THE SNP must clamp down on so-called “cybernats” if it is to win a vote on
Scottish independence in a second referendum, one of the party’s former campaign strategists has warned.
Andrew Collier, a journalist and former speechwriter for Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon, described protests held outside BBC Scotland headquarters in Glasgow in the days before the 2014 referendum, when Yes campaigners accused the broadcaster of anti-independence bias, as “angry bullying”.
READ MORE: Syrian refugees living on Isle of Bute hit back at reports they are unhappy in Scotland
Writing for STV, Mr Collier, who worked as a communications strategist for the SNP for the past five years, said: “If there’s going to be an Indyref2, then this stuff is once again going to be ramped up to hysterical levels. And again it’s going to be damaging to the Yes cause. How are No voters to be converted when they get the impression that these supporters are representative of those wanting to run a new Scotland?”
He added: “A firm and unequivocal Stop This Now message from the party would make a real difference and at least moderate this nonsense.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article