they were to have any success in the real world. The chair of the commission maintained hope, writing "In Britain, the co-operative movement is widely seen as dated and out of touch. But the principles it embraces are in tune with modern thinking; the democratisation of communications offered by the internet and other technological developments could yet herald another golden age for co-operation". The final recommendations were published in the commission's final report. Final report The commission's final report, the co-operative advantage: Creating a successful family of Co-operative businesses was published in January 2001. The report contained sixty recommendations for ways in which the Movement could improve and survive into the new century, covering topics as diverse as the creation of a single brand for the consumer co-operative societies to securing co-operatives' assets for future generations of their members. The report was formally presented to the Movement at the Co-operative Congress in May 2001. In writing the report, the commission had been very mindful of the Gaitskell Commission's report, whose recommendations had been widely ignored despite being "right in nearly everything it recommended". However, this time the Movement proved more willing to put into practice the commission's recommendations: at the 2005 Co-operative Congress, it was announced that 43 of the 60 recommendations had already been completed, and that a further 14 were "well on their way to being completed". Following the commission's report, the Co-operative Movement reported a "profound" restructuring of its business, a "large" increase in profitability and a "considerably greater" delivery of social benefit. References External links Co-operative Commission website Co-operatives in the United Kingdom