Jackie has represented Dumbarton Constituency since 1999 when the Parliament was first created. Prior to this she worked both in the public and voluntary sector most recently as a Community Economic Development Manager for a local authority. 

Following the inception of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, she served as Deputy Minister for Communities under then First Minister Donald Dewar, before being promoted to Social Justice Minister.

After the May 2007 Scottish Parliament elections Jackie returned to Labour’s front benches as Shadow Minister for Parliamentary Business. In 2008 she was appointed to a newly created position as Labour’s Chief of Staff in the Scottish Parliament before becoming Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy in 2009.

Jackie has also since taken on roles as Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Equalities and Welfare and spokesperson for the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work. She was also the first woman to take on the role of Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance.

In 2020, she became Deputy Leader of Scottish Labour and is now Health, Social Care and COVID Recovery spokesperson.

Dr. Emily Gray is Managing Director of Ipsos in Scotland. Based in Edinburgh, she leads a team of researchers in Scotland specialising in social research and evaluation for public, private and voluntary sector clients. Emily brings 19 years’ experience of quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods research, including 15 years at Ipsos.

Before joining the Scotland team in 2017, Emily held a succession of roles at Ipsos, including heading up the company’s central government research, followed by senior roles in its international social research team and public sector communications unit. Prior to her time at Ipsos, she worked as an academic researcher specialising in political communications.

Emily brings expertise in public opinion, Scottish politics, climate change and the environment and is a senior member of Ipsos’ Climate Change and Sustainability Practice. She also has overall responsibility for Ipsos’s work on the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey, one of the Scottish Government’s three flagship random probability social surveys.

Emily frequently comments on public opinion on current affairs on TV and radio, and was Ipsos’s lead spokesperson for the 2021 Scottish Parliament Election. She has led and contributed to many of Ipsos’s published reports in her areas of expertise. She is an experienced presenter who has presented Ipsos research and insight to many audiences in Scotland, the wider UK and internationally.

Jodie Hedley is Head of Public Affairs at Weber Shandwick Scotland. With a career in consultancy and in-house roles, Jodie has strong experience in delivering creative public affairs campaigns, strategic policy advice and senior counsel to a range of Scottish, UK and global organisations.

Jodie is also Co Chair of the Women in Public Affairs (WiPA) Scotland network, which works towards creating a more inclusive space for all those who identify as women in progress and establish themselves in Scotland’s public affairs and policy sector. WiPA creates opportunities for members to build relationships and develop through free events and training.

Andrew Henderson joined Pinsent Masons in 2016, before which he was Head of Public Affairs and External Relations at a new challenger bank being created from within one of the UK’s largest financial services companies.

Andrew has over 20 years’ experience in the public policy and strategic communications industry, operating across Edinburgh, London and the UK regions, and has advised a broad range of major PLCs, SMEs, third sector, and other organisations on their dealings with government, media and other influential stakeholders.

Educated in Politics at the University of Edinburgh, Andrew also has an MBA and is a member of both the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).
Formerly a board member of Citizens Advice Edinburgh, and the Rock Trust, Andrew currently sits on the board of Edinburgh World Heritage.

Fiona is one of the most highly-regarded lawyers in Scotland for public, parliamentary and administrative law. She has a deep working knowledge and expertise across a range of legal areas including public and regulatory law, data protection, freedom of information, human rights, corporate governance and parliamentary affairs.

With a background in both contentious and non-contentious matters, she is highly experienced in a wide range of sectors, with a particular focus on education as well as the public sector.

She has in-depth knowledge and first-hand insight of how Governments and Parliaments work on a day-to-day basis, alongside extensive experience of legislative procedures and public sector governance.

She has worked in the Scottish Parliament, UK Parliament and the US Senate in legal and political roles, and in higher education. She was a member of the Scottish Government’s Human Rights Leadership Task Force and sits on the Law Society of Scotland’s sub-committees on constitutional law, human rights, privacy law and its freedom of information working group.

Fiona is ranked by Chambers in Band 1 for both Administrative & Public Law and Parliamentary & Public Affairs. She is ranked within Legal 500’s Hall of Fame for Parliamentary & Public Affairs, and as a Leading Individual for Education Law.

Andy has 20 years of experience in political campaigns, professional services PR and, since co-founding Message Matters, in consultancy.

His expertise is in strategic communications, helped by long-standing relationships across the political spectrum and throughout the media. He is also a regular independent political commentator on the BBC and STV, and in the press.

As founder of Newsdirect in 1999, Kirsty has been at the forefront of devolved political monitoring for over two decades. For Newsdirect Scotland, she leads the company’s political awareness training which works with boards, senior management and public affairs teams across the UK. Kirsty also works with the team on client pitches, service development and product design. Kirsty regularly contributes to podcasts and writes about current affairs and the political world of work. She is a founder member of Association for Scottish Public Affairs (ASPA) and has recently-joined the CIPR’s public affairs committee.

Outside of work, Kirsty plays piano and church organ and enjoys spending time out of doors, especially in the Scottish Borders where she lives.

Alastair is a communications professional and writer, with extensive public affairs experience, working with commercial organisations and advocacy groups.

He writes regular features on politics, history and culture for The Scotsman and other publications across Europe.