To answer your question
Well, it’s been quite a week, readers. Over the course of the last seven days, Wings Over Scotland – and in particular myself, as its editor – has been subjected to an unprecedented series of smear attacks from several groups of alarmingly angry people, from “Better Together” activists (sometimes in unholy alliance with a small handful of confused, naive young SNP student sorts) to senior Scottish journalists, failed Tory election candidates, psychopathic stalkers and Rangers supporters.
I’ve personally been called – in the space of just that single week – homophobic, transphobic, misogynist, racist, disablist, ageist, fascist, sectarian, a rape apologist, anti-English, anti-Welsh and a hate-preaching bigot. All are entirely untrue, of course.
(Just about the only people I’m apparently NOT prejudiced against are left-handed unicycling vegan budgie-owners from Fermanagh. Which is doubly ironic, because I really loathe those smug, cack-fisted carrot-munchers.)
If you want to know why, look below.
Those are our latest readership figures. Despite it being the tail end of the summer “quiet season” for politics, August saw our monthly pageviews increase by a massive 38% on July, and by 36% on the previous all-time best.
Those figures came about despite a near-total media blackout of our main project for the month – a crowdfunded opinion poll we ran with respected polling organisation Panelbase, which produced some uncomfortable reading for the No campaign.
We also offered to host and pay for a public debate between “Better Together” chairman Alistair Darling and his Yes Scotland counterpart Dennis Canavan, with a neutral chair – an invitation the Yes camp accepted almost immediately but from which “Better Together” ran a mile, with its director Blair McDougall hurling petulant abuse over his shoulder as he high-tailed it away from the Scottish public as fast as his legs would carry him.
Despite still having four months to run, 2013 has already seen us draw well over three times the traffic we got in the whole of 2012. We’ve reached over 334,000 unique readers in that eight-month period. We’ll be running another poll this month, again funded directly by ordinary Scots sick of politicians treating them like idiots, a media that fails to hold those politicians to account and a print press that pumps out a constant stream of misinformation, distortion and outright lies.
If you doubt how much the No campaign fears this site (and others like it), you need only look at the graph on this page, and then at what’s happened to us this week.
With a year to go until the independence referendum, the No camp’s dirty tricks department is now well and truly up and running. We expect to be its subject again (and again) over the next 12 months, and that as with this week, almost everything it says will be a lie. But if there’s one thing we really ARE prejudiced against, it’s liars.
Hundreds of thousands of ordinary Scots have already come to this site for the truth. You keep coming, we’ll keep delivering it. And that’s a promise.
Gaun yersel, Rev. Well done.
Keep going lad and well done.
“with its director Blair McDougall hurling petulant abuse over his shoulder as he high-tailed it away from the Scottish public as fast as his legs would carry him.”
That’s probably not very fast, in all fairness.
Yay you are obviously doing something right! More power to your elbow!
Right behind ye, Rev…never forget, you _are_ making a huge difference… “Don’t let the bastards grind you down”!!!!
I’ll be adding to my Paypal donations shortly.
We stand foursquare with you Rev. You are having an astonishing effect on the course of our country. And we will win.
The facts speak for themselves. Keep up the good work!
Yer awfy hard on peepul whut cannae speel eether.
Keep it up. 🙂
I just took a moment and imagined how this crucial time in our nation’s history would be panning out if Wings didn’t exist.
I don’t mind admitting that it gave me a wee shudder.
Keep up the good work Rev, and indeed everyone who contributes, supports, shares and talks about this site. It’s a game changer.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you then you win. That quote immediately springs to mind. I’m sure I speak for a sizeable number of the readers when I say this but if there’s ever anything we can do to help you in return for all your hard work, just let us know. 🙂
Lost for words really, but thanks, if it wasn’t for this site i’d have lost the will to carry on by now…
sticks and stones and all that…though bullying of any kind is never ever acceptable.
And every time from now until ‘R’ day, if I see one of these groundless smears online, I will comment way posting this in response.
Anyone else up for giving the smear jockeys an earworm they’ll never forget?
link to tinyurl.com
BT Glasgow launch and a new opinion poll from UGov in the same weekend what a coincidence NOT.
Most don’t know folk wont seriously consider their vote until nearer the time and many soft NO’s will vote yes on the day.
The stench of UK jam will fill your nostrils and squealing things in pokes will be on sale at every NO event with a free union jack as the date draws ever nearer, but these are all tricks that the Scottish electorate will see through.
Keep calm and get ready to vote YES.
Rev – I don’t normally get emotional, but I’m really tearing up! How you’ve managed this is phenomenal! I am a VERY early follower and very occasional poster, but read every day. Mair power tae ye!!
I think it’s time for Wings to help ‘Fill the Hill ‘link to independencerally.com
As Scotland’s biggest political party and as the Site where folks in Scotland can find appropriate info re. Indy, can we gather under a ‘Wings Over Scotland’ banner to Fill the Hill. C’mon all – are we up for it?
keep up the good work guys – Scotland needs you 🙂
Jack Beck says:
1 September, 2013 at 1:55 am
Rev – I don’t normally get emotional, but I’m really tearing up! How you’ve managed this is phenomenal! I am a VERY early follower and very occasional poster, but read every day. Mair power tae ye!!
I am with you on this Jack. I rarely post as people far more eloquent and knowledgeable do it better but WoS is the first port of call in the morning and the last at night. I thank you that you for all the work you do Rev… Keep up the good work!
Excellent figures showing (as you say) why the ‘hate’ has ramped
up against you.
But like Hetty (and no doubt many others) I truly would have been
heart sick and despondant if it wasn’t for this site.
I think it is incredible what you have done, and let’s face it, amongst all the hard
work you have put in it is the truth, backed up by sources etc that has got people
buzzing.
One would think that at least some media outlets would have twigged that
‘bad news’ isn’t all that sells and that the people of Scotland want and deserve
the sort of output seen on here.
Well done! And thanks!
YES!
this is turning into something big its a really exiting time rev, thanks in the main to you
what I dont get is your comment earlier about being attacked by SNP student sorts?
that does not make sense? false flag?
“Wings Over Scotland’ banner to Fill the Hill. C’mon all – are we up for it?”
on my hands and knees if necessary
the duke/ jack
“I am with you on this Jack. I rarely post as people far more eloquent and knowledgeable do it better but WoS is the first port of call in the morning and the last at night. ”
Don’t even think like that, noone’s is opinion more valid than another’s, all are valid and important, if you have a thought (even if someones already voiced it) you should put it on here and other sites, and to the other thousands who view this site let your voices be heard, can you imagine the tsunami in the no camp if all of the people who view Wings Over Scotland responded to these posts? there would be no possible way for the msm to ignore it,
RISE UP SCOTLAND
AND BE A NATION AGAIN
NIL CARBORUNDUM ILLEGITIMUM!
