SCOT goes POP!

Scotland wants OUT of Burnham's United Kingdom PRISON, shows dramatic independence poll

2026-08-11T11:23:53.046+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

I now have sixteen regular monthly Ko-Fi supporters - many thanks to them all. I reckon if I could get up to several dozen monthly supporters that would make it sustainable for me to keep making content. If you'd like to help inch me closer to that target, please visit my Ko-Fi page HERE. Remember that if a recurring monthly donation isn't suitable, the page also accepts one-off donations of any amount.

Bafflement as Gerry Hassan claims the 1979 devolution referendum, in which Scotland voted for devolution but didn't get it, is proof that Scotland is in a "voluntary union"

2026-08-09T13:49:32.214+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

I now have sixteen regular monthly Ko-Fi supporters, thanks to a new sign-up a few hours ago. I reckon if I could get up to several dozen monthly supporters that would make it sustainable for me to keep making content. If you'd like to help inch me closer to that target, please visit my Ko-Fi page HERE. Remember that if a recurring monthly donation isn't suitable, the page also accepts one-off donations of any amount.

Robin McAlpine wants us to stop using the ballot box to try to win independence, and to start using opinion polls instead. That is, with all due respect, totally crazy.

2026-08-07T12:02:24.802+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

I now have fifteen regular monthly Ko-Fi supporters, thanks to someone new signing up over the last 48 hours. I reckon if I could get up to several dozen monthly supporters that would make it sustainable for me to keep making content. If you'd like to help inch me closer to that target, please visit my Ko-Fi page HERE. Remember that if a recurring monthly donation isn't suitable, the page also accepts one-off donations of any amount.

"Does PALESTINE need nuclear weapons?" - a perfectly logical question if nuclear deterrence is supposed to work

2026-08-06T21:04:22.167+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

I now have fifteen regular monthly Ko-Fi supporters, thanks to someone new signing up over the last 24 hours. I reckon if I could get up to several dozen monthly supporters that would make it sustainable for me to keep making content. If you'd like to help inch me closer to that target, please visit my Ko-Fi page HERE. Remember that if a recurring monthly donation isn't suitable, the page also accepts one-off donations of any amount.

The BBC's attempts to sabotage the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games will never be forgotten - and demonstrates powerfully why a British state broadcaster will always fail Scottish viewers

2026-08-04T11:12:23.292+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

I currently have fourteen regular monthly Ko-Fi supporters. I reckon if I could get up to several dozen monthly supporters that would make it sustainable for me to keep making content. If you'd like to help inch me closer to that target, please visit my Ko-Fi page HERE. Remember that if a recurring monthly donation isn't suitable, the page also accepts one-off donations of any amount.

The Craig Murray and Xander Elliards blueprints for securing Scottish independence: is one better than the other?

2026-07-30T21:20:46.136+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

John Swinney's strong denunciation of Burnham's outrageous "off-limits" comment: my reaction

2026-07-27T19:37:36.553+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

I'm delighted to say I now have fourteen regular monthly Ko-Fi supporters, as a result of three more people joining over the last 24 hours. Many thanks to them. I reckon if I could get up to several dozen monthly supporters that would make it sustainable for me to keep making content. If you'd like to help inch me closer to that target, please visit my Ko-Fi page HERE. Remember that if a recurring monthly donation isn't suitable, the page also accepts one-off donations of any amount.

No. 10 North: How Burnham is signalling with his choice of name that "England is our country, Scotland is an external possession"

2026-07-26T13:56:20.168+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

More people have become Ko-Fi supporters of my content over the last twenty-four hours - many thanks to them! I now have eleven regular monthly Ko-Fi supporters, and I reckon if I could get up to several dozen monthly supporters that would make it sustainable for me to keep making content. If you'd like to help inch me closer to that target, please visit my Ko-Fi page HERE. Remember that if a recurring monthly donation isn't suitable, the page also accepts one-off donations of any amount.

Scottish poll DISASTER for Burnham: SNP have massive lead in his first YouGov subsample as PM

2026-07-25T12:33:48.763+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

Many thanks to the several people who became Ko-Fi supporters of my content yesterday! I now have nine regular monthly Ko-Fi supporters, and I reckon if I could get up to several dozen monthly supporters that would make it sustainable for me to keep making content. If you'd like to help inch me closer to that target, please visit my Ko-Fi page HERE. Remember that if a recurring monthly donation isn't suitable, the page also accepts one-off donations of any amount.

