1. John MacKenzie Nicolson was born on 23 June 1961 and is a Scottish journalist, broadcaster and Scottish National Party politician.
39 Facts About John Nicolson
1. 2.
John Nicolson was previously the MP for East Dunbartonshire, having been elected at the 2015 general election, and defeated at the 2017 general election.
3.
John Nicolson contested Alloa and Grangemouth in the 2024 election but was defeated.
4.
John Nicolson was born in Glasgow, the son of John Donald Nicolson and Marion Nicolson.
5.
John Nicolson's ancestry is Hebridean and Orcadian on his father's side.
6.
John Nicolson's father died of lung cancer when he was at school and aged 15.
7.
John Nicolson was awarded a Kennedy Scholarship for postgraduate study in the United States, and was Harkness Fellow in American Government at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard.
8.
John Nicolson returned to the Glasgow University Union in 2012 to debate against other former World Universities' Championship winners on a motion welcoming Scottish independence.
9.
John Nicolson moved back to the UK from Washington, DC to work full-time for the BBC when offered a job presenting the network 'DEF 2' youth strand discussion programme Open to Question.
10.
John Nicolson made the documentary 'A Question of Consent' for the BBC's Public Eye.
11.
John Nicolson went on to work as a reporter for a range of high-profile BBC news and current affairs shows including Panorama, Assignment, and Newsnight.
12.
John Nicolson has said in later years that he preferred the interview environment at ITV.
13.
John Nicolson has written for a wide range of newspapers and magazines including The Times, The Herald, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Sunday Times, The Sunday Telegraph, The Guardian, New Statesman, The Daily Record, and the Harvard International Review.
14.
John Nicolson appeared as himself in The Trial of Tony Blair for Channel 4.
15.
John Nicolson has worked as a radio presenter for BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio 4 where he presented The Westminster Hour, and BBC Radio 5.
16.
John Nicolson is a regular commentator on UK politics for American audiences on the Cumulus Media Networks radio programme The John Batchelor Show.
17.
John Nicolson's final Talk Radio show was on Sunday 28 March 2021.
18.
John Nicolson joined the Scottish National Party aged 16, but let his membership lapse whilst working as a BBC and ITV journalist.
19.
John Nicolson rejoined the party in the run up to the Scottish independence referendum.
20.
John Nicolson was a member of the National Collective, the student cultural movement campaigning for Scottish independence during Scotland's Referendum.
21.
John Nicolson was appointed Shadow SNP Spokesperson for Culture, Media and Sport shortly after his election.
22.
John Nicolson used his position to cross examine the BBC Chair Rona Fairhead, revealing the unorthodox way in which she had been appointed without due process.
23.
John Nicolson withdrew her candidacy for the new BBC Board shortly afterwards.
24.
John Nicolson proposed that the BBC publish all presenter pay, arguing that it would reveal some hugely inflated salaries, a shortage of BME presenters at the top of the BBC earnings league, and a significant gender pay gap.
25.
John Nicolson's proposal was accepted by the DCMS Select Committee, and the Government.
26.
John Nicolson was actively involved in the parliamentary inquiries into "fake news", the abuse of ticket sales by touts, complaints against the press, combating doping in sport, and the impact of Brexit on the creative industries, tourism and the digital single market.
27.
An opponent of Brexit, John Nicolson campaigned for Scotland to remain in the Single Market.
28.
In 2016, John Nicolson put forward a Private Member's Bill for an 'Alan Turing law' which would retrospectively pardon all gay men who had been convicted of offences no longer on the statute books.
29.
John Nicolson's bill was filibustered by Conservative government Justice Minister Sam Gyimah.
30.
In 2016, John Nicolson repeatedly criticised on social media STV's Digital Politics and Comment Editor, Stephen Daisley, who had published critical opinion pieces about the SNP.
31.
John Nicolson failed to be re-elected in 2017, losing to the seat's former MP, Liberal Democrat Jo Swinson.
32.
At the 2019 general election, John Nicolson stood as the SNP candidate in Ochil and South Perthshire.
33.
In November 2022 John Nicolson was rebuked by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, for partially leaking the contents of a letter.
34.
In June 2023, John Nicolson was cleared of bullying Conservative MP Nadine Dorries, who had complained about his conduct in a Parliamentary Committee meeting and several tweets that he had liked on Twitter, including one that referred to Dorries as a "vacuous goon".
35.
John Nicolson was the SNP candidate in the new constituency of Alloa and Grangemouth in the 2024 general election.
36.
John Nicolson was defeated by Labour Party candidate Brian Leishman.
37.
In 1999, when he was a presenter on BBC Breakfast, John Nicolson came out as gay in various newspapers.
38.
John Nicolson was the first BBC network television presenter to do so.
39.
John Nicolson told the House of Commons that although the decision was tough, and not welcomed by his bosses at the BBC who were unsupportive, he is glad that he made it.