It is with great sadness that we heard of the death of Nigel Todd this weekend. Nigel was a comrade, friend and a great supporter of the Solidarity Economy Association since its formation.
It was Nigel’s encouragement which led us to propose the first member resolution of the Co-operative College, (of which he was the Chair) which committed the College to support the co-operative movement of the Rojava Revolution. At every College event we ever attended, he used the opportunity to raise awareness of the transformations taking place in North and East Syria.
He was always a great supporter of our Co-operation in Mesopotamia project. He attended several of our workshops and was always ready to help and contribute in whatever way he could, supporting the Water for Rojava and the #CoopsRiseUp4Rojava campaigns.
He was a regular ‘go to’ for his encyclopedic knowledge of co-operative and working class history. It was only earlier this year that we interviewed him for material for a new workshop series we are developing on the history of the UK co-op movement and its revolutionary potential.
Nigel was also an active proponent of the solidarity economy strategy of building solidarity between the co-op movement and other strands of the left, which the College was pioneering through its work on Union Co-operatives.
We will miss his disarming, gentle spoken ways, and insightful wisdom.
