SUPPORT for the monarchy is falling, while pro-republic sentiment is growing. It's a straight-forward, fact based sentence, backed up by a huge number of polls from recent years. But it's bizarre how controversial it seems to be to point it out in the UK's mainstream media.
The official position is that the royal are wonderful – a harmless bit of tradition, important for the country's heritage, positive representation for Scotland on the world stage ...
The unspoken rule on the BBC, most TV news and in the majority of tabloids is that you do not deviate from that script.
At The National we appreciate that more and more Scots are moving towards a pro-republic position, and we want to ensure that these views are not hidden away.
Subscribe for £10 for a year for our 10th anniversary
We also understand that not all independence supporters are keen on the idea of a republic, and provide space for those voices too.
With the King and Queen touring Australia, we've been reporting on the protests they've faced and ensuring pro-republic campaigners are given a space to have their say.
So if you want to support a newspaper that isn't afraid of going outside the usual pro-monarchy status-quo, scrutinises the royals and won't publish nonsense puff pieces about one family's day-to-day life, then a subscription to The National is a must.
At the moment, you can get a whole year of access to The National for just £10 for our 10th anniversary – sign up here and help us to continue challenging the media's deification of the royal family ...
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel