The Industrial and Provident Societies Partnership Act 1852 (15 & 16 Vict. c. 31), also known (somewhat unjustifiably) as Slaney's Act,[1] that provided the legislation basis for industrial and provident societies in the United Kingdom. The act was a significant legislative landmark in the establishment of the co-operative movement in the United Kingdom.
Background
Prior to 1852, co-operative societies had protected their members capital by registering under the Friendly Societies Act 1846.[2] However the act specified protection only for purchases, not for sales; so the co-operative societies were forced to use a legal fiction of dubious merit to cover themselves when selling, and it was this that brought home the need for a new statute to regularise their position.[3]