The Curtain Closes on an Era: The End of New Labour Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, February 23^rd 2010 We all know that our politics are becoming more and more trivialised, sensationalised and reduced to gossip, innuendo and about people and processes, as the storm of the last few days has illustrated on Andrew Rawnsley’s book, Gordon Brown’s behaviour, and the counter-actions of Christine Pratt of the National Bullying Helpline. Rawnsley is one of the leading culprits of politics as devoid of content and in particular, values, interests and ideas. Instead, everything in his political world is about information, and in

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The English Question and the Rise of a Zombie Political System Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, February 22nd 2010 The British constitution is in a bad way. The Westminster system of absolutism is creaking and falling apart as we speak, centralisation has been taken to a point under the Blair-Brown dual monarchy of New Labour beyond caricature, and the British political classes are held beneath contempt, along with bankers and journalists. This should be a golden era for radical reformers and democrats, with idealists and campaigners pushing at an open door in terms of the popular imagination and mood, a political

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A Hung Parliament Could Be Good for Our Broken Democracy Gerry Hassan The Scotsman,  February 19th 2010 A Conservative Government has for a long time been seen as the inevitable outcome of the next election. David Cameron was viewed as a Prime Minister in waiting, and the Labour Party, unpopular, led by a disliked leader, and seen as having lost the will to live. Now all of this is beginning to change. The prospect of a hung Parliament, where no one party has an overall majority is now being seriously considered. The Conservatives have proven less than sure-footed, while Labour

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The Man Who Saved the World: The Many Faces of Gordon Brown Gerry Hassan Open Democracy. February 15^th 2010 All week the British media have trailed two domestic political stories – one about the unravelling of the Cameroon Conservative project, and the other about Gordon Brown’s interview with Piers Morgan (1). The Brown interview marks many claim a new phase in ‘the Broon project’: one his backroom staff have often been working on day and night with no visible result – namely the humanising of the coarse, dull, workaholic ‘Broonman’. The other angle is of the slow corroding of our

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It’s More than a Ball Game: Scottish Football and Culture Gerry Hassan February 14^th 2010 The state and importance of Scottish football both fascinates and repels large parts of Scotland – but there can be little doubt that the condition of the game and how we see it throws light on Scottish culture and society. In the last week, I have watched Motherwell v Rangers and Aberdeen v Celtic live on TV, and went to the St. Johnstone v Dundee United cup tie. Taking all three of these together gives a number of pointers about the health of the game.

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The SNP Comes Back Down to Earth: Nicola Sturgeon and How We Do Our Politics Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, February 12th 2010 The Nicola Sturgeon saga has to be seen on at least three levels. Firstly and obviously it is about Nicola Sturgeon’s judgement, but it also throws revealing light on how the SNP Government is faring, and how we represent, reflect and enact our politics. Nicola Sturgeon is a thoroughly competent, talented, streetwise politician and minister. Her writing of a letter of support for Abdul Rauf, a constituent of hers, before he was sentenced for £80,000 of benefit fraud,

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Against all the Odds: The World of the Small Scottish Football Team Gerry Hassan February 11^th 2010 It is week three and sadly the final week of Jonathan Meades strange, fascinating and somewhat magical series on Scotland, ‘Off Kilter’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00mwqvq/Jonathan_Meades_Off_Kilter_Episode_3/ This week his theme is the inviting subject of ‘The Football Pool Towns’, addressing small towns, hopes and Scotland through the world of football. This short series has illustrated how it is possible to tell stories of Scotland, and address supposedly familiar subjects in new, imaginative ways. In so doing it has exposed the chasm of aspiration at the

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It’s Good to have Gil Back! Gerry Hassan February 8^th 2010 I come from a broken home She had more then the five senses She knew more then books could teach And raised everyone she touched just a little bit higher And all around her there was a natural sense Gil Scott-Heron, ‘On Coming From a Broken Home (Part One)’ Today sees the release of Gil Scott Heron’s new album, ‘I’m New Here’, his first release in sixteen years, and only his second collection in twenty-eight years (1). And boy does it feel that

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Two Scotsmen Do Battle, the Truth and the War Gerry Hassan February 7th 2010 The many sides of Alastair Campbell were on display on the Andrew Marr Show http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00qqzbq/The_Andrew_Marr_Show_07_02_2010/ this Sunday morning. The good, the bad - and the ugly, in a way which will dominate the Monday morning press. Here he was plugging his latest potboiler novel, ‘Maya’, all oozing charm and charisma, and as the interview ‘segued’ into the Chilcot inquiry, the many other facets of his character emerged. First, there was the fragility, as he paused and took account of himself, the cracks in his psyche

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Why the Parliamentary Expenses Scandal Won’t Go Away! Gerry Hassan February 6th 2010 The ongoing saga of the British parliamentary expenses crisis crossed a major watershed with the charging of three Labour MPs, Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine, and one Tory peer, Lord Hanningfield, and the possibility of more to come. There are so many layers to this. For a start the ‘gang of four’ are attempted to hide behind parliamentary immunity to prevent themselves being found guilty, literally explicitly making the case of ‘one rule for them, one rule for us’. Then there is the unprecedented nature

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