This year’s Scottish parliamentary election could prove to be one of the most important in recent political history.
From the future of the United Kingdom to the fight for the soul of the independence movement and questions over whether Scottish Labour can recover, there is no shortage of issues at stake.
To navigate the twists and turns of the campaign, give context to the debate and analyse the aftermath, DC Thomson has assembled a stellar team of political journalists.
David Mac Dougall
David joined the team as head of politics at the end of 2020, after nearly two decades as a foreign correspondent.
Most recently he was based in Finland, covering the Nordic and Baltic region, but has reported from more than 30 countries across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East as a TV reporter, producer and writer.
He started his journalism career at a local television station in the USA.
David grew up in Fife and, before becoming a journalist, worked as a diplomat with the Foreign Office, serving at British embassies in Finland, Israel, DR Congo, Guatemala and Iraq.
He brought his dog with him from Finland to Fife and they’re looking forward to exploring the Scottish countryside – after the election is over.
Andy Philip
Andy is the political editor of The Press and Journal, covering all the latest twists from Holyrood and St Andrew’s House – and what it all means for people across the north and north-east.
He grew up in Aberdeenshire and covered the patch for The P&J just before the SNP had its first whiff of power.
Since then, Andy’s covered all the big political stories across Scotland, including stints with the Press Association and the Daily Record, finally getting back to his roots with a newly expanded DC Thomson politics team.
When he’s not trying to work from home, Andy can be found playing in a band, trying to entertain his two young daughters – or escaping with his bike somewhere off the beaten track.
Paul Malik
Paul started covering Scottish politics in summer 2019, thrown headfirst into Brexit, prorogued parliaments and snap general elections before coronavirus turned up and showed the world the true meaning of crisis.
Outside of politics, he enjoys waiting for his invitation to Milan fashion week before grudgingly remembering it is Tannadice, not the San Siro, he will be returning to once things get back to normal.
Calum Ross
Calum has been covering local and national politics for 15 years, and has worked at both Westminster and Holyrood.
Since joining The Press and Journal in 2007, he has served in several senior positions at the newspaper, including political editor and investigations editor.
He has won multiple honours for his work, such as being named Reporter of the Year at the 2016 Highlands and Islands Media Awards, and is also a three-time finalist at the Scottish Press Awards.
Under our new way of working, Calum is relishing the opportunity to delve more deeply into the most important issues of the day, and to help hold our decision-makers to account.
Barrie Daglish
Barrie is a digital producer who has been a journalist since graduating from Stirling University in 1999. His role is to help the DC Thomson politics team win the battle for eyeballs and ensure their top-quality work reaches as many people as possible.
A keen reader and fan of US sports, Barrie batted .333 for the Athens Warriors in high school and is sure the Philadelphia Phillies will be calling him up any day now…
Dan O’Donoghue
Dan is our man in Westminster, making sense of the politics and policy of the UK Government. Whether it’s Brexit, the Budget or Boris, he’s getting the latest lines on the biggest stories.
Prior to joining the DC Thomson politics team, Dan stalked the corridors of power for the Press Association.
He made his way to Parliament working for local and regional newspapers and national press agencies. Outside of journalism, he’s a die-hard Everton fan and is convinced the Toffees will win the league.
Adele Merson
Adele covers the political beat in the north-east where she digs into the local issues that matter to readers from oil, to tourism, to regional connectivity.
She is a proud feminist and passionate about reporting on women’s rights issues and boosting women’s representation in politics.
Before becoming a member of the DC Thomson politics team, Adele covered the twists and turns of local government for the Evening Express.
She started out at the paper as a fresh-faced trainee in 2014, later being appointed the title’s political reporter. She was shortlisted for Political Reporter of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards in 2018, 19 and 20. In her free time, she is a keen yogi (yoga fan!) and massive bookworm.
Derek Healey
Derek is our political correspondent, covering everything from election campaign launches with giant comedy deckchairs to the scandal and intrigue that makes Holyrood tick. He is the man behind our politics newsletter and regularly appears on The Stooshie podcast.
Prior to joining the DC Thomson politics team, Derek worked as a Dundee reporter and an online journalist, taking a particular interest in investigations and corruption.
Rachel Amery
Rachel is working on our daily interactive newscast Election Hub Live in the run-up to the Holyrood election in May.
She grew up and lives in Perth and prior to joining the DC Thomson politics team was a news reporter for the Evening Telegraph. She has previously covered local, Scottish and general elections.
Outside the newscast studio, Rachel likes running, cooking, reading books and is a Eurovision enthusiast.
Finlay Jack
Finlay is a third-year journalism student at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and is currently on placement with the team.
Before joining up with DC Thomson, he gained experience in the industry reporting on Queen of the South FC, his hometown team.
You can hear his dulcet tones on Queen of the South’s live streams as Finlay commentates for the club as well as match reporting, live tweeting and recording post-match interviews.