Credit union modernisation and the limits of voluntarism

Successive UK governments have sought to increase financial inclusion by investing in credit unions. However, responses within the British credit union movement to the government's latest modernisation and expansion proposals reveal a conflict over perceptions of the purpose of credit unions between those who regard them as a means to provide financial services to low income communities, and those who regard them as self-help organisations offering an alternative to mainstream financial services which should remain independent from government initiatives. While this division is not new, it highlight potential limitations to the viability of achieving social inclusion through voluntary mutualism.