The National's Holyrood Weekly Podcast

Aug 02 2024 47 ep. 50 mins 29
The National's Holyrood Weekly Podcast artwork

Our team of political journalists talk us through the week that was in the Scottish Parliament, with appearances from politicians, campaigners and experts explaining key new stories.

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S4E2: Special edition: Labour's PFI scandal

Aug 02 2024 64 mins  
As part of our week-long investigation into Labour's PFI Scandal, we chat to Richard Murphy and Robin McAlpine about the practice and how much money has been spent on doomed projects in Scotland and across the UK.

S4E1: General Election special! Ft Mhairi Black on leaving Westminster

May 30 2024 84 mins  
We're back for a special edition! While Abbi is on maternity leave, Steph Brawn and Adam Robertson put together this special episode for the election campaign. We're joined by Mhairi Black who reflects on nine years as an MP, Lorna Slater who takes on the urgency for parties to tackle the climate crisis, and Alba's Chris McEleny - who's running as a candidate in Alex Salmond's part

S3E6: Behind the Scottish Budget with Shona Robison

Feb 29 2024 52 mins  
Scottish Deputy First Minister Shona Robison describes the latest Scottish Budget is one of the "most difficult in the history of devolution". Taking our reporters through some of the controversial cuts the Scottish Government has made as its Budget passed in Holyrood last week, Robison also weighs in on a council tax row with defiant Labour authority leaders who called on Westmins

S3E5: Inside the Commons Speaker Gaza ceasefire row with SNP chief whip Owen Thompson

Feb 23 2024 72 mins  
The House of Commons descended into chaos this week as Speaker Lindsay Hoyle allowed a Labour amendment to be moved during an SNP opposition day debate that was supposed to be calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Go behind the scenes with SNP chief whip Owen Thompson who takes our political reporters Abbi Garton-Crosbie and Steph Brawn through the ins and outs of a dramatic

S3E4: Can the SNP win back Yessers at the General Election? With John Curtice

Feb 09 2024 49 mins  
Scotland's top pollster and professor of politics at Strathclyde University John Curtice joins the podcast to dissect two new conflicting polls. We look ahead to the General Election, and why independence support has remained so steady almost a decade after the 2014 referendum. And, host Abbi Garton-Crosbie takes listeners through Humza Yousaf's Cabinet reshuffle after Michael Math

S3E3: Is the Scotland Office a waste of money?

Feb 02 2024 73 mins  
What does the Scotland Office actually do, and why does it take multiple FOIs and a parliamentary question to find out how many staff they have working in Edinburgh? Host Abbi Garton-Crosbie is joined by SNP MP Deidre Brock to discuss Alister Jack's "propaganda" department, and political reporter Steph Brawn joins to debrief a long week at the UK Covid Inquiry. Elsewhere, go behind

S3E2: Can Scotland get rid of the King?

Jan 19 2024 58 mins  
With the monarchy's popularity plummeting under King Charles - could or would an independent Scotland get rid of the royals? Political reporters Abbi Garton-Crosbie and Steph Brawn speak to anti-monarchy campaigner and Our Republic convener Tristan Gray on the politics of the royals in Scotland. Elsewhere, we look at the Post Office Horizon scandal, new rules for XL bully dogs, the

S3E1: What will a conversion therapy ban in Scotland look like?

Jan 12 2024 39 mins  
The first podcast episode of 2024 looks at what could be the next controversial piece of legislation to come through Holyrood - a bid to ban LGBT+ conversion practices. Dr Rebecca Crowther and Tim Hopkins take us through the key points of the legislation and the pushback it has seen already just days after a consultation was launched. Elsewhere, political reporter Abbi Garton-Crosb

S2E13: 2023 Year in Review with Philippa Whitford

Dec 29 2023 70 mins  
SNP MP Philippa Whitford joins our political reporters Abbi Garton-Crosbie and Steph Brawn for a lengthy chat about the biggest stories of the year, from Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation as first minister and where the campaign for independence is, as well as other news that has dominated Westminster and Holyrood during 2023. Later, chief political reporter Judith Duffy joins our r

S2E12: How could an independent Scotland influence global climate policy?

Dec 08 2023 52 mins  
Scottish Greens MSP Mark Ruskell joins this week's podcast to discuss the main issues surrounding COP28 in Dubai, how an independent Scotland could influence global policy out from under the feet of Westminster and what domestic impact decisions made at the summit could have at home. Elsewhere, political reporters Abbi Garton-Crosbie and Steph Brawn discuss the main stories coming