Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
OCCASIONALLY an editor has to break bad news, and the bad news is that your weekend Morning Star will rise in price from next weekend by 10p, to £1.80, while the price of the online edition will rise for the first time since its launch seven years ago, by 10 per cent from May 6 (online subscribers will be written to directly before this happens).
We’re well aware that costs have risen steeply for readers through the inflationary crisis of the last couple of years, driven above all by corporate profiteering: and that slowing inflation doesn’t mean prices are falling.
But if we’re all feeling the hit, so is your paper — our own costs haven risen too, for paper, printing, distribution and wages.
As advertising drains away, newsrooms shrink and local papers disappear, MIKE WAYNE argues that the market model for news is broken – and that public-interest alternatives, rooted in democratic accountability, are more necessary than ever
Across the country readers are rallying to the People’s Paper’s cause. Star campaigns manager CALVIN TUCKER has some handy ideas on how to get involved
BERNADETTE KEAVENEY announces a simplified and streamlined way to get your paper delivered daily, and a big push for new readers that we can all help make into a success
Incoming Usdaw general secretary JOANNE THOMAS talks to Ben Chacko about workers’ rights, Labour and how to arrest the decline of the high street


