15.05.2020

The way forward

After the excellent number of donations received over recent weeks, the last couple have been a bit disappointing, to put it mildly.

It is, of course, that time of the month when standing orders are a bit few and far between - added to which, most of those that do come our way are for modest amounts. So, yes, I know things will pick up, but, still, we’re approaching the halfway mark in May, yet we don’t even have a quarter of the £2,000 we need! To be more precise, as I reported last week, we had £276 after the first six days of May. But now, as I write, 13 days have gone, but we only have £492 - in other words, just another £216 this week.

But, amongst that, two contributions in particular stand out. First, a comrade in Ireland decided we could do with a boost and donated a fantastic €100 (which translates into £86), Thanks very much, AM! Then comrade RL came up with his usual monthly PayPal donation for £50 - excellent! Also worth a mention was MF, who made a bank transfer of £22 - all he could afford, given his current meagre income, he says. But we’re more than grateful for small mercies, comrade!

Which brings us to those standing orders, of which there were four monthly ones: thanks go to NH (£30), GD and DV (£25 each) and SM (£10).

But that leaves us quite some way behind the going rate, doesn’t it? We need another £1,508 in the next 18 days, if we’re going to reach that £2,000 target. But I’m still optimistic. After all, I know how much the Weekly Worker is appreciated - just take a look at our letters pages to grasp how much our readers value having that forum for debate for such controversial issues of working class politics. That despite all the problems posed by Covid-19 (including, of course, the fact that we’re online-only at the moment).

But that’s the role of our paper, isn’t it? We need to establish exactly what our differences are before we can genuinely reach an agreement on the way forward. Central to the road ahead is the establishment of a single, united Marxist party - one which, like the Weekly Worker, recognises that the open expression of contending views is a matter of principle!

We are a long way from that goal, but one way of helping us move towards it is by making sure we get what we need for each month’s fighting fund. If you want to help us do that, you know what to do!

Robbie Rix