Launch of the Scot Goes Pop Fundraiser 2025

Click here to go straight to the 2025 fundraiser page.

We've now been in 2025 for three-and-a-half weeks, so it's long past time to put the 2024 fundraiser out of its misery - although it did actually come a lot, lot closer to hitting its target figure than seemed likely in the early part of the year.  Thank you so much to everyone who donated throughout 2024.  Scot Goes Pop's annual crowdfunding, which eight or ten years ago tended to take around a week or two to complete, is now like painting the Forth Bridge - it's a year-round task involving constant reminders that I often fear will bore people to tears, plus occasional 'emergency booster' posts when things look particularly ropey.  But the good news is that even though we're doing it the hard way these days, it is actually working and just about generating enough funds to keep Scot Goes Pop afloat.  So there's no reason why 2025 should be any different, as long as everyone is patient enough to bear with me as I constantly plug the fundraiser at the bottom of blogposts for potentially months to come!

I know there are at least three or four of you who were generous enough to make more than one donation within the last three months, so if you're one of those people please just ignore this 2025 launch.  There'll be plenty more opportunities in the months to come, believe me!

So what will you be getting if the 2025 fundraiser is successful?  Above all else, of course, there'll be detailed poll analysis of both Scottish and Britain-wide polls.  Although there aren't any major elections scheduled for 2025, it's going to be a pivotal polling year nonetheless.  If we're fortunate and the current trajectory continues, the SNP could establish an ongoing dominant Holyrood poll lead as the May 2026 election nears, which would put the independence movement on course for a quick and dramatic comeback after the major setback of last July.  In spite of all the negativity surrounding the independence cause at present, there are objective reasons to be excited and optimistic, and I hope to be able to cover that story of recovery and renewal.  And across the UK, the case for Scottish independence may be about to be made more powerfully than ever before if Reform UK move into a consistent polling lead.

In an ideal world, I'd also like to commission another Scot Goes Pop poll this year from a reputable BPC-affiliated polling firm, asking the questions that unionist media clients would never dream of asking in a million years.  I haven't forgotten that around twelve months ago, I raised some funds towards a poll - however, that fundraiser fell light-years short of its target figure and left the project in no-man's-land.  Although the first priority for the new fundraiser has to be to keep the blog going, if we do actually hit the full target figure I will aim to commission a poll, although it may have to be a bit more modest in scale than the ones I've commissioned in the past.  

In 2021-22, Scot Goes Pop ran regular podcasts, and even if I do say so myself, I think some of them were really good. Among others, I interviewed Tim Rideout, Alex Salmond, Chris McEleny (yes, really!), Yvonne Ridley (yes, really, and it happened twice!) and Len Pennie, who has since moved even further up in the world and is now a Radio Scotland presenter.  I hope to return to doing podcasts this year, although I can't make any promises because it depends on time constraints, and also on whether I can find potential guests who are willing to take part.

And last but not least, Scot Goes Pop will always provide truly independent political commentary.  Until a few weeks ago, I was a member of the Alba Party, and I've now returned to being a member of the SNP, but no matter which party I've been in at any given time, you've always been able to trust me to call things exactly the way I see them.  It has to be said that during my time in Alba, I was sometimes put under considerable pressure to use Scot Goes Pop to pump out Alba propaganda, but I just totally ignored that pressure and carried on exactly as before.  

As ever, I'll just point out that if everyone who reads this blog in an average week chipped in a pound or two, the fundraiser target would be hit in the blink of an eye.  Of course the world doesn't work that way, but it's a neat way of illustrating that small donations are very valuable, just as much as the larger donations are.  And if you're unable to donate but are able to share the fundraiser on social media, that's also extremely helpful.

Moderation note: As long-term readers will recall, fundraiser posts always bring the trolls out like no other, so to give myself some peace and quiet I'm going to switch pre-moderation back on for a day or two.  But rest assured that will only be temporary, and normal service will shortly be resumed.

Click here if you'd like to donate.

If you'd prefer to donate direct by Paypal, that's fine, and in some ways that's a better method because processing fees can be eliminated altogether depending on which option you select from the menu.  My Paypal email address is:   jkellysta@yahoo.co.uk

I know a small number of you prefer direct bank transfer.  If you'd like to donate that way, please message me via my contact email address and I'll supply you with the necessary details.  My contact email address is different from my Paypal address, and can be found in the sidebar of this blog (desktop version of the site only), or on my Twitter profile.

