The Herald's Unspun Live heads to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The new show — Unspun Live at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe — runs from 4–7 August at Summerhall's Dissection Room, featuring a different high-profile guest each evening.
Across four nights, audiences will hear from First Minister John Swinney, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, and Britain's leading polling expert, Professor Sir John Curtice.
Tickets are available now — click here to book your place at Unspun Live.
These discussions will move beyond the usual political talking points, exploring the personal motivations, challenges and life experiences that shape Scotland's most influential figures.
Professor Sir John Curtice and guestsThe series opens on 4 August with Professor Sir John Curtice, who will be joined by special guests to take the political temperature of the nation and analyse the trends influencing the next Holyrood election.
Click here to buy tickets to Unspun Live with John Curtice and guests
John Swinney (Image: Gordon Terris) On 5 August, John Swinney will make a rare festival appearance. He will be interviewed by The Herald's Brian Taylor — the legendary former political editor of BBC Scotland, who has been covering the First Minister for more than 25 years.
The SNP leader will reflect on his first year leading the Scottish Government, the challenges facing his party and the country, and share a personal perspective on leadership and life in high office.
Click here to buy tickets for Unspun Live with John Swinney
Anas Sarwar reading The Herald (Image: Gordon Terris) On 6 August, attention turns to the opposition. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar will discuss one of the most dramatic years in his party's recent history. Buoyed by a strong performance at Thursday's by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, his appearance comes at a pivotal moment in his campaign to lead the next Scottish Government.
Click here to buy tickets for Unspun Live with Anas Sarwar
Kate Forbes speaking to The Herald (Image: Colin Mearns) Closing the series on 7 August is Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes. A former SNP leadership contender and key figure in the Cabinet, she will offer insights into the Government's economic priorities — and reflect on her political journey to date.
Click here to buy tickets for Unspun Live with Kate Forbes
Each Unspun Live session will be hosted by journalists and columnists from The Herald. The events will combine political analysis with personal storytelling, offering audiences a rare chance to engage with both the public views and private reflections of Scotland's leading politicians.
Audience members will also be invited to put their questions directly to the guests, ensuring a two-way conversation about Scotland's political direction — and the people behind the headlines.
Catherine Salmond, Editor of The Herald, said: 'We are delighted to bring the world's longest-running national newspaper into the heart of the world's largest arts festival.
'As Scotland faces a pivotal election in 2026, there is real value in having these conversations live on stage — where our readers and the wider public can engage directly with the people shaping our country's future.
'For those with a serious interest in Scottish politics, The Herald remains an essential read, combining authoritative coverage with unparalleled access to the key players and issues that matter.
'It is all part of our commitment to fostering understanding and informed debate — ensuring Scots have access to the insight they need, whether in our pages or face to face.'
Click here to book your tickets now via the Summerhall box office.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sturgeon: Salmond happier for SNP to be destroyed than succeed without him
Alex Salmond would rather have seen the SNP 'destroyed' than have it succeed without him, Nicola Sturgeon has claimed. In her memoir, Frankly, the former first minister said she had come to the realisation that her former friend and mentor 'wanted to destroy me'. She said her relationship with the late politician began to deteriorate as soon as she became leader of Scotland. Mr Salmond, who died last year, quit as SNP leader and first minister in 2014 after the Scottish independence referendum. Ms Sturgeon also claims in her book that Mr Salmond had admitted to her that the 'substance' of one of the sexual harassment complaints had been true. The former Alba Party leader was acquitted of all charges relating to the allegations at court in 2020, while a judicial review found the Scottish Government's own investigation of him was tainted with apparent bias. Ms Sturgeon said her former mentor had created a conspiracy theory about Scotland's core democratic institutions to shield himself from accountability. She said Mr Salmond never produced a 'shred of evidence' to support these claims. She accused him of trying to 'distort' and 'weaponise' the trauma of victims. In her book, which was on sale in some places ahead of schedule on Monday, she said: 'In his (Salmond's) efforts to turn himself into the wronged person, he demonstrated that nothing and no one was sacrosanct for him. 'There was never the merest hint of concern about the damage he did to the party he previously led. 'Indeed, it felt to me that he would have rather destroyed the SNP than see it succeed without him.' She accused her former boss of having 'impugned the integrity' of the institutions 'at the heart of Scottish democracy', including the Government, Police Scotland and Crown Office. She went on: 'The fact that he never produced a shred of credible evidence that a conspiracy existed, because it didn't, wasn't enough to stop him seeking to damage the reputation of these institutions and shatter the morale of those who worked in them. 'He was prepared to traumatise, time and again, the women at the centre of it all. 'A jury concluded that what they experienced wasn't criminal, but that does not mean those experiences didn't happen. 'Even if he never said so explicitly, he was accusing them of being liars, of making it all up.' The former SNP leader said Mr Salmond had made his former allies and SNP colleagues 'mortal enemies' in the fallout over misconduct claims against him. 'In that regard,' she wrote, 'I was clearly public enemy number one. For a while, I told myself that the bonds between us would be stronger than his thirst for revenge. 'Eventually, though, I had to face the fact that he was determined to destroy me. 'I was now engaged in mortal political combat with someone I knew to be both ruthless and highly effective. 'It was a difficult reality to reconcile myself to. 'So too was losing him as a friend. I went through what I can only describe as a grieving process. 'For a time after we stopped speaking, I would have conversations with him in my head about politics and the issues of the day. 'I had occasional, but always vivid, dreams in which we were still on good terms. I would wake up from these feeling utterly bereft.'
