WE'RE offering an entire year of access to The National for just £20 as part of our summer sale – and what better way to convince you to join than with a themed list?
20 reasons to subscribe to The National for £20
1. We're the only pro-independence daily paper in Scotland. It's been 12 years since the referendum, and the media is still overwhelmingly pro-Union despite around half of Scots wanting out of it.
2. When you have a journalist from The National at a press conference or huddle, we put forward the questions our readers actually want answered ... not what's been pre-decided by the lobby pack.
3. Despite the decline of newspapers, front pages still have a huge amount of influence over the wider media's coverage. We get otherwise uncovered stories onto the media agenda that way.
4. Across Scotland, we massively punch above our weight when it comes to setting the agenda. We break important stories that are covered by legacy media outlets because they're so unavoidable, whether on donations to politicians, the constitution, land reform, human rights or culture.
5. Our live coverage is pretty much unbeatable. We're often first to the story in Scotland, so much so that people spoof our social media breaking news alerts. With a subscription, you won't ever miss those urgent breaking stories.
6. With our Westminster correspondent, we're shaking things up in London. Imagine that – a journalist from a progressive paper hassling the likes of Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting ... and soon, Anas Sarwar. They don't like it much, but when we're in the same building, there isn't much they can do about it.
7. Something else Labour and Reform don't like is our Fact Checks. We host a regular Fact Check service against those big claims that need to be debunked. It started out as just the big common Unionist myths, but now we'll take on everything from arms sales to the economy, or toxic viral social media claims.
8. And on the economy ... we have a brilliant, varied team of contributors who write on that topic. Our columnists and newsletter writers tackle the big stories of Scotland's economy, and of course what it would look like should we become an independent nation. Richard Murphy, Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp, Scotland's Resilient Economy, Common Weal and more, they all offer an interesting perspective without the scaremongering.
9. We hold Labour to account, without pandering to the right. We challenge them on everything from foreign policy to their plans for the welfare state, while also scrutinising the Branch Office lot at Holyrood. Don't miss our Branch Office Updates newsletter every week.
10. We've always spoken up for Palestine. Our coverage of Israel's bombardment of Gaza has led to policy changes and even resulted in us raising more than £200,000 for Medical Aid for Palestinians. We've been consistent while others sat on the fence.
11. When we say refugees are welcome here, we mean it. Our coverage has led to Home Office U-turns and offered crucial insight into life in the UK as an asylum seeker. We have also been recognised repeatedly at the Scottish Refugee Media Awards, and nominated for Amnesty's Media Awards for our coverage in this area.
12. Our columnist and contributor line-up is the best in Scotland. You probably won't agree with everything they say, but you'll enjoy joining the debate.
13. Our multimedia offering is pretty great, with live podcasts Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 1pm, and lots of in-depth interviews on YouTube. There's also our thriving short-form video content and shareable explainers. BTW, make sure you're following us on TikTok and Instagram.
14. We run in-depth series on the issues Scotland cares about. Our energy past and future, the risks of green freeports, the truth about arms sales, council tax reform ... we don't shy away from the intimidating topics.
15. We involve our subscribers. We often invite them to contribute to special articles and get their questions for key figures ahead of major interviews. We also take their feedback seriously and we're always looking to grow and develop.
16. Michael Gove really hates us and you'd be annoying him by taking out a subscription.
17. Our newsletters are brilliant. Some offer a look behind the scenes in the newsroom, others a special focus on the state of the media, some insider news from Westminster.
18. We're not just politics and news. We're culture, music, literature, travel and more, which you'll get full access to with a subscription.
19. We want to build a better Scotland, not talk it down like some media outlets.
20. The National turned 10 in 2024, but Scotland still isn't independent. We've got a job to finish, so join us and help us get across the line.