Thanks Rev, keep up the good work. This is my newspaper and has been for a while. I love all the comments as well.
Excellent Rev! Thanks for everything and thanks to all the posters on here who help to keep us up to date with what’s going on and with great humour as well ???? Brightens my day when I click on ‘Wings’. On on.
Welcome back and more power to you, Stuart. If the MSM have started getting personal, you know you’re onto a winner and there’s no such thing as bad publicity, which is why your servers were probably overwhelmed this morning.
On the tardy BT Glasgow launch, it’s interesting that the House Journal of the Labour Party couldn’t even be bothered to send a correspondent: Clout Syria as part of UK, Says Alistair Darling.
Ach, why did my wee smiley come up as question marks?
Whew! Glad to see you’re back up after the 503 error. Keep fighting the good fight Rev., we are right there with ya!
The_Duke says:
I rarely post as people far more eloquent and knowledgeable do it better but WoS is the first port of call in the morning and the last at night. I thank you that you for all the work you do Rev… Keep up the good work!
Me too! I just wanted to say that I find all the articles and the posts on this forum to be extremely interesting.
I am an avid reader but not a contributor.
Thank you all very much. Please keep up the good work.
Just a big thankyou from me. Any discussions I have on Scottish Independence always include a direction to W.O.S.
Fabulous work Rev I shall reward you with another wee pile a dosh right this minute. Love this site read it like it tweet it and g+1 it every day
Stuart,
You need to get hold of the poll questions and data tables from this latest YouGov poll. The Hootsmon’s article doesn’t actually quote any of the questions asked – the article is 100% spin.
To those saying they don’t comment much, for me the strength, and growing strength of the site is that, on here, there are people from all walks of life, backgrounds, age groups, location etc. That’s quite challenging to the critics. I know we don’t agree on all issues but on the fundamental one we do.
I’m sure everyone has something to say that I’d like to hear.
Wings and BBC Scotlandshire are virtually the only two things I read on a daily basis! winds is the first thing I read when I open my email every morning – I don’t buy newspapers – the only time I read a newspaper is when I visit my folks on a Sunday so Wings is my source of information! I nearly had a wee meltdown this morning when I couldnt connect to this site!!
As many others have already said – keep up the fantastic work you’re doing in getting the TRUTH out to the Scottish people! This isn’t just an online newspaper it’s becoming a COMMUNITY of friends and like minded people working together to make a difference and win the Referendum. You are doing a wonderful job Rev Stu!! Keep on keeping on!!
Sorry about any typos – it’s the iPhones fault – not easy typing away on a teeny wee screen with predictive text! Too late to edit!!
Thank you Rev. Just thank you.
Rev, I have never met you, and know very little about you except what I read in your postings. I have no particular axe to grind and mainly come to Wings Over Scotland to hear an alternate viewpoint from the one pushed my the mainstream media. I can state quite confidently here that I have never encountered anything racist, homophobic or otherwise gratuitously demeaning in your writings. (Mind you I am not a Rangers supporter). I have found that you make an extra effort to be balanced when appropriate and although I have not yet made a final decision on how I will vote, I do find the level of debate on Wings Over Scotland to be a very useful tool in reaching that decision and I too am grateful to you for the obvious efforts that you are putting into the site.
Keep it up Rev. For the amount of crap you have to put up with on a daily basis, we , thank you massively. It must be a lot cope with sometimes but we’ve got your back, Rev.
With regards to your numbers – I’m reminded of that new EE advert with the conga line, ‘this party ain’t slowing down for anyone’.
Can the Rev be our very own Kevin Bacon? :p
More power to your elbow Rev Stu. This site is practically the only thing keeping me positive about the campaign just now. You’re like a wee dove of hope among the shitehawks 🙂
(but Macart wis right – see aw they smearers? they missed oot grammar nazi)
Fellow Wingslanders,
please take a look at the below linked WoS promo teaser on YouTube Forward it to as many people as you can and let them visit this sit and see for themselves people power in action ?
link to m.youtube.com
yours aye
ken
I like this Stu
“Hundreds of thousands of ordinary Scots have already come to this site for the truth. You keep coming, we’ll keep delivering it. And that’s a promise.”
Appears you have got them by the ‘short and curlies’ (as Auntie Bella once quoted). Keep on squeezing them.
Soar Alba Gu snooker loopy!
Well done Stu.
Your comments are mostly witty, well constructed and informative. Perhaps your detractors think your statements are too pithy for their intellects.
Love it!
Make sure you have a backup server, It’d be so easy to target you with a Low Orbit Ion Canon.
On statistics and the MSM, this is today’s report in the Sunday Herald on the latest independence question poll, carried out by You Gov for Devo Plus. They can’t even get the figures accurate …..they say there are 10% undecided, no it’s 12%, seems like he was looking at the last time there were similar figures, May 5, 2013, which saw 59%/31%/10%.
I am assuming that was also a You Gov poll?
link to archive.is
Astonishing results – expect much more smear tactics after those figures !
All the best for the future.
Well done Rev Stu, all of us on here know the muck they sling at you seems to be like water of a ducks back. Just so glad there is someone with the balls to do it. As I have said on numerous occasions WOS is the only site discussing politics that I would feel comfortable contributing my bit, you have managed to do something special in that respect, as although my opinions may be less eloquent that others, or less well thought out. I have never once been made feel foolish for having Or trying to express them.
keep slapping it into them for the next year pal, and as you undoubtedly know now, you just need to ask for any help you need , and the Wings community will rise to the challenge .
Thank you Stuart Campbell
On the poll here’s SoS, also saying 10% undecideds, so here’s the What Scotland Thinks, with all the data
link to archive.is
link to whatscotlandthinks.org
Just reading the article on the poll in the Scotsman now and this is a gem.
“The poll asked the 41 per cent who were not signed up to voting No,”
So the poll clearly states that 59% will either vote YES or are undecided!
Albalha:
I liked John Curtice’s final comment:
What perhaps might have been more effective at persuading (AD) him to do so was evidence that large number of No supporters might switch to Yes if they were to come to the conclusion that the unionist parties would fail to satisfy their aspirations for more devolution, thereby taking a large chunk out of the No lead. Alas for them, this seems to have been the vital question that Devo Plus forgot to ask.
Keep up the goof work, Rev!
More power to your elbow Rev. If you need any further financial support, just ask. I’m saving a bob or two on my cancelled Herald subs.
the negativity to all things scottish from these people has taken a toll on me, and surely others ?. i more than dislike them and hope their futures are as negative as they wish for the people of scotland. the self interest of these people comes first, no mistake. pretty disgusting really.
@Marcia
There’s just something about the use of the word ‘alas’ from Curtice, it seems to be his way of saying what of load of bollocks.