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Audience with late Queen more nerve-racking than FMQs, recalls Sturgeon
Nicola Sturgeon has spoken of her 'incredible respect' for Queen Elizabeth II – saying an audience with her was 'more nerve-racking than doing First Minister's Questions'. However she said that following her death in 2022, she believed the 'absurdities' surrounding the monarchy could 'start to come to the fore much more without the Queen to keep it going'. The former Scottish first minister stressed she is 'not a monarchist', describing herself as being a 'republican by instinct'. But speaking on BBC Breakfast, she said the late Queen was a 'remarkable woman'. The former SNP leader said: 'I am a republican, but I have such incredible respect for the Queen, and incredible woman. 'The Queen was an amazing woman. There are few people in life I had a greater respect for. 'When I was a wee girl growing up in Ayrshire, the idea that one day I would sit in a room alone with the Queen would have been beyond my comprehension. 'To sit in a room with her, it was like a window on to 20th century history, she would talk about chatting to Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela and all the big figures from her reign. 'Going for an audience with the Queen was more nerve-racking than doing First Minister's Questions, she was so well informed about everything, from the local to the national, to the global.' She said there was a 'mystique' about Queen Elizabeth II, saying: 'If you were in a room and the Queen walked in, even if you weren't looking at her you could feel her presence.' While she stressed her 'respect' for the rest of the royal family, she said given this 'mystique' is no longer present, 'perhaps the absurdities of the monarchy will start to come to the fore much more'. When Queen Elizabeth II died at the Balmoral estate in Aberdeenshire, Ms Sturgeon, who was first minister at the time, described it as a 'profoundly sad moment', adding that her life had been one of 'extraordinary dedication and service'.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Nicola Sturgeon says she could leave Scotland ‘for a wee while'
Nicola Sturgeon has said she could leave Scotland 'for a wee while', but insisted that the country will always be home to her. The former Scottish first minister said a focus on her political career meant she had had to 'forego' living elsewhere. Speaking as her memoir is published, she suggested she could have a 'perspective shift' by living elsewhere. Her comments come as she prepares to step down as an MSP at next May's Holyrood elections – by which point she will have served 27 years in the Scottish Parliament, including more than eight years as first minister. She was arrested and questioned by police as part of the investigation into SNP finances, but has now been formally cleared. However, her husband, former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, who she announced her separation from in January this year, has appeared in court charged with alleged embezzlement. Ms Sturgeon said she was now at a point in her life where she is 'happy, contented, looking forward to the future'. But she told BBC Breakfast that while she might live elsewhere for a period, she said she would 'never leave Scotland for very long'. She stated: 'Scotland is my home, it is where I belong, it is where my family is.' She added: 'One of the things about being so focused on a political career is that you forego certain things. 'I didn't live outside of Scotland or the UK for any period when I was younger, I think it is healthy to shift your perspective, to see life from a different angle. 'So, maybe for a wee while I will take myself outside of Scotland, give myself that perspective shift, but I am never going to be away for very long.' Speaking about her memoir, titled Frankly, she said it had been 'important to me to tell my story in my words'. The former SNP leader said: 'I hope lots of people read it, I hope they enjoy it, but it is out there now and people can make up their own minds, and that is actually a nice feeling and I am enjoying that.' She added: 'What I have done in this book is put my story in my words. 'There will be people who enjoy reading it, there will be people who don't. There will be people who slag it off who never read it at all. 'But I am really comfortable I have put my story in my words.' She insisted she is 'really proud of what I achieved as first minister', but added that there was 'lots I wish I had done different and done better' during her time in power. But she stressed that after going through 'difficult' times, she has now found 'a real sense of happiness and joy in life'. Asked about her arrest by police in June 2023, she said the period had been 'difficult' and 'horrific', adding that in the police station she 'felt probably at the lowest ebb in my life'. Ms Sturgeon said: 'What the book also recounts is a process of going through that really difficult time and coming out the other end of it, so it is also a story of resilience and strength. 'I hope people can take something from that as well, that you can face these really tough times in your life – and I know people have faced much, much tougher things in life than I have – but you find within yourself a strength.' She also made clear she has 'no doubt at all' that Scotland will become independent – vowing to campaign in any future referendum on the issue. Ms Sturgeon had been a key figure in the campaign leading up to the 2014 vote, which saw Scots vote by 55% to 45% to stay part of the UK. The former SNP leader accepted that her goal of independence 'wasn't delivered in my time in office', but she said: 'It will happen, I am absolutely in no doubt at all.' She stated: 'I write in the book about what I predict, in not that long a timespan, will be a kind of rewired UK, a sort of federation of the nations, and an independent Scotland will be part of that.' While she said she may not lead an independent Scotland, she said she would 'at some point in the next few years' be involved in campaigning for independence in another referendum. Speaking about a future vote, she added: 'If there is – when there is – another decision on Scottish independence, it will be a case of hold me back. I'll be there.'
