Holyrood is Scotland’s fortnightly political and current affairs magazine that keeps people informed with its award-winning and thought-provoking editorial.
The award-winning magazine of the year is read by the country’s key legislators, Scottish parliamentarians, civil servants, Scottish Government agencies, political parties, 32 local authority chief executives, as well as individual departments within councils, trade unions, health boards, educational organisations, voluntary organisations and non-governmental bodies.
Holyrood is frequently quoted within the Scottish Parliament as a source of reliable information and political debate and according to Ipsos MORI is the most widely read publication amongst MSPs, with the magazine cited as being influential in their decision-making.
Our team
Mandy Rhodes (Editor)
Mandy Rhodes is the managing director of Holyrood Communications and editor of the flagship title Holyrood magazine. Mandy graduated from Stirling University in the early 1980s with a joint honours degree in Scottish history and sociology. She trained on a local newspaper in Wester Hailes and completed her journalism training at Napier University. She has worked for more than 30 years in journalism in Scotland in newsprint, television and radio broadcasting and was part of the launch team of Scotland on Sunday. She has won numerous awards over the years including PPA Magazine Editor of the Year, Feature Writer of the Year and Columnist of the Year. Mandy brings a wealth of media experience to Holyrood Communications and an unparalleled contacts book. Nicola Sturgeon, the former First Minister of Scotland, has described her as “one of the best interviewers” in the business.
Tel: 0131 285 1605
Email: mandy@holyrood.com
Twitter: @holyroodmandy
Chris Marshall (Deputy Editor)
Chris joined Holyrood in January 2021 after a period freelancing for newspapers and researching documentaries for Channel 4. He worked as a reporter for The Scotsman between 2011 and 2019, first as education correspondent and then covering home affairs. He has written for newspapers including Scotland on Sunday, The Times and Mail on Sunday.
Tel: 0131 285 1687
Email: chris.marshall@holyrood.com
Twitter: @chrismarshll
Louise Wilson (Political Editor)
Louise became political editor of Holyrood at the end of 2022, having joined the magazine in 2020. She started her career in journalism three days before Scotland’s independence referendum, working as a chief reporter at political monitoring company Newsdirect. She later joined BBC Scotland, where she was involved in live coverage of the Scottish Parliament. She has written for various Scottish and UK outlets, and has been heard on radio airwaves across these islands. Louise is from Yorkshire but has lived her entire adult life in Scotland.
Tel: 0131 285 1694
Email: louise.wilson@holyrood.com
Twitter: @louisewilso
Kirsteen Paterson
Kirsteen joined Holyrood in March 2022 from The National and Sunday National, where she was part of the launch team for the latter and spent several years covering politics, social affairs, culture and more. Prior to that she worked at Metro for seven years, having started her career in local newspapers. Kirsteen has spoken about Scottish politics on French TV, Swedish radio and beyond and her work has appeared in a range of Scottish and UK newspapers, magazines and websites.
Tel: 0131 257 4889
Email: kirsteen.paterson@holyrood.com
Twitter: @kapaterson
Ruaraidh Gilmour
Ruaraidh joined Holyrood in May 2022. He started his career at Deadline News in 2021, covering news for a range of UK titles. During this time, he freelanced for Holyrood covering Scotland’s digital transformation, health and fuel poverty. He also has bylines in The Times, Daily Mirror, Glasgow Live and the Daily Record. He completed his journalism training at Edinburgh Napier University in 2020, winning the Clements Family Prize for outstanding journalism.
Tel: 0131 285 1691
Email: ruaraidh.gilmour@holyrood.com
Twitter: @Ruaraidh0
Sofia Villegas
Sofia joined Holyrood in August 2023 as the digital technology reporter. She began her career in 2022, interning for Deadline News, covering the Edinburgh Fringe amongst other daily Scottish news. She later freelanced for Midlothian View, covering the area’s latest stories. She also spent some time at BBC Radio Scotland, where she was part of the The Sunday Show team. She graduated with a first class honours degree in journalism from Edinburgh Napier University, winning the Clements Family Prize for outstanding journalism.
Tel: 0131 257 4526
Email: sofia.villegas@holyrood.com
Twitter: @SofiaVillegas_1