The disability campaigner, the party switcher and the pilloried trans activist
Meet your Lothian list MSPs
Welcome to your midweek edition of The Inquirer.
First of all, thank you to Inquirer member Robin who got in touch about our election coverage.
“Your journalism has been first rate. A special thank you for your coverage of the recent election and its aftermath. You managed to make sense of the campaign in Edinburgh (as much as anybody can make sense of such a dire campaign). I have, of course, my own political prejudices, but it was very helpful that so much of your coverage was of individual candidates and MSPs. Rather than presenting them as stock politicians with a rosette stuck on, they appeared as human beings with something to offer, not a sentence I write easily. Well done to all your journalists, you’re all doing a fantastic job.”
We always appreciate your feedback, whether you like something we’ve done or you don’t, it is critical to shaping the future of The Inquirer. It is fair to say, however, that receiving encouraging messages like this one give us an extra bounce in our step and an added motivation to keep reporting on city life.
On that note, we have a long read for you today that is very much in the spirit so eloquently summed up by Robin.
We approached all the MSPs who were elected to the Scottish Parliament for the first time to represent Edinburgh and interviewed all who responded positively. (If you’re one of those who hasn’t agreed yet, we know it’s a busy time and we’d still love to talk!)
Today, we bring you interviews with the new lists MSPs who agreed to sit down with our writers, along with profiles of those who weren’t available.
That includes interviews with two of those who attracted some of the most scathing headlines during the election campaign, the Greens’ Dr Q Manivannan and Kate Nevens.
We know from our correspondence that some of you support the Greens and some of you have deep reservations about the party’s economic policies in particular. We are sure you will appreciate hearing directly from two new politicians who were happy to sit down and speak openly with us.
Before we get into all of that, here’s your regular midweek news roundup and cultural highlights for the week ahead.
Your Edinburgh Briefing
TAXI DAY OUT U-TURN: It was perhaps as inevitable as it is welcome, but the Edinburgh taxi drivers’ annual day trip to the seaside for children is back on. A new safety plan has been agreed between the organisers and the police, following 24 hours of outcry over the cancelling of the outing. That included a cross-party group of city MPs joining forces to call on the police to help find a resolution. It means scores of children with special needs and life-limiting conditions will get their day out after all, just as they have done since 1947.
DRUG GANG LORRY CRASH LINK: A skip lorry crashing into a house in Portobello was a targeted attack on the family of a teenager connected to the ongoing ‘drug gang war’ in the Central Belt. The Daily Record reports that the 19-year-old whose family was targeted had been implicated in a cocaine deal in which infamous crime gang leader Ross McGill was paid £500,000 in fake cash.
RETURN OF THE KING’S: The King’s Theatre will fully reopen, after a 4-year closure for renovation, in time for this year’s festival season. It will reopen on 1 August after three “test performances” in July. The £40m-plus renovation will allow the theatre to attract larger, more ambitious productions, with improved disabled access.
MORE MURRELL CLAIMS: As former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell settles into life on remand in Saughton Prison after pleading guilty to embezzling the party out of £400,000, more allegations that couldn’t be published ahead of a potential trial are coming to light. The Press & Journal are one of a number of publications reporting that Alex Salmond suspected Murrell, the estranged husband of former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, of stealing money from his office while working there more than 30 years ago. Meanwhile, current FM John Swinney has dismissed calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the affair.
WILDFIRE WARNINGS: The Fire Brigades Union are warning that the Scottish Fire Service are considering closing the nearest station to Arthur’s Seat, at Marionville, following the latest blaze in Holyrood Park. Meanwhile, the service’s group commander Des Donnelly reminded people of the importance of making sure cigarettes are fully extinguished and all litter is taken home with them. (For more on the growing risk of wildfires in the Capital, check out Sarah McArthur’s long read from last summer.)
Your Pick of the (Cultural) Pops
Greetings, Pop Pickers!
