Friday, March 18, 2022

Scot Goes Pop fundraising for 2022: the launch

Click here to go straight to the Scot Goes Pop general fundraiser page for 2022.

It's more or less exactly two years since Scot Goes Pop commissioned its first opinion poll. It was a very successful exercise, showing that the impact of the December 2019 general election result had taken the pro-independence vote to its highest level since just after the Brexit referendum in the summer of 2016.  Several people said to me afterwards that they'd like me to continue with regular monthly Scot Goes Pop polls on independence - which would have been a nice idea in theory, but I think I can now say beyond a shadow of doubt that it was never feasible.  I seem to have done little else but fundraise over the last two years - I'm sure at times it's been tiresome for readers and it's certainly been embarrassing at times for me.  And yet in spite of that I've only barely raised enough to cover the cost of the six polls I've commissioned, which have averaged out at one every four months or so.  To have commissioned monthly polls, I would have needed to raise well in excess of £100,000 since January 2020, which simply isn't doable for the likes of me.  Stuart Campbell is probably the one and only person in the Scottish political blogosphere capable of pulling it off.

Bearing that in mind, I regard the six polls Scot Goes Pop has actually managed to commission so far as quite a feat, and it's difficult to know whether to laugh or cry when I hear that people on another high-profile pro-indy blog have been making snide comments essentially implying that I am a grifter.  Even just the three polls I commissioned in 2021 had a cumulative cost that was well into five figures. To pay for that required not just the funds from the dedicated polling crowdfunders, but also a significant percentage of the funds from the Scot Goes Pop general fundraiser for 2021, which was initially intended to supplement my own income and help keep the website going.  The idea that I've been pocketing the money and sailing off in a luxury yacht is absolutely laughable.  Things have actually been really tight recently.

I also ran into a number of specific problems in the middle of last year.  As you might remember, a former long-term commenter on this blog was so angry that I had joined "the wrong sort" of pro-independence party that he made determined efforts to sabotage the ongoing poll fundraising efforts.  He vexatiously demanded refunds of ancient donations that had been long since spent in exactly the way promised, and loudly broadcast what he was doing to the world (or to the readers of Wee Ginger Dug, at any rate). He even left lengthy comments on newspaper websites giving a list of spurious reasons why people shouldn't donate to Scot Goes Pop fundraisers.  Those were petty and profoundly cynical stunts that simply redoubled my determination that I would get the third poll of the year done one way or another - and I did.  But I don't think there's much doubt that our old friend's interventions made the exercise far more challenging than it otherwise would have been.

The third poll of the year was a comprehensive poll on GRA reform and related gender issues, with voting intention questions and a few supplementary questions about independence also added on.  Because of the controversial subject matter, I had to make sure that I only used funds that had been donated specifically with a GRA poll in mind.  By the time we were well into the autumn, not enough had been raised, and yet I had people on Twitter getting restless and saying: "Where is the GRA poll you promised, James?  The women and girls of Scotland are waiting and watching!"  To which I could only reply with some bemusement that it was a bit difficult to commission a poll without enough money.  Nevertheless, the GRA issue was clearly time-sensitive due to the promise of the Scottish Government to legislate for reform in the very near future, so I had to break the logjam somehow.  I eventually went ahead and commissioned the poll, using my own money to cover the shortfall, and then I set up a dedicated polling crowdfunder to both compensate me for that and help pay for the next poll. So far that's raised £4175 of a £6500 target (there have also been a number of additional donations via Paypal).

As it's no longer 2021, it's also time to draw the curtain on last year's general fundraiser, and start afresh with a Scot Goes Pop general fundraiser for 2022.  So that's what I've done, and you can visit the new GoFundMe crowdfunder page HERE.

I want to once again thank everyone who has donated to Scot Goes Pop over the years - when you stop and think about it, it's amazing what we've achieved together.  By commissioning and publishing full-scale polls from reputable BPC-affiliated firms, we've done something that is normally the preserve of the mainstream media, or of political parties and think tanks.  And that has allowed us to set the agenda with the questions that actually interest us, rather than passively look on as unionist media outlets ask unionist-flavoured poll questions.