ALBA CLUEDO: So who *is* the "disgruntled senior Alba employee" who is so desperate to stop Kenny MacAskill that he was willing to *injure the party* (McEleny's favourite expulsion offence) by leaking emails to the Sunday Mail showing MacAskill criticising Alex Salmond?

I wasn't expecting part 5 of "THE ALBA FILES" to appear in the Sunday Mail, but here it is in all its glory. The newspaper has published lengthy extracts from emails (an interesting precedent) in which Kenny MacAskill criticises Alex Salmond for diverting party funds into his Edinburgh Fringe show, and in protest tenders his resignation as convener of Alba's Finance & Audit Committee (Mr Salmond later persuaded him to withdraw the resignation).  The purpose of the leak is clearly to try to undermine the effect of Mr Salmond's widow, sister and niece all backing Mr MacAskill for the leadership, and thus choosing to spurn Ash Regan - who is believed to be closely linked to Chris McEleny.

A "senior party figure with knowledge of MacAskill's complaint", who is plainly the leaker, is quoted as saying Mr Salmond was "completely taken aback by Kenny’s behaviour...Alex no longer trusted Kenny after feeling so betrayed...He was deflated by the unfounded accusations....The reality is that even though he had managed to talk Kenny down from his inexplicable frenzy, Alex no longer trusted him and from then on – although he put on a brave face for the wider party – he did not forget and there had not been a close relationship since then..."

I mean, by God this guy is trying his best, but his efforts must be doomed to failure.  Very few Alba members are going to believe that Mr Salmond's own widow, sister and niece would be unaware of Mr Salmond expressing such bitterness and distrust towards Mr MacAskill.  He was not exactly the sort to bottle things up.  Instead, the Salmond family all seem entirely satisfied that he would have wanted Mr MacAskill to succeed him.

So who could this apparently rather desperate leaker be?  The MacAskill camp seem to know exactly who he is, and describe him as a "disgruntled employee". We know from the Sunday Mail's description that he is "senior" within the party.  How many party employees could really be considered "senior"?  Chris McEleny himself could possibly fit that description as General Secretary.  Who else could?  I can't think of anyone off the top of my head.

The leaker would also have needed access to the emails, and one person who would obviously have access to them is the person Mr MacAskill sent them to.  Given that he seemingly didn't send them to Mr Salmond, and given that they contained his resignation, it seems overwhelmingly likely that he sent them to either the General Secretary (Chris McEleny) or the Party Chair (Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh).  But the General Secretary is a party employee, and the Chair is not.  Hmmmmmmmm.

And which Alba employees are really "disgruntled" anyway?  Remember that Kenny MacAskill recently sent out an email to Alba members pre-announcing the abolition of the posts of General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary, which are currently held by Chris McEleny and Corri Wilson respectively.  Mr McEleny did give the impression of being somewhat disgruntled about that (understandable given that he's losing his salary), because he later sent out his own very lengthy email to members trying to reframe his departure as a noble "resignation", without even acknowledging that his position was being abolished - suggesting that he refused to accept the validity of Mr MacAskill's decision.

The "disgruntled employee" would of course also need to have been motivated to commit the leak by having a vested interest in Mr MacAskill losing the leadership election.  We know that Chris McEleny had bet the house by allying himself to Ash Regan before the Salmond family ruined everything for him by backing Kenny MacAskill.

So who COULD this leaker be?  It's quite the mystery, isn't it.  I must say I'm stumped.  One thing is clear, though - whoever it is must surely be facing expulsion, because they have caused tremendous injury to the party in the eyes of the public, probably more injury than anyone else has ever caused in the party's four-year history.  And "causing injury to Alba in the eyes of the public" is Chris McEleny's all-purpose reason for seeking the expulsion of members.  Doubtless this shocking case will be no different.  Let us pray this awful leaker, this senior disgruntled employee, is hunted down and punished mercilessly.

*   *   * 

Coming up in future installments of "THE ALBA FILES"...

* How Chris McEleny abused his powers to get an Alba member expelled for making a joke about him on Twitter

* Tasmina And The Written Word

* The rigging of the 2023 Alba internal elections

...plus much, much more.  Stay tuned.