Only one Scottish Sunday newspaper has backed a ‘yes’ vote in this week’s Scottish referendum with the rest either sitting on the fence or backing a ‘no’.
The Sunday Herald used a wrap-around front page to back a 'Yes' vote, but with an average circulation of 25,000 it represents only 3 per cent the Scottish Sunday newspaper market (see graph below).
Scotland’s best selling Sunday newspaper, the Sunday Mail, invoked the spirit of Katie Price as it said it would leave it up to the readers to decide how to vote.
It said in a leader column: "Katie Price, the model formerly known as Jordan and possibly the only celebrity not to have offered a view on the Barnett Formula or the unintended consequences of sterlingisation, said recently: 'You may not always end up where you thought you were going but you will always end up where you are meant to be.'
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“Yes or No, Scotland is moving on to where we are meant to be. And you know what? We'll be fine.”
The next best-selling Sunday paper in Scotland, The Sun on Sunday, did not express a preference in its leader column.
But the third best selling title, The Sunday Post, backed a ‘no’ vote.
It said: “The Sunday Post believes the case for independence, at this time, is unproven and carries too many risks.
"It is our considered opinion that the best option, the safer option, is to deliver the vision of a better Scotland with the safety net of the United Kingdom.''
The Scottish edition of the Sunday Express also explicitly backed a ‘no’ vote yesterday as did the Mail on Sunday.
The Daily Star Sunday's Scottish edition meanwhile sat on the fence saying: “We'll be honest here – many of us who write this paper aren't Scottish.
“But we can see the arguments on both sides.”
Sunday newspapers ranked by circulation in Scotland with referendum preference
| Title | Circulation | Preference |
| Sunday Mail | 231,821 | Neutral |
| The Sun on Sunday | 175,525 | Neutral |
| Sunday Post | 146,940 | No |
| The Mail on Sunday | 83,079 | No |
| The Sunday Times | 46,927 | No |
| Scotland on Sunday | 30,297 | No |
| Sunday Express | 28,002 | No |
| Sunday Herald | 25,000 | Yes |
| Daily Star Sunday | 23,161 | Neutral |
| Sunday Mirror | 18,202 | No |
| The Sunday Telegraph | 16,543 | No |
| The Observer | 14,093 | Neutral |
| Sunday People | 9,678 | Neutral |
| Independent on Sunday | 5,896 | Neutral |
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