Great stuff everyone, and Rev. Just the tonic I needed before heading down to the Edinburgh Mela.
link to edinburgh-mela.co.uk
Pop on down and say Hi at the Yes Scotland stall AND The Orb are headlining at 7pm tonight. All for only 4 bones. What’s not to like?
Stu you are a life-saver!
Radio Scotland now – discussing Kevin Pringle moving (part-time) from SNP to ‘Yes’ Campaign.
Well done indeed. That growth curve is spectacular!
ps Here is a tip for people who want to post very long links. Go to http://www.tinyurl.com and change the link into a tinyurl. The huge link to the video up above then becomes
link to tinyurl.com
which is easier to post and won’t be broken up by line wraps on some sites.
Thank you Rev & everyone who posts here – without all of you the debate would be very much the poorer. The numbers speak for themselves – we can win this.
Albalha
I agree, the poll is undermined by not including a balancing question.
And on those who smear …….on Headlines with Ken McDonald, Euan McColm has just been put firmly in his place by I McWhirter ….discussing the polls today
EMc ‘But Ian why didn’t A Salmond fight harder for a second question?
IMc ‘ Eh think you’ll find Euan it wasn’t for him to decide ……..’ (you twit)
Thanks for all your hard work and excellent writing. I can’t imagine what else they could say to try to undermine you, but I’m sure they will think on lots over the coming year.
Keep well and keep at it!
Mornin’ all. Two things –
First, well done Stu. You must be doing something right or they wouldn’t be bothering with you. Expect a further increase in readership as they draw attention to the site. As others have said, Wings is a daily read for me.
Secondly, Ian McWhirter has just put Mr. McColm back in his box on Radio Scotland. The discussion was about the poll on SOS. McColm opined that Alex Salmond wouldn’t be in this position if he had fought harder to put Devo Max on the ballot. McWhirter calmly pointed out that Alex Salmond had offered to put it on the ballot but needed the Section 30 order to make the referendum legally binding and David Cameron would only grant the Section 30 order if it was for a Yes/No referendum with no “further powers” option, so it was unfair to try to blame Alex Salmond for something that was engineered by David Cameron. Well said, Ian McWhirter. How Euan McColm didn’t know that is beyond me – but there again, I suspect he knew fine well and was just trying to smear Alex Salmond.
So, given that David Cameron wanted Devo Max OFF the referendum, how likely is it that the No campaign is sincere in its hinting that Scotland will get further powers if we vote No? It took 20 years the last time, so I wouldn’t be holding my breath.
Jack Beck says: 1 September, 2013 at 1:55 am
Rev – I don’t normally get emotional, but I’m really tearing up! How you’ve managed this is phenomenal! I am a VERY early follower and very occasional poster, but read every day. Mair power tae ye!!
this
@albalha
Oops – didn’t see your post – we need to stop this mind-melding 🙂
@jeannie
Indeed, rather spooky! When, and if, we meet it could cause all manner of planetary electrical interference.
Well done Rev!
The pressure is really getting to them. Sooner or later, something/someone is going to crack and it will be spectacular. Thanks are also due to the growing “crowd” who visit this site. Everyone’s contribution, however big or small, is very important. Some people’s posts here are awesome. Others are, well, more like mine! You don’t have to post big or small comments to contribute if you are not comfortable with it. Simply visiting this site and spreading the word occasionally is very helpful. Thank you.
@albalha
When, and if, we meet it could cause all manner of planetary electrical interference.
LOL. I hate it when that happens – makes my hair go all frizzy.
You know Rev – your final comment in the first para of this article now means the all five of Scotland’s finest investigative journos are desperately looking for that unicycling vegan budgie-owner from Fermanagh………
“You know Rev – your final comment in the first para of this article now means the all five of Scotland’s finest investigative journos are desperately looking for that unicycling vegan budgie-owner from Fermanagh………”
😀
I apologise to any innocent Norn Irish carrot enthusiasts harassed by the MSM pack in the coming days.
Good news on the hits on Wings and it will only get better as more and more people hear about the site. If I were you, Rev, I would check my brakes every day before driving!
Fantastic results Rev. I too am amazed you can take all that crap and stay calm. It’s funny though to imagine all these purple faced naysayers frothing and spluttering daily at their keyboards. I’d love to see them all on a certain day in September next year.
Since May 2011 averages of all polls
Yougov
30% Y / 56% N
ICM, AR, Comres, Panelbase (agree closely) + TNS-BMRB, MORI (agree reasonably but more biased to No due to methodology)
37% Y / 46% N
Yougov is a bit like the BT stall lady. Has been for years now and giving the same answer when all the others rose and fell in response to events.
Due to methodology which stopped working in 2007 when something major happened in terms of peoples voting intentions for Westminster vs Hoylrood.
@scottishskier
Thanks for that, easy to remember AND regurgitate.
Love ya!
Well done Rev , the more they come after you the more you know you are hitting them where it hurts .
I don’t often post these days but I keep on spreading the word through Facebook by posting links to W.O.S .
While I don’t often post , wings is still my first port of call in the morning and my last port of call at night .
This YouGov poll for “DevoPlus”. Now, who are “DevoPlus” that they can afford a poll. From this site we know it costs a few thousand to stage a poll.
all the non-Indy political parties are in Better Together. I also note it is “DevoPlus” not “DevoMax” and therefore a vague offer at best, probably of the “more responsibilities” rather than “more powers” type.
In fact, this smells like a “push poll” to me. A poll not intended to gather information, but to allow an idea to be put out there, in this case that more Devolution of power is still an option, when it is not.
By using this astroturfing entity, this push poll can be done without commiting the Westminster parties to anything
That’s my hunch, for what it is worth
@scottishskier
Thanks for that, easy to remember AND regurgitate.
It’s to do with weighting methods as noted. Yougov treat Scotland like it’s England. Their rather simplistic methodology works quite well for UKGE VI. However, it falls over when applied to Scotland due to completely different political system and culture/habits.
link to yougov.co.uk
See ‘How is data analysed’ parts 2 and 3.
Facepalm. Newspaper readership? How people vote in UKGE’s / party affiliation for GEs? Eh! This is Scotland you fools.
Congrats on the stats! I’ve been here from almost as soon as you started up thanks to a friend directing me towards you and It’s now the first site I go to when I get up!
Apologies to go O/T but have you seen the latest selection of posters BT are punting on their FB? I don’t even get angry…Just…*sigh*
It has a quote from a SNP minister from some undisclosed date with the caption “<Insert name> before the referendum” then another undated quote with “<Insert name> today”
It actually just makes me shake my head and move on. But I can’t. WHY aren’t the quotes dated?! Has the referendum happened?! HAVE I BEEN ASLEEP FOR OVER A YEAR?!?!?!
I’m so glad to hear I’m not the only one who checks Wings first thing in the morning and last thing at night. I was beginning to feel like a nerd there!
