STRANGE as it may seem, I was really looking forward to travelling round the country with the Morning Star’s editor, business manager and circulation manager – Ben Chacko, Jimmy Macintyre and Bernie Keaveney – in a car, over four hectic days attending the paper’s sectional AGMs. 

It is always an honour to meet our readers and hear their thoughts, complaints and praise, but what is always inspiring is their belief in their paper that has defied the odds for 90 years in a struggle for peace and socialism. 

We had lots to talk about and it would as well have been a fantastic celebration, but it is not to be. 

It is not possible because of the accursed virus that has wrought so much pain and hurt on the country.

I expect some readers will have wanted us to try and conduct our AGMs electronically, but not all our readers are able to access a computer and it was felt we already had enough to do to keep the paper going. 

The staff are working heroically from home and we are putting all our efforts into getting the extra income needed to replace lost revenue from paper sales. 

We have communicated with Co-operatives UK, who have no objections to us postponing our AGMs, as many co-operatives have already had to do. 

The paper’s rules call for the AGMs to take place in a window from mid-May to mid-July so it looks increasingly likely that we will miss having them in this historic year. 

We may be able to hold something later in the year but we cannot be definite about that now. 

Many of our readers are elderly or have underlying health problems and their safety is just as important to us as the survival of the paper. 

We will not do anything that may be regretted and will therefore make sure it is really safe to do anything before announcing when the AGMs will take place. 

If a second wave of the virus happens, we have to accept that it will be next year. 

That does not stop any reader getting in touch if they have questions or issues they want to raise with me or the editor ([email protected] or [email protected]).

For now, though, on behalf of the management committee, I want to thank you all for your tremendous support over the past year and wish you all the very best in the coming months, and I look forward to seeing you again in the future, in happier times and a safer world. 

In solidarity, 

Bob Oram, People’s Press Printing Society chair