Thanks to the generosity of IWCA supporters we are delighted to announce the £20,000 needed for the IWCA to stand Lorna Reid as our candidate for London Mayor has recently been secured.

Apart from the work put in by the IWCA fundraising organisers, who have put on a wide range of events – everything from family BBQ’s to jumble sales, quiz nights to prize draws, race nights to a snooker tournament - the decision to stand a working class candidate for London Mayor has definitely caught the imagination of the public.

Since the launch of the public appeal donations ranging from a fiver upwards have continued to come in at a steady rate from around the country. This is encouraging for a number of reasons as it is an indication of there being an understanding of what exactly is at stake on June 10.

Putting the evidence of political enthusiasm aside for a moment it is probably worth taking the opportunity briefly to remind everyone what it is we actually get for the £20,000 outlay demanded. This is broken down into a deposit of £10,000 (returned on securing 5% of the overall vote) and further £10,000 toward the printing costs of the official booklet. Basically what the IWCA are buying is two sides of A5 (candidates address and manifesto) in the official booklet that will be posted to every member of the electorate in London.

Now while the value of the exercise in terms of awareness and general profile raising will indeed be considerable, much more needs to be done.

There are for instance many neglected working class areas across London that IWCA activists are keen to canvass in the traditional manner, door to door, in order to hammer home the working class independence message. This will require the production of additional election material. To this end a number of IWCA members have volunteered to take part in a 70 mile sponsored walk across the Pyrenees.

The walk which will take place from May 3 -9 will follow in the footsteps of the International Brigade volunteers who travelled from Perpignan in France to Figueras in Spain to join the fight against Franco in 1936. The obvious historical connection has not gone unnoticed and early sponsorship has already raised in the region of £2,000.

Your support is as always gratefully received.

More details about why we're standing on IWCA national site: www.iwca.info