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Political upheavals herald sales boost say titles

Bosses at a Scottish newspaper group are claiming an upsurge in sales on the back of recent political upheavals north of the border.

Latest ABC figures for the big Scottish daily and Sunday titles show circulation down across the board in the year up to April.

But the Glasgow-based Herald and Times group says more recent figures show this month’s devolved elections show a strong circulation boost.

The elections resulted in Alex Salmond’s Scottish National Party winning an outright majority in the Scottish Parliamet, paving the way for a possible referendum on independence.

The Herald and Times says flagship daily The Herald was read by an estimated 30,000 more readers in election week than the previous week and sold an extra 11,000 copies.

Sister title the Sunday Herald, which relaunched in January as a newspaper that feels like a news magazine, saw its circulation rise by more than 3,000 from the previous Sunday with a package of election news, while the Evening Times circulation also rose by more than 10,000.

A Herald & Times Group spokesman said: “Readers chose our team of experts and distinguished columnists for the best reporting and analysis of the election and an interpretation of the new Scottish political landscape.

“With our headquarters in Glasgow and our staff enmeshed in the Scottish community, the title is the natural place to turn for a true understanding of Scotland, its life, politics and business,” he added.

However the ABC figures saw circulation continuing to falll year-on-year for all three titles together with Edinburgh-based rivals The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday.

The full circulation figures, with the percentage year-on-year change in brackets, were as follows:

Daily Record 306,535 (-5.97pc)
The Herald 51,294 (-8.05pc)
The Scotsman 42,007 (-8.08pc)

Sunday Mail 364,034 (-7.90pc)
Scotland on Sunday 54,909 (-5.68pc)
Sunday Herald 36,277 (-14.35pc)