Iain Macwhirter (born September 1952) is a Scottish political journalist. He is a
political commentator
A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport).
Origins
The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...
for several newspapers, an author and documentary film and radio presenter and a former Rector of Edinburgh University. He has worked at both the
UK Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremac ...
and
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
, presenting the
BBC2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
programmes ''
Westminster Live
''Westminster Live'' was a weekly television programme focusing on political developments within the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The programme began on 21 November 1989 on the same day as television cameras were first allowed into the Hou ...
'', ''Scrutiny'' and, from 1999, the
BBC TV
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 19 ...
programme ''Holyrood Live'' from the Scottish Parliament.
In 2013, he published ''Road to Referendum'', which accompanied a three-part television series of the same name on
STV and
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
. Following the
Scottish independence referendum
A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side wo ...
, he published ''Disunited Kingdom: How Westminster Won A Referendum But Lost Scotland'', a retrospective on his experiences as a journalist documenting the campaign. In 2015, his book ''Tsunami'', about the
SNP's victory in the
2015 general election, was published by Freight Books.
Education
Macwhirter was educated at
George Heriot's School
George Heriot's School is a Scottish independent primary and secondary day school on Lauriston Place in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the early 21st century, it has more than 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff, and 80 non-teaching staff ...
, a grant-aided
independent school
An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...
in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, followed by the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
.
Life and career
In his ''Road to Referendum'' he recounts rejecting his parents' nationalism in the 1970s. Macwhirter worked for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in 1987, then from 1989 as a member of the Westminster press contingent, as part of ''Westminster Live''. In 1999, he presented ''Politics Scotland'' and ''Holyrood Live'' until both were axed in 2007 and 2009.
'', all morning papers. He returned to Scotland to help launch the ''Sunday Herald'' in 1999, and has presented the
magazine programme ''Holyrood Live''. He also writes for ''Public Finance'' and other publications.
Macwhirter's columns were suspended by ''The Herald'' in September 2022, after allegations he posted an offensive tweet about members of
following the latter's withdrawal as a candidate for the post. He was elected Rector on 13 February 2009, winning by 4,822 votes to 2,182 (69% to 31%).