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Where do we go from here? Part One: The frustrations of British politics
Where do we go from here? Part One: The frustrations of British politics Gerry Hassan and Anthony Barnett Open Democracy, August 2nd 2010 In the first of a wide-ranging three part conversation, Anthony Barnett and Gerry Hassan discuss the state of British politics and democracy and how the left - weak and disorganised in the face of a resurgent neoliberalism - can propose and build alternatives to the dominant dogmas of the past thirty years. Hi Gerry, There is a strange mixture of moods here in political London. There is a Tory right, with Spectatorish leanings, used to
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The Collective Illiteracy at the Heart of the UK
The Collective Illiteracy at the Heart of the UK Gerry Hassan August 1st 2010 More proof if it were needed of the constitutional and political illiteracy which now guides our political classes and media about the nature of the UK. Another day, another al-Megrahi story and this time the ‘Sunday Times’ (1) tells us in all earnestness that if the UK Government had wanted to it could have stopped the release of the Libyan prisoner by the Scottish Government. I am not sure the ‘Sunday Times’ has any real belief or faith in this story, because it has tucked it
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The Fantasyland of ‘The Spirit Level’ and the Limitations of the Health and Well-Being Industry
The Fantasyland of ‘The Spirit Level’ and the Limitations of the Health and Well-Being Industry Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, August 1st 2010 I feel that the world is full of closet egalitarians, that at some level people know this makes sense. They were pushed into the closet by Reagan and Thatcher and monetarism and neo-liberal economics, but many people didn’t really stop believing that some of the old left ideas were important. We just lost confidence in them, and I think maybe we thought they just weren’t relevant to the modern world. I feel that the left entirely lost its
The New Religion of ‘The Spirit Level’
The New Religion of ‘The Spirit Level’ Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, July 30th 2010 Sometimes books for good or bad define ages. Will Hutton’s ‘The State We’re In’ captured the hopes many people had before New Labour were elected. George Orwell’s ‘1984’ tapped fears of the Cold War and totalitarianism. And in the midst of the bubble, Malcolm Gladwell’s lightweight ‘The Tipping Point’ told people change was easy, simple and all about stories. ‘The Spirit Level’ by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett has reached these levels, but is a serious book by two epidemiologists. Its central thesis is that inequality
The Coming AV Referendum, Coalition Problems and the Electoral Commission
The Coming AV Referendum, Coalition Problems and the Electoral Commission Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, July 28th 2010 There is a sense of gathering storm clouds for the coalition on the forthcoming AV referendum. Nick Clegg made a statement to the House of Commons on its last day sitting before summer recess, and dismissed any concerns about having the AV vote on the same day as the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish devolved elections, as well as English council elections. Forty-four Tory MPs have signed a Commons motion tabled by backbencher Bernard Jenkin opposing a referendum on the day identified: May
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Reading the Political Times: A Cultured Tory Writes
Reading the Political Times: A Cultured Tory Writes Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, July 27th 2010 Keith Simpson has in the words of his own website issued ‘his famous Summer Reading List’ (1). Simpson is Tory MP for Broadland, currently PPS to the Foreign Secretary, and has had a rich, productive life before being a politician – working as an academic in international affairs, including a spell at Sandhurst, and is the author of five books on military matters, including a history of the German Army. There are not many of such types left nowadays in the days of the professional
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The British Crisis of Confidence
The British Crisis of Confidence Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, July 23rd 2010 Maybe it has escaped the notice of most Scots – worried about future public spending or the absence of summer weather for very long – but a deep malaise is festering at the heart of Britain. It can be seen in the BP Gulf of Mexico disaster, the al-Megrahi case, and life generally post-crash, pre-cuts. It touches and magnifies what can be viewed as almost an existential crisis of the nature and purpose of Britain, amounting to a British crisis of confidence, after the hyperbole, self-importance and triumphialism
Misunderstanding Scotland and the Nature of the UK: The al-Megrahi Episode
Misunderstanding Scotland and the Nature of the UK: The al-Megrahi Episode Gerry Hassan The al-Megrahi case has many dimensions and sides, and no doubt many more will be revealed. There is the geo-political aspect of how the UK Government does business, the realpolitik of oil companies such as BP, and the manner in which the West views the Middle East. Then there is the Scottish dimension. The Lockerbie bombing occurred over the Scottish town, and al-Megrahi was convicted under Scots law and served part of his sentence in a Scottish prison. He was released under Scots law by a
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The al-Megrahi Case, ‘Britain plc’ and the Scottish Government
The al-Megrahi Case, ‘Britain plc’ and the Scottish Government Gerry Hassan Open Democracy. July 21st 2010 The approach of the first anniversary of the release of convicted Lockerbie bomber, al-Megrahi has reopened sensitive feelings and wounds in the United States and UK and nearly derailed David Cameron’s first Washington trip as Prime Minister. Only nimble footwork by Cameron offering his ‘violent agreement’ with Obama on the wrongness of the release averted what could have been a major row. Nearly one year on from al-Megrahi’s release on ‘compassionate grounds’ by the Scottish Government following medical advice that he only had three
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Breaking the Silence of Scottish Men
Breaking the Silence of Scottish Men Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, July 18th 2010 This essay is written as a contribution to starting a debate which is crucial and critical for Scotland’s future: the state of Scottish men. We urgently need to start a wide-ranging debate about Scottish men and masculinities, our behaviour, attitudes and assumptions. And we need men to contribute to this. Over the next few months I plan to contribute a number of pieces on this, writing in Friday’s ‘Scotsman’ on what a ‘good man’ would entail, with further pieces to follow. We have a
