Lesley Riddoch

We are thrilled to be welcoming award-winning broadcaster, independence campaigner and land reform activist, Lesley Riddoch to hear all about contemporary Scottish politics. In Thrive: the Freedom to Flourish, Lesley sets out an impassioned case for independence, weaving academic evidence with story, and international comparison with anecdote. Lesley's latest book explains why Scotland is ready to step forward as the world's newest state and how the British Isles can work better when Scotland is governed by the folk who call it home.

LESLEY RIDDOCH is an award-winning broadcaster, writer, journalist, independence campaigner, podcaster and land reform activist. She writes weekly columns for The National and is a contributor to The Guardian, BBC Question Time, Scotland Tonight and Any Questions.

She is founder and Director of Nordic Horizons, a policy group that brings Nordic experts to the Scottish Parliament and produces a popular weekly podcast. Lesley has presented You and Yours on BBC Radio 4, The Midnight Hour on BBC2 and The People's Parliament and Powerhouse on Channel 4, and has been a columnist for the Herald and Scotsman newspapers. She founded the Scottish feminist magazine Harpies and Quines, won two Sony awards for her daily Radio Scotland show and edited The Scotswoman - a 1995 edition of The Scotsman written by its female staff. She was a trustee of the Isle of Eigg Trust that pioneered the successful community buyout in 1997. She has presented and co-produced films about the Faroes, Iceland, Estonia and Norway. Lesley was awarded a PhD, the Fletcher of Saltoun Award for her contribution to Scotland's civic life and Independence Campaigner of the Year award in 2020. She lives near the sea in north Fife.