I am typing this up right in the thick of a bank holiday heatwave, though what the atmosphere over the Lothians will actually look like by the time you read this is anyone’s guess. Blue skies or thunderstorms? Who knows. But even if the Scottish weather is unpredictable, nobody can accuse our skies - or our local playhouses - of skimping on the drama. The stakes are high in the chart this week, which means fighting your way into the top spots required some serious artistic heavy lifting, writes Will Quinn.
Let’s count them down...
Honourable Mentions: Richard Thompson, Capella Edina, RSNO & the RSA
It is a ferociously competitive field for our near misses this week. First up, Richard Thompson (Usher Hall, tonight), with support from Hamish Hawk, makes a hotly anticipated return. There are still a few tickets left if you’re quick. The RSA 200th Anniversary Exhibition (Royal Scottish Academy, Open Now) drops into the honourable mentions not because it remains anything less than world-class, but entirely because of the time-limited excellence of new shows hitting the city. For classical enthusiasts, Spring – Capella Edina 2026 Season (Assembly Rooms, June 3rd) offers a rare chance to see a pretty much new, high-class orchestra in action, stepping out freshly anointed as the city’s official Philharmonic Orchestra before taking their wares overseas. Finally, RSNO: Elgar’s Cello Concerto (Usher Hall, June 5th) features world-class cellist Kian Soltani tackling the instrument’s most famous showcase concerto.
New in at Number 5 is... Pierre Novellie: You Sit There, I’ll Stand Here (Monkey Barrel Comedy, Sunday).
It’s no secret to my regular readers over on theQR.co.uk that I am a huge Pierre Novellie fan. A master of alarmingly well-researched sets delivered with matter-of-fact verve, Pierre’s cleverly woven mix of origin story and bemused analysis of the state of our nation isn’t his most hilarious hour, but he sets such a high bar that you’ll still crease yourself plenty. He really is a joy to watch in action, such are his multifaceted skills as a comic.
New in at Number 4 is... Sweat (Royal Lyceum Theatre, until June 13th).
Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Sweat is coming to the Royal Lyceum clutching an impressive raft of glowing reviews. Yours truly was otherwise occupied when it opened in Glasgow, but my colleagues in the reviewing ranks had nothing but good things to relay—even in private! A Citizens Theatre co-production directed by Joanna Bowman, it is a gripping, powerhouse social drama charting the splintering friendships of factory workers facing layoffs in Rust Belt Pennsylvania. Backed by a stellar creative team and an impeccable cast, it promises a taut, devastating exploration of class, loyalty, and survival.
Staying at Number 3 is... 2:22 A Ghost Story (Edinburgh Playhouse, until Saturday).
Securing the bronze this week is Danny Robins’s sensational, nerve-shredding thriller. The mastermind behind the hit Uncanny podcast first unleashed this modern supernatural puzzle back in 2021, and it has been expertly terrifying audiences ever since. When the show last spooked the capital in 2023, I declared it the new Mousetrap - a testament to its gripping, twist-laden narrative that keeps audiences entirely off-balance until the final blackout. Armed with a fresh cast ready to jump at every bump in the night, this gloriously eerie celebration of the supernatural will doubtless offer some edge-of-the-seat greatness.
Staying at Number 2 is... The Edinburgh International Children’s Festival (Various Venues, Saturday until June 7th).
There is a persistent, lazy assumption that theatre for younger crowds is a lesser, simpler art form. The long-standing track record of this annual extravaganza proves that nothing could be further from the truth. The performers who step into the spotlight here have to be fearless — there’s no scarier critic than a bored munchkin. Year after year, the programming brains at Imaginate source exhilarating, wildly inventive work from across the globe. Based on their impeccable history, we can expect another uncompromising, boundary-smashing celebration of stagecraft that will leave plenty of adult-focused theatre in its tracks.
Staying at Number 1 is... The Marriage of Figaro (Festival Theatre, tomorrow until June 6th).
