And because the Co-op was the Co-op, outsiders were also reluctant to scrutinise it. Labour did not want to do so, because the Co-op Movement supports it, and the less-known Co-operative Party is its little sister. It has long been an understood thing not only that the Co-op Group pays money to Labour, and that the Co-op Bank lends it money on easy terms, but also that the treasurers of Labour-run local authorities deposit council funds with it. This year, when those treasurers at last realised that their funds – far too large to be insured – were seriously at risk, they hurried to take them out. Only then did it become impossible for the Co-op to continue. There was a run, if you like, on mutuality.