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Summer of Heroes Fundraising Campaign Update

Northern reporter PETER LAZENBY talks to the Star about a renaissance of Yorkshire activism for the paper

Peter Lazenby is a veritable household name in the county where he worked for decades telling ordinary people’s tales for the Yorkshire Evening Post.

Since August 2012 he’s been the Morning Star’s northern reporter.

But his commitment doesn’t stop at telling the real stories that matter in a part of Britain with a proud industrial heritage.

Now, together with his wife Joan Heath and the firm commitment of a growing band of supporters across West Yorkshire, he’s been part of a inspirational renaissance of activism that’s doing the paper proud.

It also acts as a template that other readers can follow.

From their base in Calder Valley they’ve made the famous Hebdon Bridge Trades Club their spiritual home, hosting fundraisers and events for the people’s paper.

Lazenby recalls the launch meeting of the local readers and supporters group last year. “I think about 20 people turned up,” he says. 

“We publicised the meeting through the Trades Club website and members’ e-mail network, which reaches about 1,000 club members.

“At the meeting we formed the group and decided to organise a launch event — a fundraising social and concert on a Sunday afternoon in August.

“Some months earlier I had met actor Maxine Peake through a project she was involved in with mutual friends. Maxine is a long-time Morning Star supporter and lives just over the Pennines in Salford. 

We contacted her and she agreed to do a spot at the first social, which was on a Sunday afternoon.”

With Peake signed up the event was a resounding success and drew in around 90 people.

“We did a merchandise stall, raffle, and put on home-cooked curries for donations.

“The event involved a team of eight volunteers and raised £800.”

Over less than a year, through fundraisers they’ve chalked up around £2,000 for the Morning Star.

“We’ve had no trouble getting volunteer performers, some well-known locally, others less so,” says Lazenby.

“The calibre and popularity of the performers of course influences the turnout at the gigs.

“Some of those who come are there for the bands — but that’s a key part of the audience for us.

“At all the gigs we do a presentation from the stage, informing the uninformed about the paper, its role, about ways to support the paper — shares, Fighting Fund, regular orders etc.

“We always have share applications on the stall.”

Whenever articles relevant to Yorkshire appear one of the supporters’ group makes sure it gets sent out via Twitter.

“It’s attracting attention,” reports Lazenby. “A Sheffield feature I did this week was picked up by the organisation involved in the feature who mailed it to their 400 members.”

So how do they organise their activities?

Lazenby replies: “We have a core of four or five people who run Calder Valley support group, but can call on at least another half-dozen to help at specific events.

“We haven’t yet started regular street sales but hope to do so.

“From the start we’ve had contact with our neighbours, the Bradford supporters group — another newish group, established maybe nine months or so before us and involving Bob Sproule and Ann Lee, two Morning Star veterans.”

Inspired by the success of their Calder Valley initiative, supporters there decided to raise their ambitions higher.

“At last year’s AGM of Yorkshire and the Humber TUC, Unite proposed a motion of support for the Morning Star calling on the regional TUC to organise a Morning Star regional conference, and to circulate unions and branches encouraging support for the paper.

“Subsequently I had a meeting with Yorkshire and the Humber regional TUC secretary Bill Adams in Leeds to discuss implementation of the motion.

“I’ve known and worked with Bill in my reporting capacity for years. He thought a conference might be just a talking shop, something that could be done later. But he said the regional TUC would make a donation towards the setting up of each new supporters’ group in the region.

“We used a TUC grant to fund the first Calder Valley launch concert. A further one funded another launch meeting and social to establish a Leeds support group.”

Work has since begun on setting up other groups in the county.

“Huddersfield in West Yorkshire is becoming an increasingly active area.

“We contacted the secretary of Huddersfield Trades Council Bob Stoker, who we were told was sympathetic. He invited us to speak at a trades council meeting, which we did, talking about my experiences in the Establishment media and how it works against working people and our movement, and ending with a short address about the paper.

“We came away with six or seven names of people interested in establishing a Huddersfield district support group.”

Once again finding a base for fundraising activities was a priority.

