Coming soon... the Morning Star's AGMs

Next week's jubilee will see the usual flag-waving nonsense to celebrate Ms Windsor's tenure on the throne.

It's apt, then, that the same weekend will see the annual AGM of the the People's Press Printing Society, the readers' co-op which publishes our paper.

In some ways the juxtaposition is a reminder of how far we've got still to go to do the job of work the paper was established for way back in 1930.

On January 1 that year the first ever edition of the paper lampooned the Prince of Wales for going on safari with a massive entourage of servants. The headlines may have changed but the story's still basically the same, it seems.

In 1977 for the silver jubilee we were able to put on a big People's Jubilee concert. This time round it's only a few months since we were forced to launch our big Lifeline Appeal to save the paper.

Since then we've struck a new print and distribution deal that will give us a launch pad over coming months. But there's a lot more to do to get things right.

So this is the backdrop to our sectional AGM, which take place at five points across Britain over the coming weekend.

It's the annual opportunity for members of the PPPS to quiz company secretary Tony Briscoe and the editor on developments at the paper. This year we've invited head of circulation Bernadette Keaveney along too to help answer your questions.

You as readers are key to the paper's future growth, which means that it's all the more important you get along to an AGM event near you this weekend.

We promise that at the very least it will be royal-free!

Richard Bagley is editor of the Morning Star

What is the People's Press Printing Society?

It's the readers' co-operative that publishes the Morning Star, and was established in 1945 when the title was still called the Daily Worker and selling over 100,000 copies a day.

Individual readers, local TUCs, constituency Labour parties and trade union branches can all become members by buying a share for as little as £1 and as much as £20,000. No matter how much you can afford to put in you only have one vote at our annual AGM.

Each year's PPPS AGM elects a third of the board that oversees the running of the society's business, although a lot of the day-to-day work is done by the team at William Rust House in co-operation with readers across the country.

An important rule change six years ago allowed trade unions to become PPPS members in their own right by taking out the full £20,000 shareholding.

Since then eight trade union bodies, seven national and one regional, have qualified for an automatic seat on our board - Community, FBU, GMB, NUM, POA, RMT, Unite, and the North East Area NUM.

Every time a trade union body joins, though, two reader-elected members are added to the management committee to ensure that the democratic character of the society remains.

What happens at the AGM?

The PPPS annual AGM is one of the unique things about your paper and allows you to come along, hear what's happening at the paper and have your say, or even speak to resolutions if they're in in time for the deadline each year.

The meetings deal with the nuts and bolts of the business - approving the accounts, electing the management committee etc - but also gives readers who are PPPS members a chance to have their say about politics and the business of the paper.

The editor and company secretary attend each sectional meeting. This year PPPS members will also have a chance to hear from Bernadette Keaveney, our head of circulation.

This year there's just one resolution - the Scottish Morning Star Campaign Committee has tabled one relating to our June 18 drive north of the border.

Is it too late to become a member?

No - you only need to be a PPPS shareholder to become a member and you can join up on the day.

How can it just be one AGM if it happens all over Britain?

The PPPS rules allow for a single AGM to be held in sections, each of which has an identical agenda.

This year we're going to be in Birmingham on May 31 (7pm), Glasgow on Friday June 1 (7pm), Leeds on Saturday June 2 (2pm), Cardiff on Sunday June 3 (2pm), and London on Tuesday June 5 (7pm).