NO newspaper’s journalists appreciate more than all of us here at The National just how lonely it can be when you are the only daily and Sunday paper in the country that supports Scottish independence.

Sadly you will not regularly read about the activities of the Yes DIY grassroots movement in any other national newspaper. We have carried dedicated pages on the movement twice a week since February last year and we are delighted to say that the Yes DIY Hub pages are popular with Yessers everywhere.

We also sincerely appreciate the often lonely work of our fellow supporters of independence who do such a tremendous service with their blogs on social media – you’ll understand if we single out National columnist Paul Kavanagh’s Wee Ginger Dug blog for its continuous excellence. Another blog which has made a serious impact is Scot Goes Pop by James Kelly who has made it his role in life to be the voice of reason about opinion polls.

It is one of the oldest pro-independence websites, as it was started in 2008, and among other scoops, Kelly launched his popular Poll of Polls in 2013 just in time to chart the remarkable rise of the Yes vote.

In 2015 he also called it right about the extraordinary surge of the SNP prior to that year’s General Election and the following year was right to warn that the party was not guaranteed to win an overall majority.

Having nurtured the site from the start, Kelly is now launching a fundraiser. He stated: “It’s that time of the year again when I ask for your help as I continue to write about Scottish politics. If the fundraiser succeeds, the likelihood is that I’ll continue to write on this blog

“With yet another Westminster General Election potentially in the offing now, and as preparations continue for a possible second independence referendum, I hope to continue with the blog’s unique coverage of the polling situation from a pro-indy perspective.

“The latest figures from the Traffic Estimate site suggest that Scot Goes Pop has received 62,200 unique visitors over the last 30 days (as of 31st May 2019), making it the fourth most popular alternative media site in Scotland. Not bad for a one-person operation!”

Having funds will enable Kelly to give a rapid response to a developing political situation, as he explained: An opinion poll can unexpectedly appear at almost any hour of the day or night. Fundraising gives me the freedom and flexibility to drop everything and post some analysis about a poll whenever it appears.”

Unlike some of our critics, The National believes a plurality of view s and coverage is a necessity in a democracy. Kelly’s valuable work can be supported at scotgoespop.blogspot.com