First Minister​ Nicola Sturgeon

Huge congratulations to The National for reaching this milestone birthday. The paper has been a breath of fresh air in the Scottish media scene over the last five years, bringing a distinctive and essential voice to the country’s political coverage. As a fervent pro-independence voice on the newsstands and online, The National does a hugely important job in representing the strong, and growing, pro-independence movement, and I’m convinced will go from strength to strength in the years ahead.

Mhairi Black MP
The National has gone from strength to strength since its inception. A paper that understands the (then, though now much more) 45% of people who believe in Scottish independence has been a game changer for the frankly stale and out-of-touch wider media. And, they’re always very patient with me and my consistently late column submissions...

The National:

Here’s to the next five years and many more!

Singer-songwriter Emma Pollock
I’m delighted to be able to wish The National Happy Birthday as it turns five. The National presents a vital contrast to the constant barrage of the predominantly right wing, reductive headlines that adorn most of our newspapers and much of our TV news coverage at present. Its voice for Scotland and support for Scottish Independence has never been more vital as it attempts to counter such unashamed bias by presenting a more transparent, balanced viewpoint and a focus on Scotland itself. Moving into yet another General Election surely demands maximum access to the whole spectrum of political opinion and I take great heart in the fact that The National continues to play a major role in that much-needed balancing act in Scotland.

Author AL Kennedy
The indy referendum left many of us literally disillusioned about our mainstream media and eager for more democratic and informative options. The National emerged from a pack of new, more open, more Scottish options for Scottish readers. Today many in the UK have finally realised how dangerous the established UK media are and we have the least trusted journalism in Europe. Along with online ventures, The National was ahead of the curve, founded in hope and ready to experiment. There needed to be a print newspaper with backbone, decency and a Scottish perspective. I’m always glad to read it and delighted to see it on display in shops, its headlines kicking holes in carefully established narratives.

Maureen McGonigle, Scottish Women in Sport
There have been so many changes in society over the past five years at home and abroad that having a Scottish slant on this has been of immense benefit. I am grateful to The National for their continued support of Scottish Women in Sport, as they have been supporters long before it became “fashionable”. The opportunity to raise awareness and highlight many of the issues that are still prevalent in the sporting arena has been extremely beneficial.

Author Alan Bissett

The National:
I picked up The National on the first day it came out and have bought it pretty much every day since. After the indyref I just stopped trusting other newspapers to report anything like the truth about Scotland, so The National became a necessary corrective to the endless distortions and manipulations of the Unionist press. I get plenty of a spread of politics from my National. I now can’t imagine the Scottish media landscape without it.

Gillian Martin MSP
If the year 2014 taught us anything, it was that the print media was not reflective of the make-up of political opinion in Scotland as it was. One of the biggest moments of that year I remember was when the Sunday Herald broke the mould and came out for the Yes side. I think that was the moment that midwifed The National’s birth. In a time where no new newspapers are being launched, The National defied the odds and reached its first birthday, then its second ... and who would have thought that five years on it would be going strong? We need The National to cover the stories others don’t touch, to give space for opinion that hardly gets a look-in elsewhere. In particular I want to thank them for the focus they’ve put in the Catalan situation which we otherwise wouldn’t get from other media sources.

As we find ourselves immersed in a post-truth society where “fake news” tactics, misinformation strategies by certain political parties and groups threaten to subvert democracy, andthere is the very real prospect of a new referendum on Scottish independence, we need The National now more than ever.

Tommy Sheppard
Wow. Five years! That went quickly. The National has ensured over that time that there is an authoritative pro-indy voice on the newsstands. It has not only helped keep the independence movement alive, it has helped it thrive and mature by providing a platform for debate and exchanging ideas. As we go into the next exciting phase of our campaign for self-government, The National is more necessary than ever. Everyone should imagine what it would be like if we didn’t have it and redouble their efforts to promote the paper and extend its reach.

Liz Lochhead

The National:
Wishing all at National more power to your brilliant elbow. Where else would I get the news?