Taking the gold for a second week is Scottish Opera with the return of their widely adored staging of Mozart’s comic peak. If the source material is already a masterclass in farce, the team assembled here suggests we are in for a truly spectacular revival. Director Sir Thomas Allen brings a lifetime of operatic pedigree to the table, and his previous outings with this production have proved his knack for leaning into breathless physical comedy without losing sight of the razor-sharp class warfare bubbling underneath Simon Higlett’s stunning period sets. It’s sung in English, which might upset the purists, but I wouldn’t worry about them.
With Dane Lam and Susannah Wapshott taking up the baton, all the ingredients are there for an intoxicating, effervescent triumph. On pedigree alone, it would be hard to award the crown to any other this week.
And that’s your Top 5!
Button up your overcoats, slap on the SPF, and secure those tickets while you still can. I’ll be returning to the reviewing ranks with my notebook and pen, ready to tell you precisely what to think about the shows gracing the Edinburgh stage this week. As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on the chart - have I missed anything? Do you want to mistakenly argue with my ranking? Whatever it is, we want to hear it!
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The disability campaigner, the party switcher and the pilloried trans activist
Meet your Lothian list MSPs
by Sarah McArthur and Jolene Campbell
This year’s Holyrood in-take features more new parliamentarians than ever.
Among those elected to represent Edinburgh and the Lothians are the first trans MSP, a wheelchair-user who has been a powerful campaigner for disabled rights, a politician who has switched parties twice in recent years and a former Scottish director of the charity Amnesty International.
Here’s more on their pre-parliament background and what their priorities are now that they are in Holyrood.
Dr Q Manivannan: ‘I’ve had thousands of messages, both of love and for grief’
Dr Q Mannivannan has been the centre of intense and often hostile press attention since their election. This escalated to the point where parliamentary security staff made the decision to escort Manivannan through the building on the day MSPs were officially sworn in to their new roles on 14th May.
From press articles to comments from Conservative and Reform MSPs and one SNP former MP, questions were raised about whether Manivannan is allowed to work full time, whether they will be deported mid-parliamentary term and whether they would work as an MSP from abroad in that instance, There have been claims the MSP has “pocketed” money raised from a crowdfunder launched to help pay for their graduate visa despite now being on a £77K salary. Much of this was incorrectly reported. We have fact-checked with independent experts, official sources such as the Home Office and spoke directly with Manivannan to establish the following:
It is true that Manivannan’s ability to live in the UK for the next five years is not completely certain. As reported immigration specialists have told the BBC and The Times, they will almost certainly be granted a graduate visa for three years, but the likelihood of being awarded the Global Talent Visa which would allow them to stay for the whole term is less certain.
It is not true that Manivannan is subject to a 20-hour per week limit on paid work. These reports were incorrect on two counts. Firstly, the 20-hour limit does not apply to work associated with holding public office under UK immigration law. Even if this were not the case, the limit only applies to students during term time - having completed their PhD (hence the title “Dr”), Manivannan is obviously not under term-time restrictions. The UK Home Office has confirmed Manivannan has acted perfectly legally under their visa.
Manivannan says they will not attempt to work as an MSP remotely from India if their visa applications are unsuccessful. They confirmed during an interview with The Inquirer, that if their visa applications are unsuccessful they will simply step down. Because they are a list MSP, the next Green candidate on the regional list will step in, which would be city councillor Chas Booth.
Manivannan says they did not “pocket” donations. They confirmed that they crowdfunded for some of the costs of their visa applications, and said the £1122 raised went directly to their visa application. The reason the crowdfunder was taken down was to protect donors to the crowdfunder, many of whom were named, and who had begun receiving harassment. While Manivannan is set to take home over £4000 per month from their MSP salary, they have not seen any of that cash yet, and they said that for the next few months a combination of rent and high visa costs, which will be over £7000 in total, will absorb most of this.