@Rev-Name calling by your opponents is a compliment to your effectiveness. You are under their skin, please keep up the irritation. Scotland needs more of your like.
Is there a reason this latest poll is not on the Yougov site yet?
Keep up the good work Rev.
Its the small things that keep you moving –
Out for a beer with Friends last night ( some for, against and undecided ) and the discussion was the BBC – not one believed a word that they said and all agreed that if they said it was raining they’d go out in t-shirts.
Hail Alba
john king ( and Fodie) says:
“Wings Over Scotland’ banner to Fill the Hill. C’mon all – are we up for it?”
on my hands and knees if necessary
I’ll be wearing the T shirt so see you there.
Doug Daniel says:
with its director Blair McDougall hurling petulant abuse over his shoulder as he high-tailed it away from the Scottish public as fast as his legs would carry him.”
That’s probably not very fast, in all fairness.
That’s cruel Doug, cruel, cruel, cruel (funny mind) but cruel! You’ll be accused of being a fattist next!
REV – well done friend for being a beacon in a storm of utter guff. Thank you for all your efforts in trying to bring some light to the darkness. If we were to wait for our self styled journalists in the Scottish MSM to do this, we would wait forever as it would never happen.
Yours sincerely (slightly rotund) Dram.
Talking of hate I listened to McColm on GMS 🙂 Not a fan of independence, Yes Scotland, SNP or Salmond is he?
However, setting aside the partisan dissemblers, I thought Bill did a good job of trying to keep that mix fair and reasonable. I haven’t looked at the YouGov poll but if it was Devoplus i can only assume that the poll would have had lots of stuff regarding well DevoPlus to not put to fine a point on it. If their poll did cover their area interest (and if it didn’t WTF?) then they must be spitting tacks that the only thing that got mentioned was the one conclusion that seemed to suggest that Yes was not making progress.
On the smear campaign I was particularly taken with the link to some twitter site posted here yesterday that was allegedly by Stu. What sad deranged little fuckwit would think that was big, clever and much, much, much more damning, funny? Satire is great, it is one of the most powerful political tools out there..in adept hands that is. If you are the self same fuckwit reading here…don’t throw aside the day job.
Fantastic news on the reading stats Stu – and it is nice to see your pieces cropping up on Facebook pages like Free Scotland, BBC Scotlandshire and of course being interviewed on the other fake BBC Scotlandshire. The twisty turny angst is because it is all getting too damned big. This is good.
Hi Rev,
I have been away on vacation for a couple of weeks.
My main gripe about WoS is that I spend too much time on here. I had much more free time when away.
Quite addictive ! So I guess your enemies can add “drug pedlar” to all the other faults.
WELL DONE.
Hail Alba
Well done Rev only occasionally post but always on here keep up the good work.
@handandshrimp
Accuracy alert, it was Ken not Bill on Headlines
To me this just looks like another “pat yourself on the back with great self indulgence” article. Therefore of little meaning to the referendum debated itself, which I find disappointing.
Don’t get me wrong here, there are a number of articles and posts that I find interesting and I was interested enough to have contributed financially to allow the site to grow. However, I view these “look at how great we are” articles with more than a little suspicion and ultimately as a pointless irritant to what is potentially a great web site. Incidentally, whatever happened to the full time journalist that was going to be employed?
I also note that there is often much said here about the negativity and downright nastiness of the Unionists and cyber Brit/Nats etc, which although this is true and should be brought to the attention of the electorate, it is not wholly one sided. Be silent on it if you must, but there are nasty people on both sides of the debate. I recently had some clown research me on Facebook, to find that “shock and horror”, I have English relatives and I must therefore be some sort of Brit/Nat Unionist. Whilst it is true that I do not hang on every SNP, or any other party, policy. I do agree with the unifying central theme of Independence for Scotland. This does not make me “a Nationalist” nor does criticism of some of the players make me “anti-Nationalist”.
As for your polls? I am not a fan of them in general, especially this far from the goal posts. I cannot take any polls as proof of anything in any direction as the information gained is often misleadingly presented. As you know Rev, this is how I viewed your last poll, even before you ran it I could see a problem with it and that is the questions were to be leading to a desired result, which to my mind makes the poll of little value to anyone and ultimately of no real importance. However what struck me was the furore over the results being ignored by the MSM? This brings me to believe that the poll was not run to gain information or to promote the Independence cause, but to gain publicity for the Rev Stu, which in turn tends to taint other more serious articles. So, I may read your web site Rev, I have indeed donated to it and I do indeed boost your readership statistics, however I read the site for the “informative articles” not because I wish to indulge your self promotion. I actually find that aspect to be quite nauseating. So please, by all means lets hear more news and views, but cut down on the “look at how great I am” bull.
“To me this just looks like another “pat yourself on the back with great self indulgence” article.”
We run a stats post at the start of most months, because it’s important to show people they’re not alone. It’s September 1st today. It also seemed particularly relevant in the current circumstances. The “navel-gazing” category all such posts are entered in makes up just over 2% of Wings Over Scotland content by post numbers, considerably less than that by amount of text. Literally 99% of what we run has nothing to do with stats or self-promotion.
“Incidentally, whatever happened to the full time journalist that was going to be employed?”
*waves*
“there are nasty people on both sides of the debate”
Yes, of course there are. We’ve condemned the stupid independence supporters who say idiotic things and make threats, but they’re not really our problem so we don’t focus on them. We’ve stated many, many times that this site makes no pretence at impartiality, only honesty.
“what struck me was the furore over the results being ignored by the MSM”
It would have been utterly ridiculous not to point that out, and not to make a major fuss about it. It was disgraceful by any journalistic standards.
I’ve got no interest in promoting myself. There are no pictures of me on the site, to the extent that the Sunday Mail was forced to go and dredge up a 20-year-old one from Facebook to illustrate their smear piece today. I won’t be standing for First Minister (or anything else) in an independent Scotland, because my style puts too many people’s noses out of joint and as a result I’ll never win any popularity contests.
But people don’t come to this site because of me. Some may even do so DESPITE me. They come for the arguments that are presented, for the facts that are researched and checked and cited and marshalled and cross-referenced, and for the discussions in the comments threads.
If you want more articles of a certain type rather than another type, get off your damn arse and write them and send them in. You can clearly construct a sentence and I wouldn’t mind taking a single day off once in a while.
In some ways, I feel quite heartened by this type of polling result. It seems to me that there are very few people who are hard Nos. And this is the position the No campaign started out with – no more powers, line in the sand, etc. It’s clear to me from this type of poll that the No campaign has already lost that argument – so we have defeated them once already.
