Dreams of my Father and an Elegy for a Lost Scotland
Dreams of my Father and an Elegy for a Lost Scotland Gerry Hassan Sunday Herald, January 5th 2014 Twenty years ago last October, my father, Edwin, died. I was a young man at the time, in my late twenties, and my dad’s death was a major moment in my life, of maturing, of putting life in perspective, and of sadness. In the months coming up to the anniversary of his death this year, his memory came more to the fore, as I reflected on his life and influence on myself. Truth be told, my father had in his last
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A Post-Nationalist Politics for the Nationalist Movement
A Post-Nationalist Politics for the Nationalist Movement Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, October 22nd 2011 The SNP gathering at Inverness is an historic occasion for the party with a discernable feeling that this is their moment and that nearly anything, including independence, is possible. International dignitaries, corporates and lots of hangers on are evidence of the SNP’s importance. Even the UK media in one of their episodic fits have noticed Scotland and the SNP with various correspondents scuttling north and dusting down their clichés. Inverness catches the SNP in transition. They have mastered the art of government and even more
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The Second Big Debate
The Second Big Debate Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, April 23rd 2010 The dynamics this week were very different: Clegg, the new favourite, Cameron, the previous frontrunner, and Brown, the supposed steady incumbent. Nick Clegg had to navigate difficult terrain between being an ‘outsider’ and emphasising his experience, including drawing on his work for EU Commissioner Leon Brittan. When we got to Afghanistan and nuclear weapons, the temperature changed, and Brown told Clegg to ‘get real’ and Cameron said ‘I agree with Gordon’. Brown was better than the previous week, avoiding mentioning no percentages or three point plans, and even cited
Who Benefits from Future Labour or Tory Governments?
Who Benefits from Future Labour or Tory Governments? Gerry Hassan Fascinating figures from YouGov’s Sunday Times weekend poll – which as far as I can find are only available online and not in the newspaper version (at least north of the border) (1). When voters were asked who they thought would most benefit from a Conservative Government they responded: The rich 47% Married couples 37% Hardworking men and women 30% The poor 11% Single parents 8% Immigrants 7% Continue Reading Who Benefits from Future Labour or Tory Governments?
A Tale of Two Labour Manifestos: ‘Choice’ and the Absence of England
A Tale of Two Labour Manifestos: ‘Choice’ and the Absence of England Gerry Hassan Open Democracy. April 12th 2010 The Labour manifesto has been launched finally today – the 25th British election manifesto according to BBC lunchtime news. It is a day of multiple Labour manifesto launches with the main British programme, and Scottish and Welsh versions, published. I am going to focus my attention here on the British and Scottish editions, as these are the ones I am familiar with, so apologies to Welsh readers. The British Labour manifesto, ‘A Future Fair For all’ (also the title of the
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Go Brown To A Fourth Term: The Strange Story of Labour’s Comeback
Go Brown To A Fourth Term: The Strange Story of Labour’s Comeback Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 27th 2010 As the Scottish Labour Party meets today in Glasgow, the party now finds itself in the surprising situation of an open, competitive election with everything to play for. Labour has been through a lot these last few years: recession, a banking crisis, three attempted coups against the leader, cash for honours, the expenses crisis, and that’s without mentioning Iraq and Afghanistan. Labour is short of members, resources and monies, and yet it is still standing. Is Gordon Brown really ‘the Comeback
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The Auld Enemies Still?
The Auld Enemies Still? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 19th 2010 The Scotland-England relationship is one of the defining ways many Scots view the world. It ranges from football and rugby rivalry to history, politics, culture and identity. At the weekend Scots rugby fans booed English players at Murrayfield, while we have grown accustomed to Scots football crowds booing the playing of ‘God Save the Queen’ for England at Hampden. And then there is the ‘Anyone But England’ phenomenon. Why should Scotland define so much of its identity and sense of itself via what we think of England? This gives
The Strange Story of Labour Scotland
The Strange Story of Labour Scotland Gerry Hassan Sunday Times, March 14th 2010 The Scottish Labour Party has always been a strange beast, misunderstood by many, but with a romantic, sentimental sense of itself. It is a party which has won every Westminster election since 1959 – thirteen in a row – which makes this part of Scottish politics even more uncompetitive than the SPL! What is interesting is how the party has done this and been changed in the process. For all its myths, Scottish Labour has achieved this success without being that popular. The party has never won
The Land of Wild West Labour: The Steven Purcell and Strathclyde Passenger Scandals in Context
The Land of Wild West Labour: The Steven Purcell and Strathclyde Passenger Scandals in Context Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 11th 2010 Glasgow as a city has always been a bit on an enigma from ‘second city of the Empire’ to ‘second city of shopping’. Its politics have been shaped by the allure of ‘Red Clydeside’, while driven by the reality of a city of pragmatism, deals and doing business. As long ago as 1953, ‘The Times’ said in an editorial, ‘Nowadays, the ‘Red Clyde’ is no more than pink’, and that has been the prevailing motto of the last
From Munich and Suez to the Iraq War
From Munich and Suez to the Iraq War Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 5th 2010 Gordon Brown’s role in the Iraq war will come under focus today when he gives evidence to the Chilcot inquiry. The Iraq war is the point where Tony Blair lost his political touch, and became ‘Bliar’ in the eyes of many voters. Despite four previous inquiries into the war, none of them as comprehensive as this, a sense of anger, frustration and lack of trust now pervades how the public view politicians and the conflict. Much of this anger is addressed personally at Tony Blair,
