Trust in Luton given mandate at public meeting
Nearly three thousand people approved the plans for a Luton Town Supporters' Trust at a packed public meeting, held at Kenilworth Road on Saturday.
In the space of an eventful week, the Trust in Luton working party have established links with Supporters Direct, the Trusts of other clubs and the media. The public meeting gave fans the chance to meet the working party and listen to the ideas behind the Trust formation.
SPEAKERS
Meeting chair, Gary Lee, introduced the invited panel of speakers, opening with Dave Boyle of Supporters Direct, a fan of AFC Wimbledon. He explained that Supporters' Trusts are established all over the country, as fans take back control of the game they love - seven Trusts own their club outright, with another 23 having elected directors on the board, and 32 having shares in the club. He added the comment that this was the highest-attended first meeting he had ever seen.
Ian Pearce, Luton fan and BBC Three Counties Radio presenter, drew the meeting's attention to the financial plights of other clubs, and specified the need for fans to know where their money is going. Tony Murray, one of the Trust's working party, followed this by reading messages of support from Luton poet John Hegley and local MPs Margaret Moran and Kelvin Hopkins, and then talked about his time as a fan and gave his opinions on recent happenings at the club, to rapturous applause.
Councillor Peter Chapman, a season-ticket holder, added his voice to the meeting by pledging his support to the Trust, along with that of Cllrs Jenny Davies and David Franks, and promising that the council would fight for the fans. Yvonne Fletcher, the fans' representative on the board, spoke after this, reading more messages of support from Hatters living abroad and from other clubs' Trusts, as well as from former director Graham Kelly and TV presenter Nick Owen.
Supporters were then given the opportunity to ask questions by submitting them to the panel, and a brief Q&A session saw the proposal of the motion that people should not renew season tickets or sponsorships until the new owners' identities and future plans for the club were revealed.
The final speaker was Steve Powell from Arsenal Supporters' Trust and the Football Supporters Federation, who reiterated his backing for Trusts as the future of football in this country, and pointed to the restructuring at Barcelona as an example of the power a Trust can exert.
Dave Boyle then took the floor to ask for a show of hands backing the actions of the Trust in Luton working party so far, giving them the mandate to go ahead until such time as a committee can be democratically elected by the membership. This motion was passed unanimously.
STATEMENT FROM JOHN GURNEY - TRUST WORKING PARTY RESPONSE
John Gurney issued a statement to the supporters via the club's official website this weekend, offering the Trust £1000 for their funds. The Trust welcome Mr Gurney's intention of working alongside fans and taking their views into account, and invite him to contact any member of the working party via their website www.trustinluton.com. They would also appreciate the opportunity to talk about his and their ideas, and suggest that this discussion should be open to the media, perhaps in conjunction with a live broadcast on BBC Three Counties Radio. However, they have decided to refuse the offer of money as they feel that to accept would be to compromise their position as an independent supporters' organisation.