 In 1969 Dalyell became a columnist for "New Scientist" magazine, contributing "Westminster Scene" (later "Westminster Diary") until his retirement in 2005.This provided "a conduit for researchers to speak to Parliament and "vice versa"", covering many subjects of public concern including industrial diseases, data protection, chemical weapons and the environment.Having been educated by left-wing economists at Cambridge, Dalyell said that he became a socialist because of the level of unemployment in Scotland.