for accessable units so £££

It a minimum standard not a fixed target

Looking online, it seems that only some Co-op stores are run as franchises. Which explains how they can cross-subsidise, if they still do.

I would leak it. I know people are leaking documents and emails like this to JamesEsses on X. I'd also leak it to MichelleDewbs on X, TV presenter on GB News, she's very vocal about women's rights.

Yes, I think political parties have tried the 'we only want votes from the Right Sort of People' thing. Hence yesterday's results.

Wasn't it John Cleese who did the training course for how to run shops that went 'please may I buy something?'
'Yes!'

This is what's needed. People on the doorstep with the evidence of what has happened to women, demanding, 'why do you support this happening to women? Why do you think it should continue?'

I stopped buying from the Co op when they did that advert pledging to donate money from strawberries to transgender causes .
My DH referred to it as the “transgender strawberrygate”.
The advert is still on You Tube .
I used to spend £200 a week in there buying petrol and top ups .
Thats thousands of pounds of sales lost and that’s just me 😎

I completely agree.

These organisations don’t seem to even realise that, by condemning the SC ruling, they’re necessarily saying “women shouldn’t have the rights they currently have in law”.

This needs to be pointed out to them each and every time they condemn the ruling, as they obviously haven’t twigged.

At my branch, it was H&S laws about not obstructing access to fire extinguishers. The manager I complained to about it had it in for me from then on.

I would love to see those hypocritical bastards get absolutely shafted in a tribunal.

How much is provided ultimately falls down to keeping within the requirements and the businesses own money.
If they wanted to add extra at their own cost they would.
Unfortunately they very very rarely do. In fact never in my entire career.
If anyone ever does then perhaps they could put up a sign saying there’s extra provision but I think we’ll be waiting a long time for that.
Ive spent my entire career trying to get extra provision for women. I’m 58 and still trying.

Money talks loudest in the end.

At 58 you are still young so maybe next year?🤷‍♀️

This.

Where was this announced? Was it on a twitter or a press release?

They used to be a lot of different companies but, over the years, most of them have merged. But, yes, there are still some different ones.

Nowadays, around 70% of co-op stores are part of one group (what used to be CWS now just called the Co-op Group with HQ in Manchester).

But the other 30% of stores belong to separate companies. For example, I live near Peterborough and up until 2013 the Anglia Co-op with its HQ in Peterborough was a separate thing covering Cambs, Beds, Suffolk & Norfolk.

In 2013 they merged with the Midlands Co-op and they're now called the Central England Co-op and have about 6% of Co-op stores

Well my waistline will thank me for taking a step back from their (admittedly excellent) doughnuts. And I’m sure they won’t want my law-abiding citizen money anyway, so win-win.

Exactly. They need to be made to own that if they truly want to stand behind it.

If you think women deserve everything that happened to them with men in their spaces? And that women are lesser humans than men? Own it.

An internal comms

Has this now been reported in the papers?

many women on here will be members and can vote at the AGM. We need to start trying to get sensible board members elected or get motions passed. 'We bring a motion that co-op will endeavour to act within the law, and will try not to unlawfully discriminate against anyone' !

I'm a member of midcounties which has a head office in Warwick. I suspect that's different to the one this ceo works for? (Tbh I dont understand how co-op works).
Midcounties co-op has a risk and compliance board. I imagine thet all do. Whichever is the relevant one needs alerting to this risk.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/05/04/ill-protect-trans-people-to-the-end-vows-co-op-boss/

sorry not an archive.

archive.ph/dwXVw

Our organisation has done something similar. Big statement from the CEO on the intranet. Our CEO is a female medical doctor FFS.

We're a scientific organisation and there's still people contradicting biological fact, as well as the law.

Once it becomes even more public and it gets challenged by 'Sex Matters and/or the EHRC, they'll soon retract it.

“Because when you rely on selling stuff to the public, you do what the loudest and scariest bullies demand.”

It seems somewhat of an irony that this aligns with Trump's tactics; mafia style.