Manivannan did not claim to “grow up starving”. This quote has been used to suggest the privately educated politician, who has worked for companies who connect Indian students with UK universities, has misled people about their background. While the article did not link its sources, the quote appears to have been taken from an obviously metaphorical “self-written obituary” about gender that Manivannan wrote in 2018. Manivannan has emphasised their marginalised status as someone who is queer, Tamil (an ethnic minority in India), and an immigrant, but spoke openly about their work helping Indian students to connect with universities in the UK when speaking with The Inquirer.
Mannivanan is allowed to stand for election on a student visa, under the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Act which was put forward by the SNP in 2025, and passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament. Before this bill was passed, individuals of any nationality were able to stand for Scottish elections, providing they had the permanent right to live and work in the UK. It’s important to note, considering some of the headlines we have seen, that since at least 1700, standing for Parliament in Britain has never been completely restricted to UK citizens. In fact, the first Indian-born MP, Dadabhai Naoroji, was elected in 1892.
When we spoke with Q last week, they were candid about how difficult the last days have been: “I was a bit of a wreck over the first weekend because it was that overwhelming… thousands of messages, both of love and for grief…” Manivannan says they were encouraged by the many people, often strangers, who reached out to encourage them. In fact, Manivannan said that MSPs from every single party (yes, even that one) have expressed support for them.
So what exactly does Manivannan want to get on with?
Manivannan has worked as a teacher, a UN worker, and a human rights researcher, and has recently completed a PhD looking at novel strategies for protesting under violent government crackdowns in India. They are an award-winning writer, and have been involved in community groups and campaigns including grassroots arts organisations, UCU (University and College Union) campaigning, and work with minority faith groups about the proposed ban on conversion therapy.
Manivannan says they have always seen their community work as political; but became involved in electoral politics during the Craiglockhart and Fountainbridge council bi-election last summer. “It was really a very quick turn of events. I’ve always been involved as an academic and a community organiser, but then switched [to electoral politics] as just an active exercise in what would happen if I were to translate some of those community-based ethics of care into political spaces.”
Going into parliament, Manivannan says they want to bring a “politics of care” to Holyrood. They explain this as a political stance which focuses on caring for needs - asking “can governments be caring towards their people in ways that are not just accommodative of their requests but then proactively looking after people’s everyday needs?” In a more literal sense, one of their key priorities as an MSP is to work on social care - by increasing carers wages but also by doing more consultation to better understand the asks of various levels of the care sector.
In response to Jenny GIlruth’s statements that there will “undoubtedly” have to be cuts to fill the Scottish Government’s £5bn projected deficit by the end of the decade, Manivannan says that “we can’t save ourselves out of [the social care] crisis,” and instead backs a series of Green Party tax-raising proposals, including a wealth tax, land value tax and levies on gambling businesses. On the proposal of cuts in general, Manivannan said: “Behind every ‘saving’ is a real person waiting longer for care, facing greater insecurity. Cuts risk stretching already under-pressure public services even further, and harming those who need help the most. Before the SNP considers reducing vital support or risking job losses, ministers should be looking seriously at the fairer revenue-raising measures that the Scottish Greens have set out to protect the services people across Scotland thrive on every day.”
However, on a local level, Manivannan believes that taxes need to be adjusted for small businesses. Alongside a suite of environmental policies in the Lothian region, Manivannan wants to work on amending taxes to reduce the load on small arts and culture businesses, specifically Edinburgh’s independent entertainment venues.
Kate Nevens: ‘I think the job now is to hold Reform MSPs accountable’
Nevens first came to Edinburgh to study 25 years ago, and then returned around ten years ago after a period of living and working in London and the Middle East. She has had a career in human rights, peacebuilding and political participation campaigns in the UK and abroad, including a period as the Director of Amnesty International in Scotland. Nevens says that she first put herself forward for parliament because, after spending years working to encourage women and young people to be more engaged in politics, she found herself thinking she should “put [her] money where [her] mouth is.”
