recent articles
Scotland and life after COVID-19
Scotland and life after COVID-19 Gerry Hassan Sunday National, November 29th 2020 2020 has been a year like no other in living memory. As our lives have been thrown upside down, politics and public life have struggled to keep up and find a language to convey the scale of human loss, tragedy and disruption. It goes without saying that the UK Government and Boris Johnson have had an appalling pandemic. The Prime Minister has been unable to find the right response, words and tone; while Downing Street has embodied chaos and farce. And shockingly, but hardly surprisingly, dozens of Tory
A Tour Inside Gordon Brown’s Britain
A Tour Inside Gordon Brown’s Britain Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, November 25th 2020 Gordon Brown in recent times has increasingly recognised that something is wrong, even rotten, in the state of Britain, regularly talking about ‘a dysfunctional UK’. This is part of Brown’s continual manoeuvres post-2014 to have a say in the future of Britain’s constitutional arrangements and to make the case that the status quo increasingly ill-serves the nations and regions of the UK. Thus it comes as no surprise that he has taken pen to paper and written a substantial New Statesman essay that makes his case of
Boris Johnson and the Tory attack on Devolution is about more than Johnson
Boris Johnson and the Tory attack on Devolution is about more than Johnson Gerry Hassan Sunday National, November 22nd 2020 Thirty years ago today Margaret Thatcher resigned as UK Prime Minister and yet still casts a shadow over British politics and the Tories. Fast forward to this week, with Boris Johnson revealing his true feelings about Scotland and devolution – saying that ‘devolution has been a disaster north of the border’ and that it was ‘Tony Blair’s biggest mistake’ - a bit of a tall statement given the Iraq war over which Johnson called for Blair’s impeachment. Cue lots of
Continue Reading Boris Johnson and the Tory attack on Devolution is about more than Johnson
The battle for Scotland and the language of apocalypse from Andrew Neil and the right
The battle for Scotland and the language of apocalypse from Andrew Neil and the right Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, November 20th 2020 One of the recurring themes of Scottish politics, from those of a pro-union disposition who are trying to find ammunition to attack the SNP and independence, is the propensity to dismiss the record of the Nationalists in office in language which borders on the apocalyptic. This entails talking of Scotland as some kind of disaster, basket case – while ignoring where such logic would take descriptions of Boris Johnson’s government. Some of this overblown rhetoric is a sign
The Importance of ‘The Crown’ in understanding Post-War Britain
The Importance of ‘The Crown’ in understanding Post-War Britain Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, November 18th 2020 The British Royal Family sit at the centre of the British establishment and at the heart of British national identity and history. ‘The Crown’ series thus has an importance unlike most TV series, with the new season just released on Netflix and already creating waves. Previous episodes have caused significant ripples and comment. But this series has seen the Palace and its acolytes go into hyper-drive, taking issue with its overall portrayal of the Royal Family and disputing some of the details. Season Four
Continue Reading The Importance of ‘The Crown’ in understanding Post-War Britain
The Pressures of Success: What independence has to do to win
The Pressures of Success: What Independence has to do to win Gerry Hassan Sunday National, November 15th 2020 It has been a historic week, and we are only half way through the month. Trump defeated, Dominic Cummings leaving Downing Street, a COVID-19 vaccine, fourteen polls in a row for independence, and - to top it all - the Scottish men’s football team qualifying for the Euros. Things are looking up. Being in a winning position changes everything. It brings fresh questions, expectations and pressures. There is the cumulative effect of the SNP being in office by 2021 for fourteen years
Continue Reading The Pressures of Success: What independence has to do to win
We need to know our history: The rise and fall of the British Prime Minister
We need to know our history: The rise and fall of the British Prime Minister Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, November 11th 2020 Leadership is one of the mantras of the modern age, and no more so than in politics. National leadership - and success (and conversely failure) - is endlessly analysed. Is Boris Johnson in irretrievable decline and was he ever right for the job? Can Nicola Sturgeon maintain the level of popularity of herself and the SNP to the 2021 elections? And does anyone remember the Lib Dems and who their leader is? (answer: Ed Davey). The new book
Continue Reading We need to know our history: The rise and fall of the British Prime Minister
The future for centre-left politics after the Trump disaster
The future for centre-left politics after the Trump disaster Gerry Hassan Sunday National, November 8th 2020 The most dramatic US Presidential election in recent times has caused the emergence of a host of issues about power, democracy and power. The election of Joe Biden and defeat of Donald Trump throws up questions about politics beyond the US - including how progressive politics can refashion what they stand for in a world of continual change and turmoil. Centre-left parties used to be anchored in organised labour and the politics of class. In Western Europe this grounded the appeal and rationale of
Continue Reading The future for centre-left politics after the Trump disaster
Will today mark the beginning of the era after Trump?
Will today mark the beginning of the era after Trump? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, November 4th 2020 Today the debris and damage that Trump has inflicted on the US will become a little clearer. There can be no return to the world pre-Trump and the supposedly more genteel, polite era of Barack Obama as if it were some golden age. The tensions, turmoil and evasions of those recent times laid the ground for and created the likes of Trump, Farage and others. Today may mark the beginning of the end of the Trump spectacle but the world and politics will
Continue Reading Will today mark the beginning of the era after Trump?
The Politics of Hate and why it has to be defeated – from the US to Scotland
The Politics of Hate and why it has to be defeated – from the US to Scotland Gerry Hassan Sunday National, November 1st 2020 We live in divisive, contentious times where the noise and claims and counter-claims in public life seem to never stop. Many people yearn for this age of rage and hatred to stop, and for a return to supposedly calmer, more enlightened times. This can be seen in part of the logic of support for Democrat Joe Biden against Donald Trump in next week’s US Presidential election. However, there will be no return to a so-called ‘normal’
Continue Reading The Politics of Hate and why it has to be defeated – from the US to Scotland
