1979: The beginning of the end of the ancien regime that ruled Scotland and the UK Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, March 1st 2019 Today is the 40^th anniversary of Scotland going to the polls to vote in the first devolution referendum on Labour’s proposals for a Scottish Assembly. This marked the beginning of Scotland’s constitutional revolution through referendums which, at the moment, stands at a triptych of 1979, 1997 and 2014 but which may have another addition. Despite this there will be no bunting, no ceremonies and no plaques unveiled to mark today. Both then and now, Labour’s plans for

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The Birth of the New: BBC Scotland Finally Takes Off Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, 27 February 2019 BBC Scotland’s new channel launched on Sunday at 7pm. There was a small amount of expectation, a countdown, and even nervousness. Sitting, waiting for it to begin, in those last few seconds I reflected how seldom a new TV channel is born on old-fashioned telly. The last I remember being Channel 4 in the 1980s, with Five not at the outset or since really registering. Then it came on air. The first night opened with the Chvrches and had ‘A Night at the

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As Labour and Tories splinter the old political order is broken beyond repair Scottish Review, February 20th 2019 Gerry Hassan The Labour Party have finally split after months of rumours – with so far eight Labour MPs resigning from the party and three senior Tories joining them – and numerous stories of many more considering their position in both parties. This may or may not amount to a seismic meltdown of Labour and of two party politics as we know it. But something is rotten and deeply wrong with British politics. This is usually portrayed as the product of Brexit

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Time to close the last closed shop: Britain and Scotland’s private schools Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, 13 February 2019 Britain’s elites have never been more self-serving, self-sustaining and only interested in looking after themselves – aided by private education. All of a sudden the subject of private schools is back on the public agenda, aided by a decade of austerity, stalled living standards and the evaporation of social mobility. This has brought home to many who would not have previously thought of it the role of private education in looking after a very select and privileged few. Britain’s elites according

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The next Battle of Britain is going to about England’s future Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, February 6th 2019 Brexit certainly seems increasingly to be about England – or a certain version of England and a rather specific version of the past. Take last week for example. The previous Tuesday was another landmark day for Brexit. There were numerous big parliamentary votes and the House of Commons made clear again that it was unhappy with Theresa May’s deal with the EU. BBC News knew this was a big moment and the next day ended their flagship ‘Six O’Clock News’ announcing: ‘Theresa

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Hugh McIlvanney: A Moral Compass and the Power of Words Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, January 30th 2019 The tributes paid to Hugh McIlvanney spoke volumes for the influence of the man, his writing and for his humanity. They were laced with recollections and memorable stories of late nights, pressurised deadlines, and long conversations - often involving drink. They came from far and wide across the spectrum including Donald Trelford, former editor of ‘The Observer’; Alex Ferguson, ex-manager of Aberdeen FC and Manchester United FC; Graham Spiers of The Times; Liam McIlvanney remembering his uncle; stars such as George Foreman

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Independence is about more than an indyref. It is about changing minds and Scotland Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, January 25th 2019 Independence has to be about more than tactics and processes – which has dominated too many conversations since 2014. Independence is about more than an indyref - and in particular, timing, the question asked and how it comes about. This is politics as process and taking the substance for granted. And it is a trap too many independence supporters have fallen into post-2014. The last four plus years have been a strange time in Scottish politics. The democratic spirit

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We Scots have to start listening to each other Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, January 23rd 2019 Brexit seems to have no end, consuming nearly all political energy and devouring those who come into contact with it. Or so it seems for now. The Economist recently made the point in its ‘Bagehot’ column that one of the seldom understood groups in British politics were the long haulers. These were people who once occupied the margins of political life, and have now in the case of Brexiteers and Corbynistas, come centrestage and turned politics upside down. These two groups involved people

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Britain, Brexit and Why Winston Churchill is Alive and Kicking in this Mess Gerry Hassan Le Monde, January 21st 2019 Britain is not a happy place. But then neither is much of the Western world. Instead, it is angry. A country where many people feel let down, not respected or listened to by politicians, institutions and elites. In the UK, unlike elsewhere, this discontent fed into and aided the victory of the Brexiteers in the 2016 referendum. The subsequent near three years of continual Brexit discussions between the UK and EU, and within the UK, have not produced an agreed

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Salmond, Sturgeon and the End of an Era for the SNP Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, January 16th 2019 Britain stands at an abyss. Three years of endless Brexit deliberations have resulted in the UK facing crisis, doubt and anxiety about what the future holds. Politics has become a high wire act of competing intransigencies and denials of reality – with the only certainty that there is no easy way out of this mess or simple resolution. This is a crisis of mainstream politics, democracy and Britain’s political parties. The Tories continue their thirty-year civil war on Europe, while Corbyn’s Labour

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