We enter the new decade with a re-elected majority Tory government hell-bent on a reactionary English nationalist Brexit with an authoritarian, divisive and socially conservative agenda. Boris Johnson joins an international parade of right wing populists in the shape of Trump in the US, Bolsonaro in Brazil, Modi in India, Putin in Russia alongside other new right nationalists in Eastern Europe, Italy and elsewhere. Behind these ugly developments lurk the forces of fascism and xenophobia, complimented by the repressive dictatorships in China and much of the middle east. To cap it all is human-made global warming threatening the entire planet.

Our politics is driven by the need to revitalise socialism as a thoroughly democratic and internationalist current, with the backing behind it to make an effective challenge to globalised capitalism.

Chartist aims to up its game, particularly on social media. As one of the longest-standing print magazines on the Labour Left, published for almost 50 years, we recognise we are in new times. New digital forms of communication are central to getting democratic socialist ideas out to a wider, especially younger readership.

Hence this appeal. We want to improve the look of the print version while developing the website and social media activity on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and elsewhere. This costs money. For years Chartist has operated with entirely voluntary labour. But now we need to outlay finance on developing our web presence. For that we need skilled people.

So we are appealing to readers to make a donation, big or small, to help revamp the print magazine and boost our social media profile.