Andrew Wilson
The National exists because no other newspaper has spoken for those of us who believe that Scotland should be an independent country. At a time when the circulation of established titles is under so much pressure, The National is bucking the trend because it gives a voice to those who haven’t had one before and we represent half the country and growing. It has done so with understandably limited resources but has stewarded them cleverly. The editorial team have shown creativity, guile and great skill. And as a result the product is getting better and better and better. Not only that they work at it – where else in the world does a newspaper editor visit every community to do public meetings to sell what they produce? The National deserves and earns our support. If it succeeds it will help Scotland succeed too.

Joanna Cherry MP
It’s hard to remember the days before The National was the daily staple of the Yes movement. So much has happened in the five years since its birth. Many elections have been won by the SNP. We are very close to winning a second indyref and the movement is stronger than ever in no small part due to The National. The birth of the Sunday National last year was the icing on the cake. I’d like to thank everyone who has made this explosion of enlightened pro-indy journalism possible.

Donald MacLeod, chair of NRS
Events A very happy fifth birthday from all at Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy. It’s music to the ears of all those who still value, read, support and are employed by Scotland’s fantastic newspaper industry.

Robin McAlpine The National:
In 2014 Scotland faced a quite unprecedented situation where not a single daily newspaper reflected the political views of 45% of the Scottish population. You can read all the political text books you like and you won’t find one that believes a liberal western democracy can function if the opinions of half the population can gain no fair hearing in the nation’s media. Many media commentators talk a lot about freedom of the press and no-one should underestimate how damaging it is if your national media doesn’t hold the powerful to account. But they are much weaker on the democratic imperative for the public to have freedom to hear, the freedom to be exposed to a diverse range of ideas. Without the freedom of the public to hear different perspectives, how can they make good decisions at the ballot box? Looked at from this perspective, the existence of The National is nothing less than a democratic imperative.

Keith Brown MSP
The existence of a free press is intrinsic to the health of a democratic society. The launch of The National five years ago ensured that news media in Scotland more accurately reflects the diversity of opinion that exists in our political discourse and across Scotland as a whole. It is important that a pro-independence voice is represented in the mainstream media because that is the reality for the people of Scotland. Support for independence – and for a referendum – grows by the day and this must be conveyed by our news outlets. The National has been pivotal in making sure that those speaking in favour of Scottish independence are heard and not marginalised. The paper is also rightly lauded for its international journalism. One editorial that always resonated with me was from 2015. The front page marked the arrival of the first refugees from the Syrian conflict; the headline simply read “Welcome to Scotland.” What a strong message about the kind of country we can be.

Maggie Chapman, convener of the Scottish Independence Convention
We all know that our society is not served well when its media peddles fake news, does not challenge the structures and institutions of power, and refuses to give voice to those often excluded from public debate. The new Scotland we are seeking to build needs a new media that is up to the vital task of scrutinising and guiding public debate. The National has broken the ground for this. I hope it will be around for many more years taking different visions of Scotland to the public, stimulating open and respectful debate and challenging the systems that are taken for granted.

Alyn Smith MEP
The 2014 indyref was a gamechanger for Scotland’s media scene. The success of The National is proof of that. With voices from across the indy spectrum, The National is a one-stop-shop for anyone interested in a bold, dynamic vision for Scotland’s future. The National Roadshows showed a real commitment to making the newspaper a truly collaborative, community effort, along with a stellar online output and striking front pages designed to get people talking. Here’s to another five years!

Aamer Anwar

Well, there were many that thought it wouldn’t last and there were those who thought it was just a vehicle for the SNP, but it has defeated the critics, gone from strength to strength, carrying stories that other papers fail to give the prominence required. For me it is the go-to paper to get a story out, knowing that it holds power to account. Following the announcement of the public inquiry into Sheku Bayoh it was the one paper that analysed from start to finish what had gone on, it did not shy away from asking the difficult questions. The National has rapidly established itself as a campaigning paper where sadly so many have been decimated, but it is unique in that it supports independence and why not when the vast majority happen to be unionist? For me, the all-time favourite both here and in Catalonia was going into court to battle the Spanish State for Clara Ponsati with that headline "We’re with you, Clara". Your coverage on Catalonia has been second to none. Congratulations on the anniversary and thanks for all that you do.