Scotland is now in a FORCED union, not a "voluntary" one: Burnham makes it official on just Day 4 of his premiership

2026-07-24T13:35:57.418+01:00

There is no unambiguous outcome to yesterday's readers' poll about the future of Scot Goes Pop as the result currently stands - so far traditional text-blogging is somewhat more popular than videos and podcasts (perhaps unsurprising given that I ran the poll on the blog rather than the YouTube channel), but in total just over half of you want the YouTube videos to continue to at least some extent - either on their own or in combination with some text-blogging. I'll continue to mull it all over.

However, I'm delighted to say that two more people set up a recurring monthly Ko-Fi donation last night, plus there was another one-off donation. A million thanks to all three of those people. That brings me to a total of four monthly Ko-Fi supporters, plus there's also a pre-existing recurring payment that doesn't go through Ko-Fi, so five overall. As stated yesterday, I'll probably need to get up to several dozen recurring monthly supporters on Ko-Fi to make this work, but I'm slightly more optimistic today than I was before. If you'd like to help me continue creating content, please visit my Ko-Fi page HERE, and remember that if a small recurring payment isn't suitable for you, it does accept one-off donations of any amount too.

A poll for Scot Goes Pop readers and viewers - please respond if you can

2026-07-23T11:59:31.191+01:00

So I'm completely stumped, to be honest. Just over a year ago, I switched my focus from conventional blogging to YouTube videos in the hope that I would no longer be lurching from mini-crisis to mini-crisis and having to do gruelling year-round fundraising appeals just to stay afloat, which had been the pattern since 2021. The idea was that the direct revenue from the videos might make the channel just about sustainable without having to fundraise at all. That didn't work - not because the videos haven't received enough views (they have), but simply because videos about Scottish politics generate much lower revenue per 1000 views than the UK average.

I then tried to square the circle by setting up a Ko-Fi page. People had been telling me for years that my fundraising problems would instantly be over if I went down the Patreon route - that way I'd leave behind the 'boom and bust' of annual fundraisers, build up guaranteed monthly funding and it would all run like clockwork. Ko-Fi is like a no-frills version of Patreon - it allows people to set up small recurring monthly payments, or if they prefer to make a one-off donation of any amount, and a variety of payment methods are accepted. Slightly to my surprise (and certainly to my dismay), that hasn't worked so far either. As of this moment, I have just two recurring monthly supporters on Ko-Fi and two people have made one-off donations via the site. Many thanks to all four of those people, but obviously what I would really need to make the channel sustainable is several dozen monthly supporters, so as things stand I'm not even within sight of the foothills.

A couple of days ago I asked the open question of whether reducing the minimum payment amount from the current £3 to £1 would entice more people to contribute. As far as I'm aware, nobody actually answered that question (which probably means the answer is "no") and the main feedback I received was from people telling me I should go back to conventional text blogging. I'm sure that advice was sincerely meant, but no-one can say I haven't already spent several years well and truly putting to the test whether text blogging is viable.

Nevertheless, I've taken the feedback at face value and set up a readers' poll, which hopefully you will be able to view and respond to below, to ask whether people would be more likely to become monthly Ko-Fi supporters if I concentrate on text blogging, or YouTube videos/podcasts, or a combination of both. The bottom line is that a few dozen Ko-Fi supporters will be required no matter what type of content I'm producing, so if that's not going to be possible regardless of what I do, it's probably better to find out now.

It's conceivable that I'm no longer producing a product that people think is worth having, which is fair enough. What I would say, though, is that if we want some sort of thriving pro-independence alternative media as a counterweight to the brazen unionist bias of the mainstream media, it will require adequate ongoing funding to be viable. It certainly doesn't have to be me producing it, and there may well be others who are more suitable for the task, but whoever does produce it will face exactly the same problem I'm facing right now. If you want to know why there's so little regular pro-independence content on YouTube, for example, there's no great mystery. Even though my videos are extremely basic, with no expensive equipment involved and no fancy editing or graphics or background music, each one generally takes several hours to make. Making even a single video to a 'professional' standard would probably take days. Few people are going to be able to make that kind of investment of time on a regular basis without at least some funding. (Unless they have 'private means', of course, but I don't think we have all that many aristocrats in the independence movement.)

Quiz Maker

The case for optimism that the next general election WILL be used as a de facto referendum on independence

2026-07-21T14:51:13.211+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

Other recent videos:

Scottish independence could now be just one or two years away from taking centre-stage once again

"But only if it's Argentina!": Starmer's shock U-turn on the morality of football rivalries

"Self-Determination for the Falklands but NOT for Scotland!" - World Cup exposes WEIRD contradiction

If you'd like to support my YouTube channel and help it to grow further, please visit my Ko-Fi page, where you can either make a one-off donation of any amount you choose, or set up a small recurring monthly payment. Realistically a few dozen recurring Ko-Fi supporters will probably be needed to make the channel sustainable in the long run, so please bear with me as I continue to promote the page quite heavily until that target is reached.

