SCOT GOES POP FUNDRAISER 2023: Help keep a key part of the pro-independence alternative media shining bright

After Scot Goes Pop commissioned no fewer than two opinion polls in March (the Find Out Now poll showing an outright pro-independence majority, and the Panelbase poll showing that Kate Forbes was the public’s clear preference for First Minister), I mentioned that the coffers were getting a bit emptier, and that I would have to start a new annual fundraiser as soon as the leadership election was over, especially bearing in mind that last year’s fundraiser fell well short of its target.  However, I couldn’t have foreseen the extent of the chaos that would unfold within the SNP over subsequent weeks, so I initially decided it was the worst possible time to start a crowdfunder and that I’d be better off trying to keep things ticking over with lower-key fundraising at the bottom of each blogpost. That plan hasn’t really worked out.  There have been several generous donations over the last couple of weeks, but they’ve come to around £200 in total, and that’s not the kind of level at which I can plan for the future.  It’s time to bite the bullet, and to find out where I stand and whether Scot Goes Pop can continue to be sustainable.  If the new fundraiser falls well short of its target in the way that last year’s did, my intention will be to continue for however long the funds make possible and to then stop.  (Obviously ‘stop’ is unlikely to mean a total cessation, because I’m sure I’ll occasionally feel the burning desire to get something off my chest, but the posting rate will drop dramatically.)  I’ll also give the same undertaking that I’ve given during past fundraisers – if for unforeseen reasons I have to close Scot Goes Pop before the funds are used up, I’ll use or disperse the remaining funds to benefit other pro-indy causes.

If you’re one of the people that has donated over recent weeks, please just ignore the new fundraiser, and nobody else should feel under any pressure to donate either – these are difficult times for all of us.  However, if you’re unable to donate, one very helpful thing you could do would be to share the fundraiser on whichever social media platforms you use.  Facebook shares would be particularly welcome, because for ultra-complex reasons that would take about 57 years to explain, I’ve had to deactivate my own Facebook account and can’t post there directly for the time being.

Below is my pitch from the new fundraising page – 

Hi, I’m James Kelly, and for exactly 15 years (it all started on 3rd May 2008), I’ve been writing the pro-independence blog Scot Goes Pop.  With your help, I hope to keep the blog shining bright over the coming months as a key part of the pro-independence alternative media.

Scotland needs a Yes media more than ever during these tricky times, and to a limited extent we do have one.  However, given the circumstances, I’m not sure that a media that is slavishly loyal to the status quo of Yes politics can contribute as much as one that looks forward to a new vista in which pro-independence parties will have changed and reformed to rebuild public trust and to once again become credible vehicles for independence in the near-term.  That’s the type of media that I hope Scot Goes Pop can be part of.

And with your help it will also continue to provide the unique polling and election analysis service from a pro-independence perspective that it has been known for over the years.  Countless inaccuracies and distortions in the unionist-oriented mainstream media about Scottish opinion poll results have only come to light or been corrected because Scot Goes Pop identified them.  And there have even been eight full-scale Scottish opinion polls commissioned by Scot Goes Pop itself, most recently two in March of this year.

The existence of the blog has led to many spin-offs.  I’ve written extensive polling and election analysis for The National, including daily constituency profiles during the 2019 general election campaign and the 2021 Scottish Parliament election campaign.  I’ve been an iScot columnist since 2017, and for many years I was a columnist on both the TalkRadio website and the International Business Times.  In the run-up to the 2014 independence referendum, I may well have been the most-read pro-independence blogger in Scotland, due to the good fortune of many of my IBTimes columns being syndicated on Yahoo.  I’ve also been interviewed on TV and radio on numerous occasions, including on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio Five Live, Al Jazeera, CTV News (Canada) and the Bauer radio network.

However, blogging is a very time-consuming process, especially during elections or other busy periods when there may be several polls a day to cover. Like all writers, I have to keep body and soul together while I write, and running a general fundraiser every year helps me to do that, while also giving me the flexibility to drop everything and write a blogpost whenever a new poll comes out.  If the funds fall well short of the target, my aim will be to keep going for as many months as I can.  

Click here if you’d like to donate.

Direct payments can also be made via Paypal.  My Paypal email address is:

jkellysta@yahoo.co.uk

If you do have a Paypal account, that’s probably the best method for quite a few reasons.  If you wish, you can add a note saying “for the fundraiser”, but it’ll be obvious what the payment is for anyway.

I know one or two people tend to prefer direct bank transfer, so if you want to do that, drop me a line and I’ll send you the necessary details.

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