As I said at this time last year, I expect the fundraising to continue to be a slowburner.  So please bear with me as I promote the crowdfunder at the end of each blogpost for the foreseeable future.  I do intend to run another poll, but this time I'm going to do my best to avoid crisis-points.  Fundraising takes as long as it takes, so I'll just wait until the moment arrives when the funding is fully nailed down.  We'll get there, have no fear.

To reiterate, here are the options for donating:

Via the new Scot Goes Pop general fundraiser for 2022.

Via the Scot Goes Pop polling fundraiser for 2021-22, which I set up in the autumn and is part-funded.

If you prefer to donate directly, that can be done via Paypal or bank transfer:  

My Paypal email address is:  jkellysta@yahoo.co.uk

Or email me for my bank details.  (My contact email address is different from my Paypal address, and can be found in the sidebar of the desktop version of the site, or on my Twitter profile.)

You can also view the promo film for Scot Goes Pop that I made with the amazing Phantom Power...

29 comments:

  1. Sturgeon singing the praises of Pension Pete Wishart and the BBC at FMQ's today.

    " The BBC is an important part of OUR broadcasting framework....."

    Sturgeon actually calls the BBC a KEY institution. That's right a key institution for the Britnats and that is what Sturgeon is. Sturgeon will never deliver Scottish independence.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Imposter at 5.27pm. Identity theft is a crime.

      Delete
    2. Imposter at 6.19pm who seems to think it is funny to do this. Sorry Skier or Hamish100 or whatever WGD numpty you are but I will not stop posting the truth. The BBC is the enemy of Scottish independence but Sturgeon says it is a valued institution.

      Delete
    3. The Scotgov hand out millions to the Britnat media and not a penny to the independence media. We shouldn't be surprised at this as Sturgeon seems to be a big BBC fan.

      Delete
  2. IFS at 5.27 and 8.19. You are obviously a thorn in some sad persons life as they try to undermine your reasoned and valid comments (instead of trying to debate/refute them. I just hope someone phoned the circus to tell them their missing clown has turned up on here at 6.19. Meanwhile ignore him/her and keep posting.

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    Replies
    1. BLIND FAITH WGD STYLE

      P Harvey says: " As soon as Nicola and the SNP are assured the best time for winning Indy 2 has arrived."

      So Harvey says this but others on WGD claim Indyref2 will most definitely take place in 2023.

      MORE BLIND FAITH

      P Harvey says: "Think Nicola & the SNP will have thought of every possible permutation heading towards Indy 2 - perhaps including some you have yet to think of. "

      Is P Harvey still holding on to the idea of Nicola having a secret plan. Well P Harvey would be right in one sense. Nicola's secret plan is to keep Scotland in the UK.

      Delete
    2. "P Harvey says: "Think Nicola & the SNP will have thought of every possible permutation heading towards Indy 2 - perhaps including some you have yet to think of. " "

      Reminds me of the joke about the Scottish football team finding every possible way to fail.

      Delete
    3. The mad liar Skier whose Ski graph ( a bit like a crystal ball except it only tells Skier what he wants it to say) continually reports that independence is inevitable if we only wait long enough ( like death I suppose) now says we SHOULD get a vote next year. He also berates people for wanting to rush in to independence.

      So in Skier/WGD world:

      1. It is best to wait until independence is guaranteed.

      2. It WILL happen next year.

      3. It SHOULD happen next year.

      4. Nicola knows best and should happen when she says so.

      Is part of Nicola's secret plan to confuse the hell out of WGD numpties?

      Delete
  3. The Scottish Tories very own Billy (Buffoon) Bunter Stephen Kerr was on Question Time singing the praises of Johnston's handling of the pandemic. Pity nobody on the panel reminded him that at the start of the pandemic Johnston and his scientific/medical advisers stated a good result would be 20,000 dead. Over 150,000 dead and still increasing.

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  4. PMQs

    Blackford to Johnston - " Lets remind ourselves more than 150,000 of our citizens have died, and he's laughing, he's partying........."

    Yep Blackford sees the English, Welsh and Irish as OUR citizens. That's the British mentality for you. A political party of Scottish independence should see Scots as their citizens. The SNP have been taken over by British devolutionalists = unionists.

