1. Joan McAlpine was born on 28 January 1962 and is a former Scottish journalist and former Scottish National Party politician.
22 Facts About Joan McAlpine
1. 2.
Joan McAlpine was a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the South Scotland region from 2011 to 2021.
3.
Joan McAlpine was born in Gourock, Renfrewshire, and attended St Ninian's Primary School in Gourock and St Columba's High School in Greenock.
4.
Joan McAlpine has an MA in Scottish History and Economic History from University of Glasgow.
5.
Joan McAlpine has a Postgraduate Diploma in newspaper journalism from City University in London.
6.
Joan McAlpine was formerly married to the writer and musician Pat Kane, with whom she has two daughters.
7.
Joan McAlpine began her career at the Greenock Telegraph in 1987.
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Joan McAlpine went on to work for The Scotsman and The Sunday Times, where she won the Scottish Journalist of the Year award in 1999.
9.
Joan McAlpine wrote a weekly column for The Scotsman and the Daily record.
10.
In 1994 Joan McAlpine co-authored a book on the history of the anti-poll tax campaign, A Time to Rage, with the political activist Tommy Sheridan.
11.
In 1999 a programme Border Television written and presented by Joan McAlpine, Crossing the Border, received a commendation but no award at the New York Television Festival.
12.
Joan McAlpine was elected as a list MSP for the South of Scotland region in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election.
13.
Joan McAlpine has been a media adviser for the SNP.
14.
Joan McAlpine wrote speeches for the then First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, and served as his Parliamentary Liaison Officer.
15.
In January 2012 as MSPs debated plans on the timing of an independence referendum, Joan McAlpine told the Scottish Parliament that: "I absolutely make no apology for saying that the Liberals, the Labour Party and the Tories are anti-Scottish", provoking widespread condemnation from other political parties.
16.
In May 2012, Joan McAlpine was reprimanded by the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament for failure to appear for Ministerial Questions to be asked a question which she had tabled in the Scottish Parliament.
17.
In February 2014 Joan McAlpine referred herself to the Scottish Parliament's Presiding Officer after concerns were raised that she had broken Parliamentary rules while claiming expenses.
18.
However, prior to her election Joan McAlpine had had an affair with McLachlan's husband, Mark.
19.
McLachlan claimed that the photography work had never been carried out and Joan McAlpine repaid the money in 2012.
20.
Joan McAlpine ran as the SNP candidate for Dumfriesshire in the 2016 and 2021 Scottish Parliament elections, losing to Oliver Mundell.
21.
Joan McAlpine stood on the SNP list for South Scotland, but in 2021 failed to win re-election.
22.
Joan McAlpine did vote in favour of the bill, which was passed unanimously.