Last Sunday, I was very, very close to trying to raise funds for a snap opinion poll, because there had been no independence polling for well over a month, which seemed crazy given that the SNP and Greens have only just won a resounding mandate to hold an independence referendum. In theory there could have been a marked swing to Yes and we’d have been totally oblivious to it. Literally a couple of hours after I had that thought, the Panelbase poll for the Sunday Times appeared right on cue, so there’s no longer any great urgency. However, it looks like the monthly ComRes polls for the Scotsman have been discontinued now the election is over, and with the SNP leadership and the mainstream media seemingly reaching an unspoken agreement to jointly take independence off the agenda for the foreseeable future, we may well find that polls are few and far between during the rest of the year. I think it might be an idea to try to have some funding ready to go so I can fill at least one of the long gaps. I’ll keep an open mind about the exact timing – just the most suitable moment that crops up over the next few months.
Apart from the independence question, there are quite a few other subjects that I think should be asked about – for example, attitudes to the renewed mandate to hold a referendum and whether people think it covers all Plan B options, voting intentions for the local elections next year, the issue of the Royal family’s interference in Scottish politics, and perhaps also the devolution of broadcasting to tie in with our petition. And if any or all of these subjects are adequately covered by other polls before I run mine, there are plenty of other questions worth asking.
Because the Scot Goes Pop general fundraiser for 2021 hasn’t reached its target yet (I stopped promoting it before the election so as not to distract from fundraising by pro-indy parties), I don’t think it would be a good idea to have two fundraisers underway at the same time, so I’ve once again done what I did earlier in the year – I’ve increased the target figure of the general fundraiser by a few thousand pounds, and any money that is donated within the next couple of weeks, up to a total of £5000, will be set aside specifically for the next poll.
Part of the reason I’ve decided to get the ball rolling is that Scottish Skier has been trying to blackmail me with the notion that donations will dry up now that I’m no longer running the blog in a way that he approves of. (He in all apparent seriousness believes that Scot Goes Pop is now an “anti-Yes blog” run by either Stuart Campbell or the British government.) He might well be right for all I know, so let’s find out! Seriously, though, I’m sure you all know me well enough by now to realise that I try to handle these polls responsibly, and that I always ask questions that will be of interest to the whole pro-indy movement.
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