Colin Mackay
STV political editor who moderated the 2026 Scottish leaders debate where Sarwar led on NHS.
Last refreshed: 26 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Was the NHS exchange in the STV debate the defining moment of the 2026 Holyrood campaign?
Timeline for Colin Mackay
Sarwar wins NHS round; Compston backs SNP
UK Local Elections 2026- Who is Colin Mackay STV?
- Colin Mackay is the political editor of STV News and moderated the STV/BBC Scotland leaders debate for the 2026 Holyrood election, during which Anas Sarwar delivered his widely praised NHS exchange.
- Who is Colin Mackay and what is his role at STV?
- Colin Mackay is the Political Editor of STV News, a role he has held since 2019. He joined STV in 2015 after 16 years as Scottish Political Editor at Bauer Radio.Source: STV News
- What happened at the STV Scotland leaders debate in 2026?
- Colin Mackay moderated the STV Holyrood leaders debate ahead of the 7 May 2026 Scottish election. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar was widely judged to have won the NHS exchange against SNP First Minister John Swinney.Source: Lowdown
- What is Colin Mackay's famous Rishi Sunak interview about?
- In 2023, Mackay interviewed Sunak for STV and pressed him on whether he would recognise Scottish independence if Scotland voted for it. Sunak's evasive answers were widely shared online, significantly raising Mackay's national profile.Source: STV News
Background
Colin Mackay is the Political Editor of STV News, Scotland's main commercial television broadcaster. He moderated the STV/BBC Scotland Holyrood leaders debate broadcast ahead of the 7 May 2026 Scottish election, including the NHS exchange in which Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar was widely judged to have outperformed SNP First Minister John Swinney.
Mackay joined STV in 2015, replacing Claire Stewart, and became Political Editor of STV News in 2019, succeeding Bernard Ponsonby. Before STV, he spent 16 years as Scottish Political Editor at Bauer Radio (1999-2015), winning News Reporter of the Year at the Independent Radio News Awards in 2007. He covers the Holyrood Parliament, UK general elections, the 2014 independence referendum, and the 2016 Brexit referendum for STV, and occasionally presents Scotland Tonight.
Mackay's profile rose significantly in 2023 when his interview with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak — in which Sunak appeared to evade questions about whether he would recognise hypothetical Scottish independence — went viral. His 2026 Holyrood debate is the most-watched Scottish leaders exchange of the current campaign cycle.
