BBC Scotland – Scotcast · podcast
23 February 2026
Kirk Torrance joined Martin Geissler on BBC Scotcast on 23 February 2026 to discuss Alba Party’s difficulties and the strategic landscape for the 2026 Holyrood election. The extended TV edition, ‘Scotcast – Alba Party’, was first broadcast on BBC Scotland that evening. The themes are explored at length in the article The Most Devastating Own Goal in Scottish Political History Is About to Happen Again.
No longer available on BBC iPlayer.
About
Strategist, technologist and dealmaker. Twenty-five years winning attention for causes, brands and campaigns – across government, technology, media and capital markets on four continents.
The strategist who brought new and emerging technology into UK and European politics, and built the digital machine behind the SNP’s rise from 6 Westminster seats to 56. Technologist behind two successive Scottish First Ministers. Helped deliver the first outright majority in the Scottish Parliament in 2011, the SNP's third consecutive Holyrood government in 2016, and played a central role in the campaign that delivered Scotland’s 62% Remain vote in the 2016 EU referendum.
He holds a BSc in Internet & Communication Technologies – including the study of AI – and has been deploying AI in business since 2015, training executives and teams across architecture, enterprise and the third sector.
Beyond politics, facilitated c.£500m in acquisition discussions for a Chinese consortium targeting UK media assets and advised on the £30–40m attempted acquisition of Johnston Press Scottish titles. He now works with a small number of clients on sensitive political, transactional and strategic matters.
Founder and principal of Industrial Strategic, where he applies the Triple Seven and Triple Eight Methods: strategy you can score, delivery you can automate.