Robert Owen and New Lanark: A vision of society relevant to Scotland 2020 Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, October 28th 2020 It's hard to be hopeful in these stressful times. It is not unreasonable to suggest that there is a widespread and corrosive sentiment at large in the UK - and much of the West - that the current unsatisfactory state of the world is the best we can do (minus a tweak or two) - and that fundamental change for the betterment of humanity and the world isn’t really possible. Our collective past should teach us not to listen to

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The UK is increasingly run by corporate insiders. And Scotland is, too Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, October 27^th 2020 Politics has always been about power – who has it, how they exercise it, in whose interests they use it. Yet, increasingly politics has become associated with a professional elite who live, breathe (and have only ever worked in) politics and are, in how they see the world, divorced from the vast majority of the population. This group operate as a self-serving selectorate, sometimes described in the UK as a ‘chumocracy’. As we’ve seen with Boris Johnson, the corporate class and

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Let’s Talk about Power in Scotland Gerry Hassan Sunday National, October 25th 2020 Britain is broken. Its state and government is callous, indifferent and incapable of looking after the interests of the people. And even more so, the British establishment – old and new – only cares about itself and its cronies. As Britain is engulfed in multiple crises, we cannot just sit back and idly watch and assume that we are different and morally better here. We have to prove that this is so, and embody it in our actions. The now well-used term ‘British establishment’ slipped into popular

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What do we do about the corporate insider class increasingly running the UK and Scotland? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, October 21st 2020 Politics has always been about power - who has it, how they exercise it, in whose interests they use it, how accountable and open to scrutiny they are, and if and how they can be removed. Yet, increasingly politics has become associated with the rise of a professional elite who live, breathe (and have only ever worked in) politics and are, in how they see the world, divorced from the vast majority of the population. This group operate

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Is This The Tipping Point of Scottish Independence? Gerry Hassan Sunday National, October 18th 2020 Independence is the new normal and the mainstream. This is a huge historic shift and moment. It is a dramatic change and opportunity that will require a very different politics and attitude compared to 2014. Then independence represented the insurgents and outsiders, the new kids on the block, shaking the insiders, taking independence in from the cold and the margins. This is independence’s tipping point – or getting close to that point; the moment when everything changes: the argument, context and how the public see

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Superman is not coming to save us: Trump, Boris Johnson and Regressive Masculinity Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, October 14th 2020 It is not very surprising that Donald Trump was apparently considering wearing a Superman top under his shirt and then revealing it on leaving hospital after being treated for COVID. It is deeply symbolic of the allure of the Superman complex that a significant section of the public – usually men, including many of those in senior positions – are drawn to an erroneous belief in Superman as a viable form of leadership. The world is in crisis and needs

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The Legacy of Donald Dewar and Scotland’s Stories: Past, Present and Future Gerry Hassan Sunday National, October 11th 2020 Twenty years ago today Donald Dewar tragically died at the age of 63. His loss was an incalculable one to the fledgling Scottish Parliament and to Scottish Labour: the first institution eventually finding its feet, while the second lost its way. Dewar was Scotland’s first ever First Minister who presided over the establishment of the Scottish Parliament. He reasserted Labour’s devolution commitment when others doubted it and, in the months following the 1997 Labour election victory as Scottish Secretary of State,

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Donald Dewar and the Lost Story of Devolution Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, October 8th 2020 A significant and poignant moment in Scotland’s recent history comes up this weekend on Sunday, with the 20^th anniversary of the tragic death of the first ever First Minister Donald Dewar at the age of 63. Donald Dewar was a profoundly decent person, imbued with an older sense of public mission and morality, who often seemed out of kilter with the times - drawing from a deep reservoir of how the middle and professional classes used to behave. His death robbed the Scottish Parliament of

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Lennon at 80 and the enduring relationship of John and Paul Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, October 7th 2020 John Lennon would have been 80 this Friday. To add to the poignancy, two months later is the 40^th anniversary of 8^th December 1940 when Lennon was killed in front of his home, the Dakota Building, New York City, aged 40. Lennon’s life, talent and genius are wrapped in mythology and iconic images and stories. He was central to the uniqueness of the Beatles; his partnership with Paul McCartney redefined and reset popular music and culture and, after they broke up, he

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Trump and Trumpism have to be defeated Gerry Hassan Sunday National, October 4th 2020   The October surprise has duly arrived in the form of Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump testing positive for COVID-19, leading to their self-isolation and the suspension of campaigning by Trump in person. In a year - and a Presidency of surprises - this was almost inevitable. Trump has consistently underplayed the pandemic only last month saying that it affects ‘virtually nobody.’ And he has shown a complete disregard for public safety and wearing masks, holding rallies - including his address to the Republican

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