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Fighting Fund 
Summer merger
I have to regretfully inform my regular
readers - and I know there are at least a few who always turn
first to yours truly when the Weekly Worker lands on their
doormat! - that this will be my final column until August.
This is because we have decided to merge
the fighting fund with our Summer Offensive fundraising drive
until the end of July when the SO concludes. Instead of running
two funds simultaneously we shall concentrate on one - the biggest
and most ambitious.
In view of this, comrades GJ, VK, LP, DF,
CT and CR should feel honoured. They are the last donors to appear
in my roll of honour for a couple of months. And a good job they
did too, raising between them £135 (pride of place goes to GJ
for his £40 - thank you, comrade).
So our June fund ends (a couple of days
early, it is true) on £487 - just short of target. But I expect
that small shortfall to be more than compensated for over the
next two months.
A significant proportion of the cash that
we shall raise in the SO will find its way directly into the coffers
of the Weekly Worker. We also have plans to radically
improve our promotional material, upgrade the website and there
is a range of equipment that needs to purchased.
There is, of course, a whole new audience
out there. Millions have been politicised and are determined to
find the answers they need. Politically who can doubt that we
have entered extraordinarily challenging times? US superimperialism
has conquered Iraq and is now threatening Iran, Europe is cleaved
into two, New Labour is openly pro-big business, the unions are
disaffected, auto-Labourism is in crisis. Though a new combat
party of the working class is desperately needed, the Socialist
Alliance majority has explicitly rejected this aim: sectarianism
is still rampant.
So we must get the Weekly Worker
out to many more people and radically improve and widen the scope
of its contents. Our coverage of Labour Party and trade union
developments, in particular, remains woefully inadequate.
What does that mean in the language of
figures? Those who donate to this fund - regularly or occasionally
- are requested here and now to substantially up your efforts.
In fact we are relying on you, our circle of readers, to close
the gap between what our organised ranks of CPGB members and supporters
have pledged - just over £19,000 - and what we have collectively
agreed as our minimum target: ie, £25,000. We are asking readers
to come up with a minimum of £6,000 in two months. Six times what
you give normally.
As I have said many times before we hold
particularly high hopes for our greatly expanded number of e-readers
who live not only in Britain but are spread over the entire globe.
There were 6,939 of you last week. Anything you can give, no matter
how small, would be a help. Though I know on past results that
these comrades often come up with considerable sums.
Give whatever you can. Make cheques payable
to ‘Weekly Worker’ - or take out a standing order in our name,
for that matter.
Robbie Rix
Ask for a bankers order form, or
send cheques, payable to Weekly Worker, BCM Box 928, London WC1N
3XX
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