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 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

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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 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 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

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What Would a ‘Good Man’ in Scotland Look Like? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, July 16th 2010 Scottish society historically and in contemporary times has long been shaped by men and masculine values. This is a society where for long it made sense to be a certain kind of man – tough, resilient, hard and seemingly powerful – whether it was working in a factory or shipyards or on a farm. Today, we have to acknowledge that we have serious problems with Scottish men – which can be charted statistically, but even more culturally and socially. Scottish men have poor health,

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The Paradoxes of Devolution and the Forces of Conservatism Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, July 16th 2010 Devolution north of the border has always been filled by paradox and contradiction. Promising radicalism, while influenced by conservatism. Articulating a vision of ‘the new politics’, yet in reality shaped by institutional vested interests. Supposedly about Scotland’s voice and place as a nation, but driven by Labour fear of the Nationalists and the bogeyman of ‘separatism’. A new pamphlet by centre-right think tank Policy Exchange, ‘The Devolution Distraction’ by Tom Miers savages most of the assumptions and emotional supports of

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A Poem for Tim Edwards 1958-2010 Gerry Hassan July 15th 2010 It has been a moving last couple of days. Today witnessed the sad and moving tribute to the life and passions of Tim Edwards, who died suddenly at the age of 51 just a week and a half ago. And yesterday witnessed the fourth anniversary of the passing of my mother, Jean Carr, at the age of 73, after a long, painful illness. Tim was a good man - that goes without saying. He was a gentle man and a passionate man and that’s a mix I have always

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Westminster, Referendums and Whatever Happened to ‘Respect’? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, July 9th 2010 The Scottish Parliament along with the Welsh and Northern Irish Assemblies will be beginning to think that they are unloved and uncared for by the Westminster Parliament. Plans to establish five year fixed term UK Parliaments meant that May 7^th 2015 would be a day when voters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland voted in two sets of elections at the same time: devolved and UK contests. Now they have gone and done it again, proposing that the AV referendum is held on May 5^th 2011

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Scottish Politics Before the Storm Gerry Hassan Chartist, July/August 2010 The UK general election has brought defeat and bad news to Labour with the end game of the New Labour era producing a demoralised party with its second lowest vote since 1918. At the same time the results painted a mixed picture for the party: with its decent showing in parliamentary seats, and emergence of the Con-Lib Dem coalition government, feeding into a widespread sense of denial and belief that Labour isn’t in too bad a state. The national and regional results have aided this sense of complacency, with Labour

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