The Making of the Modern SNP: What is it and where is it going? Gerry Hassan Sunday Times, October 4th 2009 The SNP celebrates its 75^th anniversary this year in good heart and mind. The party now finds itself two and a half successful years into office, having won the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections. It has been setting the political landscape of Scotland since, wrong-footing opponents and preparing to make progress towards holding an independence referendum. The forthcoming week sees the publication of the first ever study of the contemporary SNP, ‘The Modern SNP: From Protest to Power’, addressing who

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A Tale of Two Cities and Cultures in Glasgow Gerry Hassan October 3rd 2009 Two music gatherings in Glasgow this week: the MOBO Awards (1) celebrating black music and the opening of the Mental Health Arts and Film Festival (2) on consecutive nights in the SECC and Fruitmarket respectively. Two very different takes of the city, audiences and cultures. The MOBO Awards had the feel of glitz, bling and ostentatiousness, Hollywood meets Dubai, while carrying the imprint of the mainstream, the bland and the official. Promo films about Glasgow run before the event; the usual images of the city: the

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Rockin’ All Over the World: The Anvil Story Gerry Hassan October 3rd 2009 Being in a rock band or being enthralled to the power of rock is a certain vocation. And a heavy metal band or follower is even more a kind of calling. Step forward the heavy metal band Anvil, subjects of the film, Anvil: The Story of Anvil which I just watched this week. Anvil are originally from Toronto, Canada, and nearly broke through in the early 1980s, only to slip away into obscurity. This film was shot by a roadie, and has obvious Spinal Tapesque overtones. Continue Reading Rockin’ All Over the World: The Anvil Story

The Scottish Nationalists, Alex Salmond and the Slur of Fascism Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, September 30th 2009 It is not often that you come across an essay so wrong-headed, opinionated and inaccurate that it is worth drawing attention too – in part because the writer is one with an influential past, and because it validates English and centre-left xenophobic traditions of Scotland and these isles. That sadly is the fate of Tom Gallagher’s ‘The Scottish Piazza Echoes to the Liberation Beat’, published on Harry’s Place (1). Gallagher has written several books on Scottish society over the years, albeit all of

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Scottish Labour Changes its Position Yet Again on the Independence Vote! Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, September 28^th 2009 Just as British Labour is gearing itself up as best as it can for the forthcoming election, without money, resources or much hope - the Scottish Labour Party is doing the same. The attack lines are being drawn and the old battle cries dusted off and rehearsed. The Monday of Labour Party Conference saw addresses from Jim Murphy, Scottish Secretary of State, and Iain Gray, technically, ‘Leader of the Labour Group of the Scottish Parliament’ lay out the ground of Labour versus

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Labour's Deep Crisis and Brown’s Road to Brighton Pier Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, September 28^th 2009 The Labour Party meet this week in a strange mood, partly nervous of what is to come, but realising they have closed off nearly every possible escape route. It is some ways like the gathering of a collective death cult, amazed that despite everything they are still alive! Gordon Brown, touring the TV studios undertaking his latest ‘fight-back’, was interviewed by Andrew Marr - live on Sunday morning. Two great Scots locking horns. In between them, on Brighton seafront, could be seen the shimmering

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Gordon Brown’s ‘Fightback’ and the Wreck of Brighton Pier Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, September 27^th 2009 Gordon Brown’s latest ‘fightback’ began with his interview with Andrew Marr this morning on the opening day of Labour Conference. It was fitting that as the two Scots sat in one of the Brighton seafront hotels the main backdrop between them was the withered wreck of the Brighton West Pier. A more fitting symbol of post-war Britain it would be hard to find. The West Pier was damaged in the Second World War, had a seedy post-war afterlife, was finally shut in 1975, and

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The Difficulties of a Pan-British Conversation on Independence: Michael Portillo’s Table Talk Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, September 18^th 2009 Michael Portillo, once arch-Thatcherite and now permanent member of the chattering classes and the world of TV luvvies, themed an episode of his ‘Dinner with Portillo’ series on ‘Why Should We Care About Scottish Independence?’ (1). Drawing together seven middle-aged, middle class men like himself for some fine food and wine and the occasional conversation, the group hardly embodied ‘social inclusion’ - ranging from members of the British establishment such as Timothy Garton Ash and Vernon Bogdanor to media wannabees such

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The Slow Demise of Labour Britain: New Evidence From Wales Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, September 17^th 2009 Another indication of the unravelling of the British political system as we have known it is the crisis Welsh Labour has found itself in – along with Scottish Labour. Both of these were two of the main pillars of the British Labour Party and hence the Labour story of Britain, and with it of course, ‘the British dimension’ of Labour. The crisis of Welsh Labour is the subject of a short, revealing piece by Martin Kettle in Wednesday’s ‘Guardian’ (1). He explores the

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The Tale of Two Leaders: George Burley and Gordon Brown Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, September 15^th 2009 Two embattled leaders, both bedevilled by crisis and calls for their heads, with talk of mutiny and rebellion all around. One of these leaders is George Burley, ill-fated manager of the Scotland national team who last week failed to qualify for their sixth international tournament in a row. The other is Gordon Brown, leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister, who has survived several coups and assassination plots, and struggles on despite his inability to inspire people or set a positive direction.

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