After Scot Goes Pop commissioned no fewer than two opinion polls in March (the Discover Out Now ballot displaying an outright pro-independence majority, and the Panelbase ballot displaying that Kate Forbes was the general public’s clear desire for First Minister), I discussed that the coffers had been getting a bit emptier, and that I must begin a brand new annual fundraiser as quickly because the management election was over, particularly taking into account that final 12 months’s fundraiser fell effectively in need of its goal. Nevertheless, I could not have foreseen the extent of the chaos that may unfold throughout the SNP over subsequent weeks, so I initially determined it was the worst potential time to begin a crowdfunder and that I would be higher off attempting to maintain issues ticking over with lower-key fundraising on the backside of every blogpost. That plan hasn’t actually labored out. There have been a number of beneficiant donations during the last couple of weeks, however they’ve come to round £200 in whole, and that is not the form of degree at which I can plan for the long run. It is time to chunk the bullet, and to seek out out the place I stand and whether or not Scot Goes Pop can proceed to be sustainable. If the brand new fundraiser falls effectively in need of its goal in the way in which that final 12 months’s did, my intention can be to proceed for nonetheless lengthy the funds make potential and to then cease. (Clearly ‘cease’ is unlikely to imply a complete cessation, as a result of I am positive I will often really feel the burning want to get one thing off my chest, however the posting fee will drop dramatically.) I will additionally give the identical endeavor that I’ve given throughout previous fundraisers – if for unexpected causes I’ve to shut Scot Goes Pop earlier than the funds are used up, I will use or disperse the remaining funds to profit different pro-indy causes.
Hello, I am James Kelly, and for precisely 15 years (it began on third Might 2008), I have been writing the pro-independence weblog Scot Goes Pop. Together with your assist, I hope to maintain the weblog shining vivid over the approaching months as a key a part of the pro-independence different media.
Scotland wants a Sure media greater than ever throughout these difficult occasions, and to a restricted extent we do have one. Nevertheless, given the circumstances, I am undecided {that a} media that’s slavishly loyal to the established order of Sure politics can contribute as a lot as one that appears ahead to a brand new vista during which pro-independence events could have modified and reformed to rebuild public belief and to as soon as once more turn out to be credible automobiles for independence within the near-term. That is the kind of media that I hope Scot Goes Pop might be a part of.
And together with your assist it would additionally proceed to offer the distinctive polling and election evaluation service from a pro-independence perspective that it has been identified for over time. Numerous inaccuracies and distortions within the unionist-oriented mainstream media about Scottish opinion ballot outcomes have solely come to mild or been corrected as a result of Scot Goes Pop recognized them. And there have even been eight full-scale Scottish opinion polls commissioned by Scot Goes Pop itself, most lately two in March of this 12 months.
The existence of the weblog has led to many spin-offs. I’ve written in depth polling and election evaluation for The Nationwide, together with every day constituency profiles throughout the 2019 basic election marketing campaign and the 2021 Scottish Parliament election marketing campaign. I have been an iScot columnist since 2017, and for a few years I used to be a columnist on each the TalkRadio web site and the Worldwide Enterprise Occasions. Within the run-up to the 2014 independence referendum, I could effectively have been the most-read pro-independence blogger in Scotland, because of the success of a lot of my IBTimes columns being syndicated on Yahoo. I’ve additionally been interviewed on TV and radio on quite a few events, together with on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Dwell, Al Jazeera, CTV Information (Canada) and the Bauer radio community.
Nevertheless, running a blog is a really time-consuming course of, particularly throughout elections or different busy intervals when there could also be a number of polls a day to cowl. Like all writers, I’ve to maintain physique and soul collectively whereas I write, and working a basic fundraiser yearly helps me to try this, whereas additionally giving me the flexibleness to drop all the things and write a blogpost each time a brand new ballot comes out. If the funds fall effectively in need of the goal, my purpose can be to maintain going for as many months as I can.
Click on right here if you would like to donate.
Direct funds may also be made through Paypal. My Paypal electronic mail handle is:
jkellysta@yahoo.co.uk
For those who do have a Paypal account, that is most likely the very best technique for fairly just a few causes. If you want, you’ll be able to add a word saying “for the fundraiser”, but it surely’ll be apparent what the fee is for anyway.
I do know one or two folks are inclined to desire direct financial institution switch, so if you wish to do this, drop me a line and I will ship you the mandatory particulars.