A progress report on the Scot Goes Pop video channel - plus a question for its viewers

2026-07-21T00:40:04.590+01:00

I was planning to make a video tonight about Andy Burnham's first day as Prime Minister, but then I thought back to how hilariously off-beam some of the reactions to Liz Truss and Keir Starmer were at the very start (Caitlin Moran infamously said that Keir Starmer was so competent it was making her feel "fruity"), and I reckoned it might be wiser to take an extra day or two to process the significance of events. One thing is for sure - if Andy Burnham actually delivers on his promise to overturn the political and economic model of the last 40 years, he'll end up as one of the three most important Prime Ministers since World War II, alongside Thatcher and Attlee. That does seem rather unlikely somehow.

Instead I'll just take a moment to bring you an update on the progress of the Scot Goes Pop channel on YouTube as we enter this new political era of uncertain significance. The building of my YouTube subscriber base has been steady but also frustratingly slow - I hit the all-important 1000 subscriber threshold just before Christmas, but several months later I still haven't quite managed to double that. However, it's views for the videos themselves that are the most important thing, and those numbers have been consistently pretty decent - it looks like weekly views for the channel now either exceed or at least match each of the other main Scottish political channels that I'm aware of, with the obvious exception of Craig Houston (who has the 'advantage' of being able to appeal to far-right extremists well outside the borders of Scotland).

Perhaps the most significant metric available to me in YouTube Analytics is what is blandly referred to as the "monthly audience", which I eventually realised is exactly the same thing as what used to be called "absolute uniques" - ie. it's the number of actual people who have viewed at least one video on the channel within the last month. Every individual is counted only once no matter how many videos they viewed over the course of the month, and no matter how many times they viewed the same video. In recent times, the monthly audience has hovered at around 14,000 people, which is equivalent to about 1 in 300 of the adult population of Scotland. That may not sound like very much, but all you'd have to do is multiply that by ten, and suddenly the channel would be reaching one person in every thirty, and that would be making a genuine contribution to building an alternative to our underwhelming mainstream media. That has to be the medium-term aim, I think.

However, if it's going to work, the channel has to become financially sustainable, and as I've noted before, that is proving very challenging. If my direct earnings from YouTube were simply hitting the average per 1000 views for all UK creators, there would be no major problem, but for whatever reason Scottish politics is a distinctly non-lucrative topic for videos, and I'm falling way below that average revenue per 1000 views. To try and breach the shortfall, I set up a Ko-Fi page a few weeks ago, which accepts both one-off donations of any amount and small recurring monthly subscriptions, with the option of using a variety of popular payment platforms. The aim with that is to build up reliable monthly funding of a few hundred pounds to support the channel. That could happen if, say, there were 100 regular Ko-Fi subscribers at £5 per month, or 50 subscribers at £10 a month.

So far the number is nowhere near that. Based on my past experience of fundraising I do still think it's a perfectly feasible target, but unfortunately I'm beginning to realise I'm going to have to start promoting the Ko-Fi page in a much more full-on way (and potentially a more intrusive and irritating way) if I'm ever going to get anywhere with it. I may have to start plugging it at the end of each video or something like that - up until now I've only been mentioning it in the text description section of the videos and at the bottom of each blogpost.

Before I start going that far, though, I have a question for readers / viewers. When I initially set up the Ko-Fi page, I had to specify a minimum amount for donations and monthly subscriptions, and I opted for £3. I could have made it as low as £1, but at the time I thought that would be a mistake. I'm now beginning to wonder if I've missed a trick, because obviously if there happened to be several hundred people out there willing to chip in £1 a month, that would do the job just as well. So let me know in the comments section if reducing the minimum amount to £1 would make any difference to your willingness and/or ability to donate.

My YouTube channel is HERE, and my Ko-Fi page for one-off donations and recurring monthly subscriptions is HERE. Many thanks to everyone who has contributed already.