“We have found a perfect venue — the Red and Green Club at Milnsbridge, which was relaunched last year by activists who have taken over the running of what was Milnsbridge Socialist Club, which dates from the 1890s,” explains Lazenby.

“The club has agreed to host a launch meeting and social to establish a Huddersfield district support group, and has also invited us to run Morning Star stalls at their events — including a day of activity involving local co-operatives.”

“We were given the name of a contact in Hull, and were invited to speak at a joint meeting involving the People’s Assembly, including trades council activists.

“Again, names came forward at the meeting, and we’ve been invited back for another meeting where we hope to establish a Hull group.”

Lazenby says that trades council structures have provided a vital path through which to reach out into existing networks.

And he believes that the whole of northern England is ripe to follow the trail that he and comrades have blazed in Yorkshire.

“Potential exists in the neighbouring North West and Northern TUC regions, both of which I cover for the paper.

“There are already some long-standing support groups there — particularly Merseyside, Manchester and Newcastle.

“But there are many towns which may be big enough to support their own group. In the north-west we think of Rochdale, Burnley, Blackburn, Preston and others.”

He’s keen to emphasise the need for links to be made between existing groups and their excellent work with the goal of creating this new wave of activism.

“We don’t want to overlap and certainly don’t want to tread on anyone’s toes,” says Lazenby.

“In Yorkshire we’re going to propose that all the region’s support groups get together to exchange experiences. I’m sure we in the new groups could learn a lot from the veterans of South Yorkshire and people like Bob and Ann in Bradford.”

 
Pete's Top Tips

1. Seeking out a sympathetic local social venue is a big help, both for fundraising events and meetings eg Hebden Bridge Trades Club and Milnsbridge Red and Green Club in West Yorkshire.

2. Trades Councils are a good starting point for forming new groups where none exists. There may already be individual Morning Star readers active on them.

3. Contacts within the movement are vital. We’re lucky in already having contact networks in Yorkshire and the Humber.

4. When it comes to publicity, the Establishment media won’t publicise events such as holding a formation meeting to discuss setting up a new group, or our fundraising events, so we have to use alternatives, such as organisations’ mailing lists.

5. Regional TUC and trades council email networks are very useful. Then there are all the organisations and campaigns which the Morning Star supports — Palestine solidarity, anti-bedroom tax or local save our NHS campaigns, and many more. They all have email lists.

6. Many supporters may have talents they may not have used, such as our readers and supporters banner-making collective’s skills which have been put to work over the past few months. They can be put to use.

7. We need to look at mobilising new young activists to secure the future.

8. And don’t forget to get in touch with the paper well in advance — an article relevant to the area can do wonders.

 
You have raised £32,305. We still have £117,695 left to raise by September 12

A week on from the editor’s call for a massive July surge, we can report the best week so far in our Summer of Heroes.

But there’s still a mountain to climb.

A fantastic £7,885 has reached the Morning Star in the past week — boosted by another £536 received yesterday.

Elsewhere on this page we detail not just some of the activism that is springing up around the paper to secure its future.

We have also set out the major shortfall we face in this appeal that must be made up if we are to meet our fundraising goal.

With the lean summer months approaching there is a major gulf in our finances that must be filled.

Last week business manager Chris Guiton explained in our weekend edition his belief that the paper has a bright future.

But if new appointments, internal reorganisation and campaigning spirit are to have the time to flourish, we must not falter.

Scottish supporters continue to respond to our call for heroes and pitched in again to boost the week’s total.

Another Unison branch in Scotland, Scottish Healthcare 7397, responded to the appeal put out by the Scottish secretary by giving us £150.

And yet another reader has responded to the challenge to give a day’s wages to the appeal, with a supporter in Glasgow inspired by the Barnstaple “donate a day’s income” suggestion and sending in £92.92.

Norwich and District Trades Council backed us with £50 and a long-time reader in Abbey Wood sent in £65 to commemorate his father and sister.

Comrade anonymous continues to be generous with £25 and another old friend in South Harrow gave £25. 

Standing orders stood at £107 and £31 arrived online, including £10 from a reader who is enjoying the positive attitude in our pages.

We remain positive but we cannot rest. Your paper needs you. 

Are you able to rise to the challenge?

 

 

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