The creation of The National represents a growing demand for pro-independence coverage.
The creation of The National represents a growing demand for pro-independence coverage
This morning sees the launch of The National, a new pro-independence daily newspaper in Scotland.
Printed and published by the Newsquest-owned Herald & Times Group, the paper will be the first new daily to be launched in Scotland for years.
As 13,000 people gathered on Saturday to support new first minister Nicola Sturgeon at the Glasgow Hydro, The National was unveiled by its editor Richard Walker. Walker told the crowd:
“We lost the referendum but the political momentum behind independence is growing by the day, evidenced by the doubling of membership of the SNP, and the ongoing debate about extra powers for the Scottish Parliament.”
Walker also edits the Sunday Herald, the only Scottish newspaper to actively support the referendum in September. On the Sunday after the results, the Herald’s print sales shot up to around 50,000 copies, representing a year on year increase of 111 per cent.
The National will cost 50p and can be purchased from most newsagents and supermarkets. It will also be available in an electronic edition, and an accompanying website TheNational.scot is in development.
New managing director Tim Blott said:
“The National is an exciting opportunity to meet the needs of a very politically-engaged section of the Scottish population. We recognise that launching a newspaper in 2014 is to some extent counter-intuitive but we consistently argue for the power of great journalism and informed opinion.
“We will trial the new title in its proposed format for a week and if, as anticipated, it takes off then it will become a new and dynamic fixture in Scottish publishing.”
1.6m Scots voted to leave the Union in September. The launch of this paper shows that future independence for Scotland is still a very real possibility.
14 Responses to “New pro-independence daily launches in Scotland”
Ian Brannan
Here you go……including a blind man punched by a YES supporter. You will note that article states”
“That arrest came shortly after a blind pensioner was punched in the face for supporting a No vote in a separate incident. The 75-year-old victim, who is registered blind, was ALLEGEDLY struck by a nationalist supporter as he handed out leaflets in support of the Union in Glasgow.”
There is no concrete proof whatsoever that a single yes campaigner enagged in violence during the referendum, evidence of Unionist thuggery on the other hand is abundant. For example one of the no campaign’s thugs kicked a pregnant woman in the stomach – http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/09/02/scottish-independence-attacked_n_5750732.html
There is ample evidence of other such thuggish begaviour by Unionists –
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/317056/Labour-web-row-I-wish-Salmond-s-father-would-die
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/dads-fury-son-narrowly-avoids-4141853
http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/pro-union-campaigner-accused-of-attacking-snp-msp-1-3371090
It was not just random people of the street either, senior officials in the no campaign aided and encouraged these attacks by making inflammatory and outrageous slurs on yes campaigners.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/referendum-news/labour-candidate-quits-after-comparing-pro-indy-kids-to-hitler-youth.1404217014
Alistair Darling the head of the no campaign outrageously compared the peaceful yes campaign to blood and soil fascism. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc32Uy889dI
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/academics-voice-freedom-of-speech-concerns-in-indy-row.1384607973 – What’s the problem here – Professor Chris Watley was involved in the “Five Million Questions” project to investigate issues raised by the referendum. But he also spoke at a Better Together event on keeping Scotland in the UK. Should he not have expressly stated that he was presenting BT arguments when he was involved in the project? SNP were right to call him out on this blatant conflict of interest.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/day-of-reckoning-post-yes-vote-says-jim-sillars-1-3539754 – Again what is the problem here? The official YES campaign distanced itself from this speech, unlike the no campaign who never criticised their members making inflammatory speeches such as this – http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/scotland/article3897855.ece
rollo_tommasi
Your attempts to portray the far right as being the face of ‘unionists’
in general is laughable. The Far right organise marches and cause trouble all
across the UK and Europe, they certainly don’t in any way represent any normal sane
NO voter. Then again why anyone in their right mind who is pregnant would want
to directly confront them is asking for trouble!
You also forget SNP links to Siol nan Gaidheal
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scottish-independence/11079296/Anti-English-racists-terrorising-the-No-campaign-in-Scotland.html
Talking about academics expressly stating their intentions.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/proindependence-group-paid-academic-to-write-opinion-article-for-newspaper-8782163.html
You also neglect all the vitriol directed at David Bowie, JK Rowling, John Barrowman etc
Thankfully all the abuse on both sides has stopped since the result. Long may it continue……for a generation at least!
Ian Brannan
The Unionist parties overwhelmingly allied themseleves with the far right in order to secure a no vote, for example
http://wingsoverscotland.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/labfront1.jpg
The woman on the left is the Labour MP for Aberdeen South, Dame Anne Begg. She received her DBE in 2011 “for services to disabled people and to equal opportunities”. But who’s her No-campaigning pal?
Here he is, the same day, he is less keen on equal opportunities. http://wingsoverscotland.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/labfront2.jpg
He’s Dave MacDonald, leader of National Front Scotland. He’s not a new face in the area – he was the NF’s candidate for the Aberdeen Donside by-election last year, and he’s been politically involved with the NF in the Aberdeen area since at least 2003. It would be absolutely absurd to suggest that Anne Begg didn’t know who he was.
Still, as long as he’s not one of those awful nationalists, eh?
Holocaust denier Alistair McConnachie was the first “permitted participant” to register on the no side and the Unionist alliance accepted both his cash and activism. http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/referendum-news/blogger-kicked-out-of-ukip-for-denying-existence-of-holocaust-gas-chambers-.24311143
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/proindependence-group-paid-academic-to-write-opinion-article-for-newspaper-8782163.html
What’s the problem here? The NO campaign did the EXACT SAME THING, Blair McDougall, director of the anti-independence “Better Together” campaign, was paid by it to advocate Scotland remaining in the United Kingdom. To this end he wrote anti-independence articles including this piece for the Guardian see here – http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/25/scottish-nationalists-no-monopoly-on-scottishness in which he WAS NOT identified as having any connection to “Better Together”.
So we have a Yes advocate who was paid by the Yes campaign to write pro-Yes articles for newspapers on one side, and a No advocate who was paid by the No campaign to write pro-No articles for newspapers on the other side. In at least one case on each side, the writer of the article was not identified in the story as having a connection to the relevant campaign. Seems fair.
You also neglect all the vitriol directed at David Bowie, JK Rowling, John Barrowman etc
Care to post evidence of such abuse? Fact is that there was far more abuse from NO voters than yes voters. https://twitter.com/britnatabusebot
rollo_tommasi
Lol……. Wow one NF nutter is that the best you can do? I doubt 99.99% of the population couldn’t tell distinguish him from Adam. Whereas the SNP gladly accept £1, million from that homophobe Brian Souter and are also happy to share the stage with Tommy Sheridan a convicted perjurer.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/scottish-politics/deputy-snp-leader-under-fire-for-joining-sheridan-at-rally.25999128
Here’s some quotes from your favourite nationalist…..the pretendy ‘Rev Stuart Campbell’
Bill Walker is innocent. Fact..”
‘Old soldiers? I wish them all dead.'”
http://theweekly.co.uk/ap2/dissent/poppy.html
Look what he thinks of you?
https://ahdinnaeken.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/wangs-comment-cowards.jpg
And who can forget his comments on 911.
https://ahdinnaeken.wordpress.com/tag/911/
Of course the YES supporters would never ever dare insult a celebrity online such as David Bowie. Why would they prompt Jim Sillars to write a letter like this?
http://www.scotsman.com/scottish-independence/jim-sillars-open-letter-to-the-so-called-cybernats/