David Bol
David Bol reports on politics as deputy political editor at The Scotsman, with a particular focus on how party strategy, leadership decisions and election results reshape the political landscape. His coverage tracks the movement of power inside and between parties, and he writes and broadcasts in a way that ties internal manoeuvring directly to outcomes for voters and institutions. He works across print, video and audio, combining on-the-ground reporting from counts and conferences with clear explanatory pieces and panel discussions. His recent work centres on Scottish party dynamics, the evolving shape of government, and the political fallout from policy rows and public service crises.
Scottish elections and party strategy
Bol’s reporting on elections follows campaigns from the ground through to the final count, with attention to both numbers and narrative. In his coverage of the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, he reports live from the count and then unpacks how a narrow win for Labour against the SNP and Reform alters momentum ahead of the next Holyrood election.
He sets out vote totals, margins and expectations, then tests them against what actually happened, using interviews with party figures to show how strategy is being rewritten in real time. In video bulletins and explainers, he returns to the same contests to assess whether headline victories translate into a durable path to power or simply a short-term shock.
Across these pieces, he treats by-elections, leadership races and wider polling as connected parts of a longer story about who is building or losing the capacity to govern.
SNP leadership, cabinet formation and internal tensions
Bol devotes a significant part of his work to leadership contests and government formation inside the SNP. In his piece on the potential make-up of John Swinney’s cabinet, he lays out the key “runners and riders” for senior posts and examines how different combinations of figures such as Kate Forbes and other high-profile MSPs would signal the direction of the administration. He links portfolio choices to questions of party unity, independence strategy and economic policy, showing how personnel decisions at Bute House shape the government’s room for manoeuvre. On video and in political podcasts, he follows SNP conferences and internal rows over issues such as independence, coalition deals and the end of the Bute House Agreement, using these moments to test whether the leadership still commands discipline and purpose. His coverage of key votes and announcements places individual speeches and tactical moves within a wider story about how the party manages dissent while trying to hold onto power.
Policy rows, public services and political accountability
Bol’s beat extends beyond party drama into the concrete impacts of policy decisions on public services and institutions. In conference reporting, he covers speeches from the first minister and opposition leaders on issues such as industrial strategy, the future of sites like Grangemouth, and concerns over national insurance changes, highlighting how arguments over workers’ rights and business costs play out in front of trade union audiences. Through podcast episodes and bulletins, he has explored scandals including contaminated water at major hospitals and wider questions about how health boards and ministers respond when systems fail. He treats these stories as tests of accountability, tracing how legal disputes, investigations and political pressure intersect when governments are forced to confront the consequences of long-running problems in health, infrastructure and social care. His work often moves from the immediate controversy to the underlying policy structures, asking what has to change to prevent similar failures rather than stopping at the initial headline.
Multimedia analysis and collaborative coverage
Bol plays a central role in The Scotsman politics team’s multimedia output, regularly appearing in video bulletins and discussion shows alongside colleagues covering Holyrood and Westminster. On programmes such as The Steamie, he joins the editor, Westminster correspondent and political reporters to walk through the week’s major stories, from the Peter Murrell case and disputes involving the Lord Advocate to defence contracts and international visits by UK leaders.
These conversations show his tendency to weigh both Westminster and devolved angles, moving between party tactics, legal detail and public perception without losing sight of practical consequences. In short Dailymotion segments, he front-faces coverage by introducing complex developments in clear language and then signposting viewers to deeper written analysis on the politics pages. Before his current role, he reported on politics for another major newspaper, which adds longer experience of Scottish and UK political institutions to his present work. Taken together, his articles, videos and podcasts mark him out as a specialist in Scottish party politics and governance who works to connect insider detail with accessible explanation across formats.
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