This poll reflects a change in the No campaign’s strategy over the last couple of months – they’ve moved from an essentially status quo, “no further powers” position to a “some further powers” position. However, in so doing, they have now placed themselves under far more scrutiny and will have to define exactly what those powers are, how exactly they will go about getting them and what guarantees will be in place to secure them – and whether they like it or not, they’ll have to do it ahead of the referendum if they want to secure the vote of the soft Nos/undecideds. This is not an easy position for them to be in as further powers will require the approval of the Westminster Parliament and possibly a referendum in England/Wales/N. Ireland if it involves substantial change. Without guarantees in place, all they can realistically offer is the status quo – which the majority of Scots is clearly rejecting.
We need to recognise that we’ve already beaten them once. And we can do it again.
Erchie says:
1 September, 2013 at 10:29 am
This YouGov poll for “DevoPlus”. Now, who are “DevoPlus”
Devo Plus
“… is a cross-party and non-party grouping which has been set up by Reform Scotland to promote the idea of the Scottish Parliament”
Reform Scotland:
“… is a public policy institute or ‘think tank’ which was established as a separate Scottish charity, completely independent of any political party or any other organisation”
Reform Scotland Peolple
Geoff Mawdsley – Director
…For the 8 years prior to that, he had been Chief Political Adviser to the leader of the Scottish Conservative Party.
Alison Payne – Research Director
…She began her career within the Scottish Conservative MSPs’ Research Unit, going on to spend four years as Head of Research. She later went on to become Political Adviser to Annabel Goldie MSP, Leader of the Scottish Conservative Group of MSPs.
I think its pretty obvious by now that Better Together has no positive case to put forward in support of the Union and is not a grassroots political campaign either. What kind of a grassroots campaign seals itself off from the public by keeping the venue secret and vetting beforehand people who want to attend at its launch meeting in the biggest city in Scotland?
What Better Together is geared towards is negative campaigning, of spreading smears and and fears.
I have noticed recently that unionist aren’t using the abusive ‘cybernat’ online as much preferring instead to refer to supporters of independence as national socialists, fascists, racists, etc. There is plenty of instances of that over that past week against WOS blogger on his twitter feed, the National Collective and the online unionist reaction to protests outside the Mitchell Library. I even seen an innocent tweet on the Better Together twitter account about the Edinburgh Mela being twisted into an accusation of some kind of racist taunt.
The Better Together campaign have a full year ahead until the referendum and need something to fill up all that empty space. It certainly isn’t going to be occupied by putting forward a reasonable case for the Union because there isn’t one, and they’re going to be helped in filling their void by a blatantly biased news media. As Humber Wolfe put –
You cannot hope
to bribe or twist,
thank God! the
British journalist.
But, seeing what
the man will do
unbribed, there’s
no occasion to.
link to en.wikipedia.org
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humbert_Wolfe”
Having that 😀
“Hundreds of thousands of ordinary Scots have already come to this site for the truth. You keep coming, we’ll keep delivering it. And that’s a promise.”
Way to go, sir.
@Thepnr
That explains why they’re awash with cash to splash.
I would add, in addition to my previous post, that although the No campaign has altered its position to include further powers, essentially their Better Together/Best of Both Worlds campaign is still based on its original argument with further powers now being included only as some kind of “bonus” or reward for voting No.
As I said before, I think we’ve already defeated them on their original argument or there would be a much stronger hard No vote being reflected in the polls.
@joe kane
Humber Wolfe put –
You cannot hope
to bribe or twist,
thank God! the
British journalist.
But, seeing what
the man will do
unbribed, there’s
no occasion to.
Oh….that’s brilliant!
@Jeannie
“no further powers” position to a “some further powers” is very dangerous for BT. Next “even more powers” then we come to “what the heck we might as well go for broke” Then it’s all over.
Hail Alba
Albalha
My apologies to Ken, I thought he did a good job then 🙂
Thepnr
So what exactly was the point of their poll, I hadn’t realised Devoplus was an offshoot of Reform Scotland. I confess I have little time for that latter.
@ Thepnr
That kind of backs up my point. If you have been looking at US campaigning for any years, these front and astroturf organisations are common to do the underhand things without putting your actual name to them
Bit like me just posting as Erchie but with more serious consequences 😉
These tainted polls are released so that someone somewhere can say that 70% don’t want independence, project fear fear anyone ( especially the RUK ) thinking that independence is a possibility
Brilliant – despite the Herald having some good journalists and commentators and an editor LLewellin, who seems like a decent chap, I finally gave up last week following some real rubbish. So, like many others, my first and last port of call daily is “Wings”. Wonderful and don’t let the b……. grind you down!
Rev, with regards to opinion polls could you please remind us of the rules which govern pollsters regarding them publishing all the data regarding their polls, i am having trouble finding the background to this You guv Poll, but in fairness that could be down to me!
Thank’s
“Rev, with regards to opinion polls could you please remind us of the rules which govern pollsters regarding them publishing all the data regarding their polls”
Once any aspect of the information is in the public domain, the full data tables relating to those findings must be made publicly available within 48 hours. So this stuff should all be on the YouGov site by midnight on Monday at the latest.
I love this site- it keeps me sane(ish)
Keep up the good work, it’s appreciated!
The question asked by these polls is how people would vote if the referendum is held tomorrow, not September next year. This reflects what people say when I talk to them, many say No at the moment, but are uncertain what their view will be next year.
Can anyone explain why the great and good of the Yes campaign by and large ignore a Panelbase poll putting Yes at 34%, No at 36% and 30% don’t know while making a ‘hue and cry’ about this YouGov poll pushed by a front organisation?
@Paula Rose
On the Rennie story you asked if I was being witty over the music being played at the BT meeting as folks filed in …..they really did play Sham 69, If the Kids are United and also Everyday People by Sly and the Family Stone, as they say you really couldn’t make it up!
Well done Rev, I am not really surprised, this just shows the power of the Internet,
one small point though, I feel sure that meny of your readers, and contributers are not
(like me) Scottish by birth ,but never-the-less have independence as their objective .
It’s crucial that No continue to believe they have a strong lead for as long as possible.
This will cause them to continue with current tactics and not give any serious thought to putting together any last minute offer of more powers.
I do hope they continue using Yougov – the BT stall lady of polls – as their preferred choice.
Whoever Devoplus are, it is quite clear that someone within the BBC clearly knows and has given the green light for coverage of the poll on the same weekend it’s released. What I found interesting was how Ken MacDonald struggled to describe Devoplus as some sort of group with an axe to grind and how this was similar to other polls starting to appear. (no doubt WOS is having an effect)
I’t quite clear that the power of the people / WOS is taking it’s toll and no matter how the BBC manipulates the coverage, as time goes by, their output is becoming more desperate and inaccurate. The discussion with the two pro-union boys this morning was so poor, lacking in balance and uninteresting – I’d love to see the audience figures for this mince. Ken MacDonald is way out of his depth.
No doubt the ratings will have more in common with Scottish newspaper sales than the amazing stats of WOS. More power to your elbow Stu and thanks for this great platform.
