Interview with Jim Brown

Interview covers 1970s-2018.

[00:00:02] General discussion. [00:00:50] Jim Brown outlines his early involvement in Canning Street Housing Co-operative, whilst a student at Liverpool University. Discusses his first job post university at Lucas Aerospace and outlines the industrial action that took place here in the 1970s. Discusses how he first came to be involved in Beechwood Training College, Leeds. [00:07:50] Discusses the development of ICOM (Industrial Common Ownership Movement) from DEMINTRY (Association for the Democratic Integration of Industry). Includes discussion of the 1976 Industrial Common Ownership Act, and ICOF (Industrial Common Ownership Finance). Discussion of prominent individuals involved in this development including; Tom Lupton, Manuela Sykes and Robert Oakeshott. Talks about the early development of Beechwood as a training centre for ICOM. [00:15:43] Discusses the links between the Federation of Northern Wholefoods Collectives and ICOM. [00:17:31] Discusses in further detail the development of Beechwood and how he got involved in it. Includes reference to Freer Spreckley a prominent figure in the setting up and running of Beechwood. Mentions his prior job working at Joshua Tetley & Son Brewers in Leeds. Outlines opinions on the National Co-operative Development Agency (NCDA), work with Community Shares Unit, and relationship with Co-operatives UK. [00:29:39] Discusses grant received by Beechwood from the European Social Fund and negotiations with ICOM leading to ICOM receiving the ESF grant and Beechwood being passed to Freer Spreckley. Mentions leaving Tetley's and the early work conducted at Beechwood. [00:36:55] Discusses Anna Whyatts role in the worker co-op movement. Discusses feminism in the worker co-op movement, and at Beechwood. Talks about the work of the Federation of Northern Wholefoods Collectives. Mentions work of Co-operative Development Agencies(CDA's). Talks about the development of the worker co-operative movement through the 1970s/1980s and his piece written in the mid-1980s 'Co-ops the Fading Flavour of the Month.' Talks about links between workers co-operatives and other movements including the Community Enterprise Scheme. Mentions interest of Co-operative Development Agencies in community enterprises. Discusses shutting down of metro-councils/CDA's by the Thatcher government. [00:56:36] Talks about London Co-op Training that was re-branded as Social Enterprise London, funding and work. [01:00:53] Talks about CDA's. Mentions his move away from worker co-ops towards community shares, and differences of opinion in the co-operative movement. [01:17:19] Talks about Community Shares Programme, and community shares work. Talks about co-operative development and work at Baker Brown Associates, a practice serving the social economy.

Jim Brown worked at Lucas Aerospace in the 1970s, he then went on to work at Beechwood Training College, Leeds. He later moved away from workers' co-operatives to work more with community shares. He was one of the partners who established Baker Brown Associates (Bristol), in 1992, a practice serving the social economy.

Philippa Lewis worked as the Project Archivist for the Working Together project (2017-2018) based at the National Co-operative Archive.

Transcript only available for access at the National Co-operative Archive. Some parts of interview redacted due to personal data.

In October 2017 the National Co-operative Archive sent out a request for interview participants from the wider workers' co-operative community to take part in Working Together, a Heritage Lottery Funded project seeking to record and preserve the heritage of the workers' co-operative movement. This interview was recorded in response to this request. The interview was conducted at Bristol Folk House.

Length of Interview: 01:36:50

Recording Equipment: Zoom H2 Handy recorder

Recording Note: Original audio file WAV 48kHz/16 bit. Copy audio file Mp3

Summary and transcript of interview.

Original recording and transcript held at the National Co-operative Archive.