Steph Brawn
Steph Brawn is a political journalist for The National whose work follows how party strategy, public policy and media coverage shape the independence debate and everyday life. Her reporting combines on-the-record interviews, close reading of legislation and campaigns, and regular analysis across The National’s podcasts, giving her coverage a consistent focus on the mechanics of power rather than personality politics.
Independence debate and party strategy
Brawn’s core subject is the politics of independence and how parties position themselves around it, both in parliament and on the campaign trail.
She leads conversations with senior figures who sit at the heart of that debate, including a long-form interview with former SNP MP Philippa Whitford on whether a “wellbeing economy” could unlock a new phase for the independence movement. On The National’s podcasts she regularly joins the editor to react to major interventions by high‑profile politicians, such as Andy Burnham’s comments on independence and Ed Miliband’s stance on sanctions policy, treating each as a test of where the wider constitutional argument sits.
Her coverage pays particular attention to how smaller and junior parties navigate independence strategy and coalition politics. In an episode with Scottish Greens co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater, she probes their response to a council tax freeze, their view of the SNP’s independence strategy and the pressures on their cooperation agreement, framing the interview around concrete decisions rather than rhetoric.
Across these pieces she treats polling, election results and internal party manoeuvres as linked parts of a longer independence campaign, often drawing on election analysts such as Allan Faulds of Ballot Box Scotland to ground discussions in voting data and trends.
Council tax, local democracy and everyday policy
Brawn devotes significant attention to council tax and local government finance, treating it as a test case for fairness in the wider political system. Her reporting on calls for John Swinney to replace what critics describe as an “outdated and unfair” council tax focuses on the practical impact of the levy and the political risks of reform, rather than treating the debate as a purely party-political row.
In podcast coverage of the council tax freeze she presses ministers on how national decisions play out for local authorities and public services, using detailed questioning to connect headline announcements with their effects on households and councils.
That focus builds on several years of local democracy reporting, where she covered council chambers, planning decisions and community-level politics before moving into national political coverage at The National in 2022. Her background in local news and as a local democracy reporter gives her stories a granular feel: policy pieces typically anchor abstract debates in specific council areas, funding settlements or service changes, and she returns frequently to questions of accountability, transparency and the health of representative democracy.
Media Watch, far-right fronts and electoral integrity
One of the defining strands of Brawn’s work is scrutiny of how the media covers politics, particularly where far-right or fringe movements intersect with elections. As co-host of The National’s Media Watch, she dissects coverage of events such as Channel 4’s undercover documentary on Reform UK, asking why other broadcasters, especially the public service broadcaster, have not applied the same level of investigative pressure.
Her discussions of the alleged donations scandal around Reform, the resignation of senior aides to Nigel Farage, and a pattern of disappearing candidates focus on the implications for democratic accountability and what voters do and do not learn from mainstream bulletins.
Brawn also reports on groups that operate as “front” parties or “fake green” outfits, such as Independent Green Voice, which has been accused of tricking voters and costing the Greens representation at the last election. In coverage of that story she examines ballot design, party branding and the rules around registration, treating them as vulnerabilities in the electoral system that can be exploited by far-right campaigners.
This strand of her work often links back to her media beat: she pays close attention to how these actors are framed on television and in print, and whether news organisations are adequately warning voters about their backgrounds and aims.
Public health, mental health and sport
Alongside party politics, Brawn has stated interests in public health, mental health and sport, particularly rugby, and threads these themes through her political reporting. On her author page she highlights public and mental health as key areas, and her work frequently touches on health policy decisions, funding and the political narratives around wellbeing and care.
The “wellbeing economy” episode is an example of how she uses health and quality of life as lenses for the independence debate, exploring how different economic models might support better outcomes.
Her interest in sport also surfaces in her coverage for The National, where she has fronted live discussions of major fixtures and tournaments while tying them back to national mood and political stories. In one live programme she and a colleague discuss a World Cup win alongside the weekend’s major political stories, treating sport as part of the wider national conversation rather than as a separate beat. Across health and sport pieces, her reporting keeps a consistent emphasis on how policy and politics shape the conditions in which people live, work and participate in public life, reflecting the broader concerns she sets out in her profile.
4 more politics journalists.
Abbi Garton-Crosbie
Abbi Garton-Crosbie is a multimedia political reporter who treats independence as a live process shaped by Holyrood power struggles, party manoeuvres and grassroots pressure. She works at The National, a pro-independence newspaper, covering how political power is contested and exercised in contemporary Scotland, with a core focus on parties, parliament and the mechanics of constitutional change. She reports on parliamentary votes, government strategy around future independence referendums, and elections across Scotland in the wider context of devolution in Wales and Northern Ireland. Her work centres on party leadership, resignations and internal conflict, including long-form interviews with senior politicians and coverage of emerging and smaller parties. She examines far-right activity, protest politics and movement organisation, and runs policy-driven reporting on rent caps, AI data centres, health boards and public services, across written, video and podcast formats.
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Aisha Iqbal
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Alessia Simona Maratta stands out for showing how political decisions, regulations and conflicts ripple through communities, pairing national and global stories with on-the-ground voices and clear policy explanations. She is a digital reporter, producer and editor with Global News’ network news desk, covering breaking news, crime, politics, public health, housing, labour, immigration, environment and climate, social issues and features. Her recent work spans politics, public health regulation, labour and technology, and human-interest features that ground complex issues in everyday experience. She reports on politics, policy and community impact, public health and social debates, and labour and regulation at the intersection of technology, globalization and worker rights. Alongside hard news, she produces features that use individual stories, straightforward narrative arcs and accessible explanations to connect history, science and policy to everyday life.