The Truth – presented in a sometimes witty, sometimes acerbic style – is the strength of WOS. i’m a committed supporter of WOS.
Rev, seems you have come in for some pretty nasty attacks on your character – by people who arguably have never met you. i counted 12 descriptions of your character in this article. You wouldn’t happen to be ambidextrous too? That would take you to make 13. Jings.
Once any aspect of the information is in the public domain, the full data tables relating to those findings must be made publicly available within 48 hours. So this stuff should all be on the YouGov site by midnight on Monday at the latest.
Won’t be a lot of help though. Yougov typically table only weighted %s in breakdowns rather than absolute numbers of respondents.
What I mean here is that if they asked 100 people and 3 said Y, 6 said no with the rest not sure if they’d vote, the headline results would be 33% Y to 66% no. And exaggeration, but you catch my drift.
MORI do similar, but, like decent pollsters, show the actual numbers of respondents. It’s then you discover that definitely No is only 36% with 44% yet to finally decide and that’s for a poll biased to No due to telephone methodology.
Yougov are applying a methodology which they have found works well for general elections in England (UK) to a referendum in Scotland. Rather foolish I’d say, particularly as they have no record in predicting the results of Scottish independence referenda accurately.
This is why we have such high variance in polls; the pollsters are all trying to do what they do with elections / work out a way of tranlating what they found into what will happen without any reference. They have no Scottish independence referenda results to see how well they did last time and adjust!
They’d be better just reporting actual %s without any adjustment for intention to vote, party loyalty etc. If they want to match election results, this should only be done using SGE data (as panelbase do), not UKGE data (Yougov) as the huge tactic vote in Scotland screws this up.
This is why I say people should not pay a lot of attention to Y/N polls right now. If we get another panelbase, we’ll find No has crashed from 59% to e.g. 46% in just a week!
What I do find interesting with the Ken MacDonald programme on BBC Scotland is that as well as reading out what the various newspapers are saying, he is now mentioning what some of the on-line blogs are saying. Sorry, Rev, he didn’t mention Wings this morning, but did mention some others – Greg Moodie’s cartoon, for one.
Hi Rev,
Just be mindful of the DoS attacks (Denial of Service, probably using bots) that the NO dirty tricks dept will surely unleash on WoS site. It is sure to happen in order to shut you down and shut you up. Make sure you have a contingency in the event of such occurring, for everyone in this debate needs WoS site to present the truth of the matter (even if that truth is unpalatable to some).
Keep up the truly awesome work.
YES Scotland.
Might be that Ken MacDonald will be referring to some of the on-line material/blogs as a matter of routine, along with the printed media. He did mention Wings the other week. It would be good if what Wings is saying could be mentioned more regularly. Wonder how that could be managed.
@thejourneyman
I think that’s rather unfair on Ken McDonald, the poll is all over the papers, difficult to ignore in a paper review. He made clear it was from DevoPlus who have their agenda, said that one poll does not a pattern make.
@jeannie
Ken Mc made clear last week that he’s a big consumer of online news in the interview with Mike Small, though as Mike said the paper review still dominates across various media even although it has probably had its day.
So much of radio/TV news is take from the press in any given day, round and round it goes.
Space monsters dude. It all supposedly came down to the space monsters. They have no policy on space monsters.
Bastard!
Rev,
Just made another small donation to the cause off the back of this.
Please keep on going safe in the knowledge that we’re all behind you!
Cheers,
Rab
Remember in 1984 where Winston has to change all the old newspaper reports about the chocolate ration. It had just been cut again but announced as an increase.
The herald headline is record low for Yes. But look back a few months and the record low was 23%. If I remember the quizzles foaming at the groin about a poll that claimed yes was 27% but that was a good few years ago. Curiously it had 42% support for an independent Scotland in Europe but the 27% was for a separate Scotland.
I thought the media were going to be punished for printing lies? Obviously not.
Rigged polls, lies and smears. If No wins by destroying democracy is there any way that we won’t be heading for a civil war?
I was feeling a bit down this morning after looking at the Herald.
During the week I send an email to the Sunday times explaining why I was no longer buying their paper.
I’ve been getting it for the past 30ish years for it’s coverage, financial, world, know your enemies, etc. Told them i was f*** tired of them treating us like numpties. Hjul, Bowditch, Mccaskill. So that’s £2.30 a week I save, that could be i% of a poll over the year. Have to say I’ll miss it, though.
Lifts my spirits when I read the posts. SS, Doug Daniell, Morag, all the others.
In desperate times hero’s arise. Keep up the work, Rev. Maybe a back-up server, perhaps, or a mirror ?
@ Peter Stark: You could have expressed your view in just one statement. ” Readership data levels don’t interest me”.
Keep on keeping on, Rev.
Thanks for the update on readership stats Rev.
Many of us are keen to know how our wee investment is doing (which is why I bug you for this data sometimes).
@Albalha, @jeannie
If KM is a consumer of online news, as jeannie says, why would the fact that this weekend’s poll is all over the papers actually make it more newsworthy? A crowd funded, open and transparent poll of some significance is produced, then engaged about with one of the msm’s favourite sons, John Curtice, and nobody bats an eyelid.
The main point I waned to make was the MSM’s determination to control or manipulate their output is now affecting quality, which in turn will lead to diminishing audience figs. Finally KM is no Dereck Bateman.
Again no longer shocking but still blatant by MSM. (Herald is on the slide)
Interesting how quickly a ‘No campaign poll’ is taken up and similarly how quick Prof Cutrice sticks his oar in this time. This is not surprising to myself but surely any doubters can now see this man is partizan not for the referendum but for one side only … sad to say, thought better of the man.
This ia being prtrayed as an independent think tank slightly leaning towards the Union.. Aye right.
Devo Plus calls for parties to sign ‘Glasgow Agreement’ on a new Union between Scotland and the rest of the UK. New polling, conducted by YouGov on behalf of the Devo Plus group, has shown the dramatic effect which Devo Plus could have on the result of the independence referendum. ( No self interest in this sides infor then Prof Curtice ?)
The polling, conducted from 19-22 August, shows that the adoption of Devo Plus makes the option of remaining within the United Kingdom a significantly more attractive proposition.
This group is another stalling tactic splinter group… there will be no new powers people! Salmond tried to get this on ballot paper .. the No side said no!
There is no way the sides are this far appart at this stage not from where I live anyway in Argyll. If anything at the moment its 50/50 easily from my experiences and public questioning.
Curtice has shown his hand for me (populist for the union if anything)
O/T where the hell is Derek Bateman ??
@thejourneyman
It was in the papers that’s what I was saying. Whether it should have received the coverage it did is a different point. However I think all polls which include the referendum question will be covered by the BBC, so if it is in the next WoS poll then let’s see what happens. Personally I quite like Ken McD, and, after all it was D Bateman who chose to walk away.