On the day Andy Burnham becomes Prime Minister, Scottish independence could now be just one or two years away from taking centre-stage once again

2026-07-20T11:10:35.385+01:00

Not "hatred" or "bigotry" after all: in stunning turnaround, the British establishment decides that it is OK to want a national football team to lose for political reasons

2026-07-17T12:42:42.754+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

Other recent videos:

"Self-Determination for the Falklands but NOT for Scotland!" - World Cup exposes WEIRD contradiction

SNP vote INCREASES in Larkhall by-election as Burnham FAILS his first Scottish electoral test

Disaster for Burnham as Labour languish in JOINT THIRD in YouGov Scottish subsample

"Democratic Self-Determination for the Falkland Islands but NOT for Scotland!" - World Cup exposes WEIRD contradiction in British imperial logic

2026-07-14T18:56:21.481+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

Other recent videos:

"Self-Determination for the Falklands but NOT for Scotland!" - World Cup exposes WEIRD contradiction

SNP vote INCREASES in Larkhall by-election as Burnham FAILS his first Scottish electoral test

Disaster for Burnham as Labour languish in JOINT THIRD in YouGov Scottish subsample

SNP vote INCREASES in Larkhall by-election as Burnham FAILS his first Scottish electoral test

2026-07-13T00:24:15.411+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

Other recent videos:

Disaster for Burnham as Labour languish in JOINT THIRD in YouGov Scottish subsample

Another stunning SNP by-election GAIN as the Tories go into FREEFALL in the north-east of Scotland

Burnham in danger of making government from Manchester as remote and alien as government from London

Why so many Scots want NORWAY to beat England in the World Cup: three CRACKING reasons

2026-07-10T14:20:12.942+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

Other recent videos:

Disaster for Burnham as Labour languish in JOINT THIRD in YouGov Scottish subsample

Another stunning SNP by-election GAIN as the Tories go into FREEFALL in the north-east of Scotland

Burnham in danger of making government from Manchester as remote and alien as government from London

Disaster for Burnham as Labour languish in JOINT THIRD in YouGov Scottish subsample

2026-07-08T15:01:24.364+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

Other recent videos:

Another stunning SNP by-election GAIN as the Tories go into FREEFALL in the north-east of Scotland

Burnham in danger of making government from Manchester as remote and alien as government from London

Yet another poll suggests Burnham surge is a damp squib - SNP dominant in Scottish subsample

If you'd like to help support my YouTube channel, I've set up a new Ko-Fi page.

Another stunning SNP by-election GAIN as the Tories go into FREEFALL in the north-east of Scotland

2026-07-04T14:11:50.288+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

A great reply semi-ruined by the final sentence. Stew? In Scotland?! The very thought! https://t.co/xt4ltJ4enm
— James Kelly (@JamesKelly) July 3, 2026

There are only two places in the Universe According To Andy: London and Manchester. Live in both, understand them both - and you, my friend, have got it licked. https://t.co/GHH2aN6GL1
— James Kelly (@JamesKelly) July 3, 2026

Although I have some sympathy with this tweet, the idea that Birmingham is "the middle" simply reinforces the absurdity of Burnham's own worldview. Manchester itself is roughly in the middle of the UK. To treat it as the northern extreme leaves half of the landmass invisible. https://t.co/GEHnpNrueF
— James Kelly (@JamesKelly) July 3, 2026

If you'd like to help support my YouTube channel, I've set up a new Ko-Fi page.

"IS THAT IT, ANDY?!" Only a 2% Burnham bounce for Labour with YouGov, as SNP dominate the Scottish subsample

2026-07-01T11:59:46.220+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

Other recent videos:

Burnham in danger of making government from Manchester as remote and alien as government from London

Yet another poll suggests Burnham surge is a damp squib - SNP dominant in Scottish subsample

Scotland immune to Burnham effect? SNP buoyed by stellar subsample result in first poll of new era

If you'd like to help support my YouTube channel, I've set up a new Ko-Fi page.

King of the South: Andy Burnham will make rule from Manchester as detested in Scotland as rule from London has always been

2026-06-30T03:42:44.300+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

Other recent videos:

Yet another poll suggests Burnham surge is a damp squib - SNP dominant in Scottish subsample

Scotland immune to Burnham effect? SNP buoyed by stellar subsample result in first poll of new era

Andy Burnham's plan to rip up the Barnett Formula means he is ripping up Better Together's "Vow"

If you'd like to help support my YouTube channel, I've set up a new Ko-Fi page.

Yet another poll suggests Burnham surge is a damp squib - SNP are dominant in the Scottish subsample

2026-06-29T02:28:42.817+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

As regular readers may recall, I've been an elected member of the SNP's Policy Development Committee since last October, which meant I had an automatic delegate spot at SNP National Council in Port Glasgow yesterday. As far as I could see the entire event was held in private session without the media being allowed in, so I can't say anything about what happened inside the hall, and instead I'll just give you my now-traditional selfie from outside the venue just to prove that I was there. As I've mentioned once before, the last time I spent any time in Port Glasgow was when I was an extra on the film Anna and the Apocalypse, which entailed being chased down a residential street by zombies, so no jokes please about any similarities or contrasts between the two experiences.