    Vote Alba for Scottish independence.

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  5. James an excellent and professionally presented promo film. As someone who was not that bothered about polls your blog has slowly convinced me more and more of their merit. As such I now contribute to your fundraisers, something I suspect my imposter(s)/ mimic(s) will not replicate.

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  6. First referendum poll in 2022. Savanta poll.

    Scottish independence voting intention:

    Yes: 46% (+1)
    No: 46% (-2)

    Excl. DKs:
    Yes: 50% (+2)
    No: 50% (-2)

    ReplyDelete
  7. James, as promised I have been contributing a small sum each month to your fundraisers. I will continue to do this in 2022 for two reasons:

    1. You make a very valuable contribution to helping Scotland get back its independence.

    2. I can't stand those numpties on the fake WGD site particularly Irish Skier and nasty numpty nicophant Dr Jim.

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  8. The weel kent, mad Sottish or Irish liar Skier, a liar since 2014, thinks it's nuts that an indy supporter wants a Tory government. But only a unionist cares about the government of the UK as their priority. Independence supporters want their own sovereign Scottish government and the best way to achieve that.

    The nasty nicophant numpty Dr Jim is deluded if he thinks Alba are the party of revenge. All we need now is the thicko, thick plank of wud Hamish100 to way in with his 2 pennies worth.

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    Replies
    1. Deary me numpty at 12.06am. WGD numpties really will be numpties. Why don't you go back to your fake WGD numpty site.

      Delete
  9. The Equalities and Human Rights Commission and the majority of Scots do not care for the Scotgov Self ID proposals. But hey Sturgeon and her pals like Somerville obviously know better.

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  10. " Much as Johnston is to despised, and for all the havoc he will continue to wreak in office, part of me hopes that he will after all survive a leadership challenge, because his survival will only assist in the longer term destruction of the Conservative party."

    The words of Paul Kavanagh WGD in his latest article. Now the mad liar Skier recently criticised James Kelly saying James wanted the Tories to remain in charge of Scotland and James had now outed himself. Crap of course.

    So will mad Skier now say the same about Mr Kavanagh. I very much doubt it. Skier has no consistency in his opinions it's all about who he wants to attack. I won't hold my breath waiting for him to say on WGD that Kavanagh has outed himself as a Tory.

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    Replies
    1. The Irish Skier has just proved my point. Skier in his latest post says Kavanagh is correct in what he says. A charlatan telling another charlatan he is correct.

      If there is going to be an independence referendum soon anyone with half a brain can see that Johnston being PM will be a major disadvantage to the Bitter Together campaign. Of course if we are not going to be independent any time soon then you would want Johnston and the Tories gone now.

      Delete
  11. I see the SNP and The National have got some more carrots out. Irish Skier will no doubt be one of the first to chase after them followed by the rest of the WGD numpties. There must be an election due soon.

    The same WGD numpties who are always calling the Civil Service in Edinburgh Britnats will be excited that Britnats may be working on independence preparations. It would be funny if it wasn't so desperately sad.

    Surely a politician of integrity and someone gagging for Scottish independence is in charge. Oh wait it's Angus Robertson. 🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌

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  12. Met asks Gray to make minimal references to what they're investigating.

    Well if that is true it looks like John REDACTOR MAN Swinney has been advising Johnston how to get away with covering up wrongdoing.

    What a joke the UK is. Things will get worse unless we get independence and that means voting Alba.

    If you vote SNP you are just voting for people who are like Johnston.

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  13. It looks like the mad Scottish or is he Irish liar Skier is directing his fire at you again James about your last blogpost.

    This from the weel kent liar on the fake numpty blind faith site WGD

    "To want them there [the tory party] for some imagined self-interest in terms of Yes votes will turn voters away from you in their droves. The moment a pro-indy party / blogger / group starts saying they want the Tories in office is the moment voters / supporters / readers / funders vanish like snaw aff a dyke."

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  14. It certainly looks like John REDACTOR MAN Swinney has been passing on all his tactics to Johnson.

    Ian BLOWHARD Blackford put on a good show today for the donkeys. There must be an election soon.

    ReplyDelete