WoS is an oasis of clarity in a desert of shit …sorry my stab at being poetic.
Keep up the excellent work. 🙂 First class!
Wings is getting to the stage where it doesn’t need the Scottish media. As many people come here to read about Indyref as go to the main media.
This morning, for only the second time in the past 5 years I have completed an online poll, this one by Panelbase, asking my voting intentions. I answered SNP on all questions of party voting preference, and my final answer was for an independent Scotland. I wonder if my answers will actually be included in their final voting projections, or if they’ll be consigned to a waste bin labelled “CYBERNATS – IGNORE!”
I don’t answer my phone to any unrecognised or undeclared number on my caller display, so I don’t ever get the chance to register as a pro-independence voter on any polls conducted by telelphone. I suspect many other pro-indy people have the same selective phone answering policy as me, thus making telephone polls extremely inaccurate in their findings.
Personally I prefer to wait for Scottish Skier’s reasoned analysis of the various polls, pointing out the anomalies and Curtice-style assertions in most of their findings. Finally, keep up the good work Rev Stu, you provide a ray of hope and sanity amidst a shit-storm of media and BBC anti-independence bias and propaganda.
Derek Bateman left BBC Radio Scotland a few weeks ago.
I am on here all the time too – reading all the articles and it can’t be much fun having to take all the crap that you get. I get a bit of stick myself at times but at least it’s not out in the public domain.
You are doing a grand job and I recommend:
Rev Stuart Campbell for President 🙂
This morning in the Guardian/Observer, ‘Wings’ is referred to in 2 comments in an article by Kevin McKenna, ‘A revolution, yes, but no blood will be shed. The first comment is at 1st Sept 2013 9.47 am. and refers to the abuse the Stu has been subjected to, Comment below this gives a link to a wings item.
Derek Bateman:
“Retired from BBC”. July I think. (Or was he pushed?)
I don’t think he was happy to go but I expect him the keep his promise to do some blogging when he comes back from his well deserved rest period in Iberia.
@callmedave
It was his choice to go.
@Albalha
I thought Derek didn’t get his contract renewed? Did he just walk?
The problem for the NO campaign is how to minimise the SNP and Green vote at the EU elections in 2014 prior to the referendum; a big win for those parties will be hard to ignore.
Real votes, not polls.
Whatever scare campaign is tried in the MSM will be repeated later in the year.
@the journeyman
My memory might be failing me, but I thought Ken MacDonald did mention the Wings poll a couple of weeks ago, but maybe I’m wrong. Anyway, what I’m saying is that it’s actually good that the “what the papers say” format is being extended to include “what the bloggers say” as well.
@TonyLittle
I’m fairly certain he was staff and made the decision to retire.
Never in doubt. As Pat Stanton once said, they will only kick you if they rate you.
Great stuff Rev Stu. It is difficult to underestimate how important this site is (thanks also to its many informed and witty contributors). It’s been part of my daily routiine for over a year now (saves on dental floss). See you all on the hill.
Rev, full of admiration at which you and your other contributors deconstruct the drivel coming out of the No side. It’s more than a year to go and I for one see the increase in readership of WoS as a trend that will only increase.
This poll isn’t some general election where a jaded electorate can’t be arsed taking the time to understand the arguments. Au contraire, it’s a vote on the future of their country and that will drive people to look for information about voting Yes. If the MSM remains full of No propaganda (for that is what is when the entire media favours only one side) then it’s sites like WoS that people will increasingly visit.
In other words, no way is it too late, no way whatsoever. It’s only just starting…
By the way, Mr. Jeannie said Dunoon was awash with saltires and lions rampant for the Cowal Games yesterday. Anybody got any pictures?
I like the monthly stats Rev, so keep em coming! it’s always fantastic to see how wings is growing and I am convinced that any ‘undecided voter’ who comes here looking for more information, will soon be a ‘Yes’ voter!
And that is why they are smearing you!
Keep up the good work Rev, you really are the Wizard of WoS;-)
Can’t wait to meet up with you and all WoSers who can make it to Fill the Hill.
(ps I liked your link to Primal Scream’s ‘Lonely’ song last night. Must admit to having a wee thing for Mr Gillespie, and then, imagine my horror when he turned up at Glasto wearing not only the pink jaiket, but added insult to injury by wearing matching trews – I fear he is lost to us indies. Shame.
@Peter Stark,
OK, I agree to some extent with some of your comments re self-indulgence and nasty characters on both sides of the argument – I do get angry when someone offering a contrary opinion in comments on here is jumped on as a “troll” and treated to disrespectful sarcasm. HOWEVER, this is not just a ‘potentially’ great site, it IS a great site, and I don’t mind getting shown the evidence to prove it. When this week has shown the continuing lingering death of the print media in Scotland, this is the best time to show where those readers may be going.
The full-time journalist? You may be getting confused with Newsnet Scotland which crowd-funded for that purpose around March this year.
One symptom you may not enjoy about the thirst for independence is that we begin to feel a lot better about ourselves while we do it – and you don’t sound like a fan of ‘tall poppies’. Anyway, I’m sure another good article will be along very shortly.
Keep up the great work, Rev!
I would like to add my support for the Rev and his work. Without doubt one of the most talented people on the internet these days, I am glad you are on our side. I was quite surprised to see a picture of you in the Sunday Mail, quite young looking and at first I thought is was a spoof as you look rather like a startled heron with that rather Mohawk style hair. Well done.
Seeing these graphs shows us that this site is going one way,i.e, in the right direction. On the week that the figures came out for the regional titles and showed us their decline is continuing with their journey to oblivion beckoning it contrasts with the sheer runaway success of this site. The Unionists did have a tactic of ignoring this site as well as LFI and Newsnet at the beginning. Not now. This is posing a real threat to the Unionists in exposing their lies. It takes something for any press title here let alone the DR rag to print a ‘clarification’ due to the Rev pursuing their inaccuracies and omissions only a few days ago.
Great work Rev, your reaching the parts that need to be reached.
HenBroon is the Rev’s smear piece only in the printed edition?
its a breath of fresh air rev. there is one trustworthy source of info and its thanks to you and the wos team.
Yeah, i want to see this Sunday Mail piece without spending 1.40.Anyone got a link or a picture of the article?
Brilliant Rev well done.
Im sure a top seat in Holyrood, would be yours for the taking, if you wanted it.
Youve earned it. Keep the good work up.
I have made a similar comment before however. Stu I hope that you are keeping notes on all of this, as once we are independent you should write some form of book about Wings and its part in the referendum. It would be fascinating reading. I guess that it would have to be an “e” book to provide links but there should be a few bob in it for you at least.
Best wishes for the future.