By-election sensation as SNP gain seat in Aberdeen - John Swinney's party are speedily BACK IN BUSINESS in the Granite City

2026-06-27T20:40:43.088+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

Other recent videos:

Scotland immune to Burnham effect? SNP buoyed by stellar subsample result in first poll of new era

Andy Burnham's plan to rip up the Barnett Formula means he is ripping up Better Together's "Vow"

Grim news for Labour, but good cheer for the SNP, in first poll of the Burnham transition period

If you'd like to help support my YouTube channel, I've set up a new Ko-Fi page.

Scotland immune to Burnham effect? SNP buoyed by stellar subsample result in what is effectively the first poll of the Burnham era

2026-06-26T09:27:11.684+01:00

An audio podcast version of the above video can be heard HERE, and will soon be available on Apple Podcasts HERE.

Other recent videos:

Andy Burnham's plan to rip up the Barnett Formula means he is ripping up Better Together's "Vow"

Grim news for Labour, but good cheer for the SNP, in first poll of the Burnham transition period

Keir Starmer's resignation as Prime Minister has made Scottish independence INEVITABLE

If you'd like to help support my YouTube channel, I've set up a new Ko-Fi page.

SCOT goes POP!

Scotland wants OUT of Burnham's United Kingdom PRISON, shows dramatic independence poll

Bafflement as Gerry Hassan claims the 1979 devolution referendum, in which Scotland voted for devolution but didn't get it, is proof that Scotland is in a "voluntary union"

Robin McAlpine wants us to stop using the ballot box to try to win independence, and to start using opinion polls instead. That is, with all due respect, totally crazy.

"Does PALESTINE need nuclear weapons?" - a perfectly logical question if nuclear deterrence is supposed to work

The BBC's attempts to sabotage the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games will never be forgotten - and demonstrates powerfully why a British state broadcaster will always fail Scottish viewers

The Craig Murray and Xander Elliards blueprints for securing Scottish independence: is one better than the other?

John Swinney's strong denunciation of Burnham's outrageous "off-limits" comment: my reaction

No. 10 North: How Burnham is signalling with his choice of name that "England is our country, Scotland is an external possession"

Scottish poll DISASTER for Burnham: SNP have massive lead in his first YouGov subsample as PM

Scotland is now in a FORCED union, not a "voluntary" one: Burnham makes it official on just Day 4 of his premiership

A poll for Scot Goes Pop readers and viewers - please respond if you can

The case for optimism that the next general election WILL be used as a de facto referendum on independence

A progress report on the Scot Goes Pop video channel - plus a question for its viewers

On the day Andy Burnham becomes Prime Minister, Scottish independence could now be just one or two years away from taking centre-stage once again

Not "hatred" or "bigotry" after all: in stunning turnaround, the British establishment decides that it *is* OK to want a national football team to lose for political reasons

"Democratic Self-Determination for the Falkland Islands but NOT for Scotland!" - World Cup exposes WEIRD contradiction in British imperial logic

SNP vote INCREASES in Larkhall by-election as Burnham FAILS his first Scottish electoral test

Why so many Scots want NORWAY to beat England in the World Cup: three CRACKING reasons

Disaster for Burnham as Labour languish in JOINT THIRD in YouGov Scottish subsample

Another stunning SNP by-election GAIN as the Tories go into FREEFALL in the north-east of Scotland

"IS THAT IT, ANDY?!" Only a 2% Burnham bounce for Labour with YouGov, as SNP dominate the Scottish subsample

King of the South: Andy Burnham will make rule from Manchester as detested in Scotland as rule from London has always been

Yet another poll suggests Burnham surge is a damp squib - SNP are dominant in the Scottish subsample

By-election sensation as SNP *gain* seat in Aberdeen - John Swinney's party are speedily BACK IN BUSINESS in the Granite City

Scotland immune to Burnham effect? SNP buoyed by stellar subsample result in what is effectively the first poll of the Burnham era

Not "hatred" or "bigotry" after all: in stunning turnaround, the British establishment decides that it is OK to want a national football team to lose for political reasons

By-election sensation as SNP gain seat in Aberdeen - John Swinney's party are speedily BACK IN BUSINESS in the Granite City