We are not going to try to list all the ways in which the election of Donald Trump is a catastrophe. That is being comprehensively catalogued in many, many other places and we all know there is much to be feared.

Suffice to say that those who believed that the election of Barack Obama in 2009 was America coming of age, have been proved sorely wrong. In fact, it signalled the launch of a ruthless right-wing fightback determined to ensure that it would never happen again.

This result is testament to their extraordinary success and reveals just how deep racism and misogyny run in American society. The effects of this election will be felt both on an international scale, where climate change may now be dramatically accelerated, and at a domestic level with the extreme right, here in the UK and in many other countries, hugely emboldened.

Our fightback is going to have to measure up to theirs. There are simple lessons from the past to draw on. In this fightback all defenders of democracy must come together, uniting around the simple, fundamental things that bind us. There can be no place for division, nor sectarian disputation. That way lies further defeat. We simply cannot afford it.

For our part, we will continue the work Searchlight magazine has been doing for nearly 50 years, since it was launched in 1975 with the words ‘Defend Democracy – Expose the racists and extremists’ on its front cover. We will, with your support, continue to investigate, expose, analyse and disrupt the activities of the far right, and put our work at the disposal of the movement.

The fightback must start now. No pasaran!