I WILL WRITE A NUMBER OF EMERGENCY ON PLANET EARTH BLOGS THROUGHOUT THE TORY SPONSORED CORONAVIRUS CRISIS.
What follows is a random collection of thoughts from a human being trapped in 21st Century British society.
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Wednesday 15th April
I received the following open letter to all Wrexham AFC supporters, via email yesterday. I am afraid that it was met with indifference from me. I still value the friendships that I have made through association with the club, but I am afraid I have much more important things to worry about at the moment, rather than the long-term future of an institution that has spent the last two seasons actively discouraging inclusion of disabled fans within a once community-minded club.
The email I received read as follows:
An open letter to all Wrexham AFC supporters,
Understandably given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, football is low on a lot of people’s priority lists.
However, the Wrexham Supporters Trust and Wrexham AFC Board must also look at how to protect the future of our football club – and for this we need your help.
As outlined in the club statement, when the decision was taken to furlough all Wrexham AFC employees, the pandemic represents a serious threat to the financial health of the club.
Wrexham AFC are not alone in this regard, of course, and we are fully aware supporters – including ourselves personally – have been seriously impacted, be it from a health, financial or social standpoint.
This is not the time for us to ‘get the begging bowls out’ – and nor would this be feasible in the current climate – but there are other ways supporters can help.
We are proud to be a supporter-owned football club, and it is in times like this we need the involvement of as many of our supporters as possible.
The Wrexham Supporters Trust are keen for fresh ideas to help navigate the club through this unprecedented time and we want to hear from you.
Any ideas or comments you have, please feel free to get in touch – you can email ideas to membership@wst.org.uk.
We are fully aware there are a number of supporters unhappy with the football club and the current ownership model, and we are certainly not beyond reproach or criticism.
While, honestly, we feel some of the criticism has been unjustified, we also understand the main measure of a club’s success is on the pitch – and frankly, this season has been disappointing for all of us.
Wrexham AFC should never be measuring their success on just surviving in the National League, so however the current season concludes it has been one of the most disappointing in the club’s history.
For this, we all take responsibility and, when football resumes, we accept we will all have serious questions to answer.
More immediately, however, we have a responsibility to ensure that – whenever football resumes – we still have a Football Club to support (and not just one that exists, but one that is capable of the success we all crave).
This is why we are calling on all supporters to get involved, regardless of your current views of the club.
The time to pursue changes will come – and we have systems in place to ensure ALL members can have their voices heard.
For now, however, we urge all supporters to come together in the common interest of protecting the future of Wrexham AFC.
We continue to welcome Trust membership too, of course, though we understand this is a difficult time to take on new financial commitments.
For those who can afford it, however, it remains from just £1 a month to be a Trust member and every bit helps – big or small. Trust membership also allows you to vote at AGMs.
To join, or re-join, please see the WST website – details on membership can be found here.
Ultimately, we all want the same thing – success on the pitch, and promotion back into the Football League – and the future of the Football Club depends on us uniting towards this shared goal.
Finally, this is an unprecedented and difficult time for all of us. We would like to take this opportunity to thank every single member of the Wrexham AFC community for playing their part in helping the country overcome the pandemic. From the key workers on the front line, to community volunteers and to those staying home and following government guidelines, we all still have a role to play.
Isolation and social distancing can take a heavy toll on mental well-being, and we urge everybody to check in on each other. If you need to talk, please pick up the phone.
Stay safe, look after those around you, and we look forward to welcoming you all back to the Racecourse.
The Board of the Wrexham Supporters Trust
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Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs Statement:
In light of the recent revelations about senior officials undermining the 2017 GE campaign, we, as members of the socialist campaign group of Labour MPs, making the following demands
1. The report should be published in full by the Labour Party
2. An emergency NEC meeting should be convened to discuss its contents
3. That NEC Meeting must establish a transparent process to investigate the conduct alleged in the leaked document, with the terms of reference set by the NEC officers.
4. This process must produce a report, that is publicly available, which restores faith among Labour members in the practices of our party.
We understand the disappointment and frustration that many Labour members will feel with the details revealed in this report. It contents revelations of senior officials undermining the 2017 general election campaign and suggests there are cases to answer on bullying, harassment, sexism and racism.
We express our solidarity with Labour volunteers who give up their spare time to fight for a better society and to get a Labour government.
We believe people must stay and fight for a Labour government, organise to defend our socialist manifesto and push for action.
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VIDEO: TORY SOCIAL CARE MINISTER SQUIRMS AS INTERVIEWER KEEPS ASKING WHY SHE VOTED AGAINST PAY RISE FOR NURSES
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‘DON’T LEAVE, ORGANISE’ – LEFT ORGANISATIONS IN NEW INITIATIVE TO CALL LEFT TO UNITED ACTION