The Man in the Jar
The Devoplus people did not ask the question that is on the ballot paper next year. On twitter someone has posted the questions:
“Scotland should become a fully independent country seperate from the rest of the UK”
“Scotland should remain part of the UK WITH THE INCREASED POWERS OUTLINED IN THE DEVO PLUS PROPOSAL”
“Scotland should remain part of the UK with the same devolved powers it has at present”
– wait till the 41% who picked no 2 realise that what is being proposed is devo max +
Rev, thank’s for answering my question earlier.
When it’s difficult to work out just what is happening with the devo debate, it’s best to think of what we already know, for a while now the NO lot have been trying to push the idea that a NO vote = more powers for holyrood, according to other polls however the people of Scotland don’t seem to be swallowing that because it looks like what it is, a lie! so then comes along a poll asking questions put by an organisation that most of us had ether never heard of or had forgotten about, who just happen to like the idea of Devo max and surprise, surprise, it claims the results show support for the idea, this of course will be followed by the No lot saying well if that’s what you really want vote NO.
It’s about a subtle as mince!
I would also suggest that we comment on sites like the heralds by politely disagreeing and then asking why they play up this poll when they didn’t mention the one by panel base
I’m one of the new readers – just discovered WoS a few weeks ago – and I just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading it. Keep up the good work, Rev!
And now I’ll stop before I come over all fangirly 😉
Bugger (the Panda) says:
1 September, 2013 at 3:23 pm
“HenBroon is the Rev’s smear piece only in the printed edition?”
It is yes, I didn’t buy it you understand, just browsing in the supermarket.
HenBroon
Luckily I live abroad.
They are rattled by Wings
It just proves that the “war” is advancing into a new phase. They don’t like it upem Captain.
Stunning figures + trend in bar chart. Always some interesting content and comment on here. Just rewards I would say.
Rev,
just to add my congrats on your reader stats.
Can no better complement you than to say WoS has become an “Institution”.
It appears you’ve got under the skin of the BitterTogether bunch and in the immortal
words of Lance Corporal Jones “they don’t like it up ’em”.
if there’s one type of people i can’t stomach, it’s those left-handed unicycling vegan budgie-owners from Fermanagh. 🙂
Keep up the good work !
HenBroon
I would like to add my support for the Rev and his work. Without doubt one of the most talented people on the internet these days, I am glad you are on our side.
Couldn’t agree more.
I think that graph sums it up.
I found this site recently and it’s refreshing to read a Scottish politics site with a good mix of logic, satire and humour.
And it doesn’t surprise me to see it doing well, with it’s basic premise in debunking media bias.
I’m obviously not the only one who feels frustrated and depressed with the Scottish newpapers and media – where readers/viewers are treated like idiots.. with transparent propaganda, and general lack of ambition for people who live here.
Regarding the personal attacks, I don’t think many readers will buy it for exactly that same reason – we have plenty of practice in seeing through the BS.
Most people can easily distinguish between genuine nastiness, compared to outspoken opinions, a sense of humour and using exaggeration for emphasis.
So I’m happy to see increased readership figures brandished – not because I give a shit about any alleged ego / blogger jealousy issues about who’s site is more popular…. but because it simply means the information is getting out there and hopefully making an impact.
Rev Stu,
sorry to be so late to the party!
As for this shmear shite you are suffering, well fuck them! You just carry on doing what you do and we will just carry on doing what we can to support you. The figures speak for themselves. You and all those that contribute to this site are not so easily deflected. Talk about bleedin obvious!
Unfortunately they will inevitably carry on doing what they do. Fortunately, their shmear shite is of the same sad quality as their journalistic output, very annoying but easily seen through.
I know you don’t need it, but I hope the sentiments of solidarity expressed by those who use and really appreciate this site give you an extra wee helpful boost on a potentially shitty day like today.
Stay cool Rev.
Keep on growing Stu.
And thanks to everyone who posts, and to those who read. The thoughts, character and commitment that comes across on these pages are what will make Scotland stronger.
As Merida says in “Brave” (when she finally finds the needle and thread that will mend the tapestry): “Ya Beauty!!!!!!!!!!!” Gaun Yersel WoS! This site keeps me sane!
The word is getting out – but there are still many dinosaurs out there. Sent an e-mail out this week round the local SNP council group, more or less having to explain what a website was and why reading them (especially WoS) was really quite important…..
To be honest, you were in the wrong about the trans gender issue on twitter. Mr cockburn made a good point about you being British and not Scottish no matter what you thought. If a man wants to be a woman then he becomes she, and nobody should be judging.
I’m voting yes in 2014. Congratulations on the new readers.
velofello says:
1 September, 2013 at 12:24 pm
@ Peter Stark: You could have expressed your view in just one statement. ” Readership data levels don’t interest me”.
Oh I doubt if I would have wanted to have said that, as it bears no relation to what I actually said. For any web site such as this one, I would think that readership data levels are very important for a number of reasons. How the data information is used would be up to the site owner and his views and that is of no concern of mine.
I would expect any web site dealing with the referendum debate to see readership levels grow as we approach the day of the referendum as levels of public interest increase. However, that being said, preaching to the converted may not bring new conversions to the cause, which would also be true when little snide comments are directed towards those who may question “the party line”. At the end of the day, I said what I said and that was responded to. If this doesn’t suit your impressions of what I said or your personal sensibilities, then I am sure you can raise it with someone who cares what your opinions on my views are, for that truly does not interest me.
Great stuff Rev. I’ve managed to miss all the shit going on this week as I’m on holiday in the US. It’s lovely to step away from it all for a while, and the more you do so in a different country, the more the very idea of my own country NOT being independent, and not even having the powers US states enjoy really seems bizarre and wrong. So to catch up on the debate for a quick half hour and see the venom, smears, lies and abuse directed at you, and by association all of us generally has really made me angry.
It’s nothing new of course. You could just watch Scottish questions at Westminster to see the contempt we’re all held in, and have always been people who by rights should be nowhere near the levers of power in Scotland.
But they must be rattled. The fact they’ve had to leap on a deeply flawed poll that in fact is simply going back to pre-2012 joining those who want devo-max with those who’re no, while there have been NO straight yes/no polls published for months says it all really. Polls asking the actual question will be being desperately asked all the time. Clearly they’re not showing the *right* results for publication.
And one big problem they have is that, in their haste to continually slag off Salmond, they’ve been criticising his plans as “independence-lite” which is surely the same as devo-max anyway? They’re pissing into the wind with all their devo crap. They took it off the table, and the only option for Scots is self-determination, from where we can decide what powers to cede, if any. The upping of the venom suggests they’re realising winning might not be as easy as they thought. Good. And a lot of that is thanks to Wings, which is really the only site fighting back with any spirit.
Still waiting to hear the positive case for The Union.
If Alistair Darling can find time away from filling out his Westminster expense sheets, he can email or call me with just one example of a unionist benefit that cannot personally be enjoyed by me in an independent Scotland.
Take yer time old boy. You’ve got until September 2014.