British politics, Misogyny and the Prejudice which festers in the Tories Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, October 24th 2018 The political world has been seen as an abrasive, macho and male club for centuries. Across the West this has meant to have changed in the last couple of decades with record levels of women’s representation and women leaders across the world. Yet, despite this, the male exclusivity tag still hangs over much politics. Neither the Labour Party or Liberal Democrats (or their predecessors the Liberals) have ever had a woman leader. The Tories may have given the UK two leaders and

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Coming Together or Falling Apart? Freedom of Speech in the Age of Noise Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, October 17th 2018 The context and limits of freedom of speech have always been important, but everywhere this seems to have become increasingly contentious. Whether it is white supremacists in the US declaring they are protecting the US way of life, our very own home-grown hate speak from Tommy Robinson, or the multiple sensitivities, claims and counter-claims on transgender issues something seems to be going on. Only last weekend there was a mini-controversy when Ann Henderson, Edinburgh University’s Rector, retweeted details of an

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A Vision of the Future comes to Dundee: A Tayside Renaissance? Gerry Hassan New Statesman, October 12th 2018 Dundee is being talked about. This marks a big change for a city that traditionally has been ignored or presented in clichés - of jute, jam and journalism, the Tay Rail Bridge disaster, and William McGonagall. Now Dundee is on the map, and not just the Scottish and UK one, but internationally as a tourist and cultural hot spot, and a must-see destination. The major reason for this sudden interest is the opening of the V&A this month. It has been a

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Toxic Masculinity must be defeated. Silence is not an option for any of us Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, October 10th 2018 Hate seems to be everywhere in public life. This week Scottish Justice minister Humza Yousaf floated making misogyny a specific hate crime illegal, while in the previous week, the Scottish Government launched a high profile campaign against hate crime. Look around the world for numerous, state-sponsored examples - US President Donald Trump, the Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte with his rape comment after the killing of an Australian missionary Jacqueline Hamill that ‘the mayor should have been first’, and Brazilian

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Britain and Scotland have changed: The Tory Story of Britain is Dead Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, October 3rd 2018 The British Conservative Party is one of the most successful electoral parties in the developed capitalist world. They might not look like it at the moment but this is a force which has adapted to numerous challenges and changes: the coming of the mass franchise and rise of the working class, emergence of Labour, the post-war settlement, and demise of Empire and the UK’s diminished global standing and influence. The Tories are the party of privilege and entitlement; of a ruling

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Could Corbyn’s Labour be the future? A work in progress, but now imaginable Gerry Hassan Compass, September 27th 2018 Labour conference this week is an important staging post in the new Corbyn-led, energised mass party - not just the biggest in Britain, but bigger than all the other party memberships put together. The Jeremy Corbyn-John McDonnell leadership has been three years at the helm, and are the new establishment running and defining the party. They are now in near-total control of the party, its institutions and in tune with the expanded grass roots. This is their party now and

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Whatever happened to the springtime for democracy? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, September 18th 2018 Three decades ago democracy was the future and carrying all before it. The Soviet bloc was collapsing, the South African apartheid regime was crumbling - and all across South America brutal dictatorships were being replaced by democracies (however imperfect) symbolised by the fall of the Pinochet junta. Today the state of the world could not look more different and feel less optimistic. There are still many more democracies than there even a decade ago, but somehow the springtime for people power promised three decades ago has

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Who is going to champion Glasgow? Life after the GSA fire and the threat to the CCA Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, September 12th 2018 Glasgow hasn’t had to look too far to seek its troubles of late. There has been the devastating Glasgow School of Art fire (the second in four years), followed by the seeming abandonment of Sauchiehall Street businesses and residents. And if that weren’t enough in the last week there have been concerns that the acclaimed arts and cultural venue, the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA), shut since the GSA fire, faces the prospect of closure. The

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Speaking for Scotland: The Salmond Case, Independence and the Silences of Modern Life Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, September 5th 2018 The Salmond controversy has garnered huge press coverage. Beyond the actual cases itself, this says a lot about the state of Scotland. I am not making any assumptions about the guilt or innocence of Alex Salmond or the veracity of the accusations. This case is not just about Salmond or the allegations, but casts a wider light on some aspects of Scottish life, with certain parts of society not coming up smelling of roses. A caveat. ‘This is what we

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Why the Alex Salmond controversy matters beyond politics Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, August 29th 2018 There has only been one story in the last few days in Scotland; that of Alex Salmond. The substantive allegations and Alex Salmond’s response and denial of any wrong-doing have been amply catalogued. The whole controversy covers many issues - alleged wrong doing, how to deal with such sensitive subjects, the role of the media and wider politics, and how justice is done and seen to be done, including how we treat those accused as well as their accusers. Given there has been so much

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