Laura Pollock
Laura Pollock is a digital editor at The National whose coverage links Holyrood politics with the grassroots independence movement and how decisions made in parliament land with activists and ordinary people. Her reporting combines live political developments, campaign organising and social policy stories, with a strong emphasis on independence and the parties that shape it. She works across articles, newsletters and audio, and has produced several thousand pieces for The National and other outlets.
Holyrood debates and party clashes
Pollock’s political coverage follows the tension between parties at Holyrood and how those clashes feed into wider constitutional debate. She reports on Reform UK and the SNP not only as opposing forces but as drivers of narrative about Scotland’s future, reflected in work on a Reform MSP’s conduct towards an SNP member in the chamber and the fallout around Reform’s Scotland conference.
Her role in coverage of that conference, including candidate suspensions and manifesto announcements over a compressed news cycle, shows a focus on the mechanics of emerging parties and the pressure points they create in Scottish politics.
She also covers Westminster’s response to Holyrood on constitutional questions, including taking part in discussions of Downing Street’s refusal to grant powers for a future independence referendum after a vote in the Scottish Parliament. In that work she examines how UK Government decisions constrain or shape the independence strategy pursued at Holyrood, and sets those decisions against the expectations of independence supporters.
Her writing and podcast contributions in this area tend to be immediately tied to live votes, conferences and party rows, rather than abstract commentary, and keep attention on how quickly political fortunes can change.
Grassroots independence movement and Celtic Alliance
Before stepping into her current digital role, Pollock worked as a grassroots reporter for The National, keeping readers up to date with the independence movement at street and community level. Her coverage follows campaign groups, local organisers and cross-border alliances, and treats them as a core part of the independence story rather than an occasional backdrop. This thread continues in her present work, where she chairs and facilitates discussions with activists and leaders from across the Celtic nations.
She is closely involved with the Celtic Alliance, covering events that bring together independence activists from Scotland and other nations with shared constitutional aims. In reporting from these gatherings she describes panel discussions, Q&A sessions and informal exchanges, and highlights how organisers seek to turn solidarity into practical strategy.
Pollock also runs The Celtic Alliance Report newsletter, which extends this beat into a regular digital format and gives campaigners and readers a consistent place to follow developments across allied movements. Her participation in independence-focused podcasts further underlines this grassroots perspective, offering a journalist’s-eye view on how campaigns organise and sustain momentum.
Social policy and lived experience features
Alongside party and campaign coverage, Pollock writes about social policy issues that cut across constitutional lines, often grounding them in individual experience. Her reporting on calls for genetic screening for adopted adults in Scotland looks at practical barriers faced by adoptees in the health system, including assumptions made by clinicians and gaps in risk assessment when family history is unknown.
She brings out the consequences of these barriers in terms of both health outcomes and the emotional strain on those trying to navigate the system.
In more personal features, she uses first‑person narrative to connect broader themes with everyday life.
A piece on learning to switch off during a trip to Cyprus sits within her wider interest in wellbeing and the pressures of constant connectivity, and gives readers a narrative hook into discussions of burnout and rest. In a reflection on the 2014 independence referendum, Pollock writes from the position of someone who was just below voting age at the time, showing how constitutional questions shape political consciousness even before formal participation is possible.
These features show that her politics beat includes attention to how policy, campaigns and national debates are felt at individual level, not only counted in votes or party seats.
Digital audience work, audio formats and wider outlets
Pollock’s current role as digital editor at The National places her at the intersection of editorial decisions, audience behaviour and content strategy.
She works on digital coverage and engagement for the newsroom, helping shape how independence and politics stories are presented and delivered across platforms. That work includes facilitating events, hosting discussions and contributing to podcasts, as well as commissioning and producing written pieces.
She is a regular voice on The National Podcast, where she joins colleagues to unpack major political developments such as Downing Street’s rejection of further referendum powers and the controversies surrounding Reform UK’s activities in Scotland. In this format she explains context, traces timelines and connects breaking news to ongoing independence narratives, reinforcing her through‑line of linking elite decision‑making to activist and voter concerns. Beyond The National, Pollock has written across crime, politics and local events for outlets including Yahoo News UK and regional titles such as the Glasgow Times and Greenock Telegraph, underlining her ability to apply a politics lens in varied local and national settings.
Databases of her work record several thousand articles covering world news, UK stories and local reporting, reflecting a reporter used to switching between fast‑moving news and more reflective features while keeping politics and public life at the centre.
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