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The Humans Behind the Tea Party: the US as seen by the Hassans of Middle America
The Humans Behind the Tea Party: the US as seen by the Hassans of Middle America Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, November 6th 2010 America has always fascinated me – from its music, culture and sit-coms to its politics. At the same time I have become more bemused and mystified in recent years at the way American politics is portrayed and understood in this country. Our general perception of the US makes no attempt to understand large swathes of the country – both geographically – the bit in the middle people fly over but which millions live
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The Fog of War about Scotland’s Soul
The Fog of War about Scotland’s Soul Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, October 30th 2010 Scottish Labour gathers in Oban rather pleased and comfortable with itself. It is confident that it is going to win next year’s Scottish Parliament election and see a return to the natural order of things: itself in office, and those pesky Nationalists brushed off once and for all. At the same time, there is an element of uncertainty about what Scottish Labour stands for, what kind of vision it has, and what it wants power for beyond its own sake. Yet in one area: the party’s
Nation to Nation: The Problem of Speaking for Britain
Nation to Nation: The Problem of Speaking for Britain Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, October 29th 2010 BBC 'Question Time' is BBC’s flagship UK political programme, or at least once was. Now with populist current affairs programmes such as ‘The Week in Politics’ and ‘The Daily Politics’ we are dealing with a crowded marketplace. ‘Question Time’ is still a programme which aims at a wider public audience than the political anorak classes (like myself). It reveals in its style and content much about the state of the nation, the state of our politics, and public anger, disenchantment and occasionally optimism. Across
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What Do We Do About Forgotten Scotland?
What Do We Do About Forgotten Scotland? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, October 23rd 2010 Most politics is not about the art of lying or spinning. It is about telling partial truths or half-truths which often conceal the wider reality. Examples include that the 1960s are the source of most of our problems, the start of the decline of authority and the left’s undermining of moral values. The alternative view is that the 1980s were where it all went wrong, the age of selfishness and Thatcherism. Then there is the account of Scotland as a rich, prosperous country with near-limitless potential,
The Coming Big Ideas in Scottish Politics
The Coming Big Ideas in Scottish Politics Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, October 16th 2010 Scottish politics is going through the motions at present. There is the excuse of waiting for the Comprehensive Spending Review. But a deeper malaise is at work. The political classes have run out of money and ideas, and devolution – that much trumpeted project – now seems shorn of vision and dynamism. Scotland is currently shaped by risk-averse conservatives in our political parties and institutions, and number crunching accountants earnestly lecturing us that we cannot afford things we once cherished and it is time to sell
Anatomy of a Very British Revolution
Anatomy of a Very British Revolution Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, October 13th 2010 We live in more than merely interesting political times: an age of scandal, powerlessness, fluidity, paradox and mainstream collective groupthink about the world. The Cameron-Clegg coalition has proven to be a personification of all of this, and one publication I read carefully to gain understanding of it some of the runes is ‘The Spectator’. I like ‘The Spectator’. James Forsyth is a fascinating and emerging voice, Fraser Nelson a decent editor, better than the myopic Blairite warmonger Matthew d’Ancona, if not in the same league as Boris
The Long Hollowing Out of Scottish Labour
The Long Hollowing Out of Scottish Labour Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, October 9th 2010 The self-styled most sophisticated electorate in the world has spoken: the election of Labour’s Shadow Cabinet by Labour MPs. It has resulted in fewer Scots, no Welsh and lots more women. These are the first elections to Labour’s Shadow Cabinet since 1996 and show many changes since the days of Blair’s first Cabinet in 1997 which was stacked with talented Scots: Brown, Cook, Dewar, Robertson, Darling and Strang. The decline of Scottish Labour is marked from the onset of New Labour to today. In the 1994
The Slow Transformation of Gay Scotland
The Slow Revolution of Gay Scotland Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, October 2nd 2010 Scotland is a land of inclusiveness, faimess and kindness, a place which worries and cares about the disadvantaged, marginalised and those who face discrimination. This Scottish story of egalitarianism – ‘we’re a’ Jock Tamson’s Bairns’ – is well known and frequently told, but limited, partial and very flawed. It is also a very narrow notion of equality, focused on the economy, the workplace and class, and excluding numerous other aspects of Scottish life which don’t fit this picture – such as the hierarchical, conservative nature of much
Changin Scotland 16: A weekend of politics, culture and ideas
Changin Scotland A weekend of politics, culture and ideas …. And fun! Friday November 5th-Sunday November 7th Bea Campbell, writer, commentator and campaigner: On Men Ian Jack, The Guardian, author, ‘The Country Formerly Known as Great Britain’ – examines Scottish Culture David Torrance, on his biography Alex Salmond: Against the Odds Tom Miers, Policy Exchange, author, ‘The Devolution Distraction’ on why devolution has failed Scotland (more…)
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Where Britain Stands After the Commonwealth
Where Britain Stands After the Commonwealth Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, September 30th 2010 The Commonwealth has been much in the news of late. Sadly this hasn’t been for good reasons but bad ones showing the ineptitude, dirt and squalor of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi which open within the next few days. This PR disaster has raised the spectre of what is the point of the Commonwealth Games – coming to Glasgow next time in 2014 – and more fundamentally, what is the point of the Commonwealth and would anyone miss it if we just quietly pulled the plug on
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