THE readers and supporters of the world’s only English language socialist and national daily newspaper have raised over £150,000 in a few short months to help secure its future.

In the world of the media big guns, that kind of money is an accounting error, spit in the wind. But that’s missing the point.

The point is, did any one of the millions of readers of the News of the World step in to save it, or even mourn its untimely death in 2011?

Did they, hell.

The Morning Star has something the Establishment press can only dream about — readers and supporters who don’t just buy it but would give their life savings to help it out.

You clearly love this paper. And believe me, that is not too strong a word for what I have seen during the Summer of Heroes appeal.

For example, this love of the Morning Star led low-paid supermarket workers to club together and send what they could.

Others’ gifts were intensely personal. One lifelong supporter gave away her long treasured wedding rings as a tribute to her late husband who throughout his life was an ardent reader and supporter of the Morning Star.

Yet others gave first editions of books, or entire book collections, works of art and cartoons.

Some of you have even given your pensions. Think of that in a world where entering retirement or old age means to be all but abandoned to poverty.

Day in and day out, through this long campaign, Ivan Beavis has catalogued your generosity in his Fund column. On days when not enough money came in, he didn’t lose heart.

You responded by giving even more!

Most days he kept up a steady stream of consciously upbeat and witty banter, and as a result was more often taken aback by the breathtaking size of donations and by the extraordinary gifts of £5 here and £10 there from those on and below the breadline.

Gifts came in from those of you on shrinking benefits and facing sanctions, on zero-hours contracts and using food banks, the disabled, vilified, treated with contempt and forced back to work, scapegoated migrant workers keeping our public services alive and trade unionists fighting every day for decent pay and conditions.

You know this is your newspaper and the only one that is on your side.

Your generosity in turn means this newspaper can now be accessed digitally, using an app on your phone or laptop, and now new readers are subscribing every day. We are reaching a new generation of readers and supporters.

Your generosity turned a cycle ride to the great annual Fete de l’Humanite in Paris into a spectacular fund-raising vehicle for this newspaper.

Your generosity has increased circulation thanks to retail trade agreements which would not have been possible without the faith you have shown in your paper.

Thanks to you, this paper, which for 84 years has struggled to stay alive, will carry on being a thorn in the side of the rich and a beacon of hope for all who care about peace, socialism, freedom and the future of our planet.

Make no mistake, there are huge challenges to come, but the Morning Star Summer of Heroes appeal wins its own place in our history as a great act of commitment to a great newspaper by its readers and supporters.

A massive thanks to each and every one of you.