MY FAVOURITE BOOKS OF 2017 December 15th 2017 Here is a selection of my books of the year. By its nature, this is subjective - made up of books I have read, enjoyed and been impressed by, and isn’t thus an attempt to comprehensively cover every subject. While the vast majority of books listed were published this year, there are a few from late 2016, and a couple published before then. Scotland: My Favourite Books of the Year James Robertson, Michael Marra: Arrest This Moment, Big Sky Press This is a beautifully produced book on a precious talent -

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Michael Marra: The Bard of Dundee and Modern Scotland Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, December 13th 2017 Michael Marra – musician, artist and force for good – was a precious Scottish gem. He was unique in his art but also in his delivery and style; singularly understated, modest and often humble to the extent that at times he hugely underpromoted himself and his work. It is worthwhile celebrating that the writer James Robertson has contributed his time and intelligence to produce a biography of Marra - ‘Michael Marra: Arrest This Moment’. This is a fascinating book, and important beyond the subject

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Are a ‘liberal elite’ really running Scotland? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, December 6th 2017 Is Scotland run by a ‘liberal junta’ or a ‘social junta’? This might seem a far-fetched notion but this is the charge made by Observer and Herald columnist Kevin McKenna (‘social junta’) and backed up by Iain Macwhirter (‘liberal junta’). I have enormous respect for both Kevin and Iain and value their many contributions to public life, but do think that on this they have got it badly wrong. The argument put by McKenna in The Observer is that the Scottish Parliament is more focused on

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The Ireland Question is not just about Ireland, but a selective view of Britain Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, November 29th 2017 Brexit has become a constitutional and political clusterfuck - a rolling embarrassment for Britain in a show that is set to run officially at least until 11pm on 29 March 2019, and in all probability for years after. It is a crash between a right-wing Fantasyland version of Britain (witness Boris Johnson, Liam Fox and Jacob Rees-Mogg) and at the margins, a left-wing British exceptionalist story led by Corbyn which hopes, by keeping quiet, to pick up the pieces,

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Kezia Dugdale and the Jungle that is the Scottish Labour ‘Family’ Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, November 22nd 2017 The big story of the last few days in certain quarters hasn’t been Zimbabwe, allegations of child sexploitation in Govanhill on Glasgow’s Southside, the saving of BiFab, or the election of Richard Leonard as Scottish Labour’s ninth leader. And not even Alex Salmond’s weekly programme on ‘Russia Today’. Instead our airwaves, papers and social media have been obsessed with news that Kezia Dugdale, Scottish Labour’s outgoing leader, will appear in the TV reality show ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’.

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Gordon Brown: The Ghost in the Machine Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, November 14th 2017 Gordon Brown, like him or loath him, was a titan of a figure in British politics for close on two decades. Along now comes Brown’s attempt at putting his case and a call for understanding and redemption in his autobiography - ‘My Life, Our Times’. It comes with much baggage for all who will read and encounter it, including from the author himself who goes through the pretense that he had to be reluctantly dragged into writing it, explaining himself: ‘For me, being conspicuously demonstrative is

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Sexual Misbehaviour is the concern of all of us Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, November 8th 2017 A spectre is haunting British politics. At a time of high wire politics, instability and the biggest constitutional challenge – Brexit – in post-war times, the political classes are obsessed with allegations of sexual impropriety, harassment and abuse. This affects all the main parties and at the most senior levels - the Conservatives and de facto Deputy Prime Minister Damian Green, Labour’s Kelvin Hopkins, the Lib Dems with the previous Lord Rennard scandal, and the SNP with the resignation of Children’s minister Mark McDonald.

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The Importance of Joy, Lightness and Irreverence Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, November 1st 2017 Scandals and controversies are thick and fast these days. There are the indictments against senior members of the Trump campaign, allegations of impropriety by sexpest MPs, and the ongoing stand-off and clampdown by the Spanish authorities in Catalonia. All of these are serious issues asking important questions about politics, public life and the nature of democracy. Yet at the same time, the manner of how these and other factors are brought into scrutiny and debated often seems to contribute to part of the problem. There is

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The Fantasyland Version of Britain is alive and kicking – and driving Brexit Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, Oct0ber 25th 2017 British democracy used to be presented as the envy of the world - the Whig version of history, the rule of law and above all the sense of continuity which was meant to differentiate the UK from its European neighbours. Such a view permeated British elites, institutions and public life. But it also informed many left-wing radicals and dissenters. One notable example was provided by the American writer Edward Shils on visiting the UK in 1953. He reflected on being

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Is Scotland really a social democratic country? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, October 18th 2017 At last week’s SNP conference in the middle of her keynote speech, Nicola Sturgeon asked: ‘What kind of country do we want to be?’ She wasn’t expecting an answer, and seemed surprised when a member of the party faithful shouted out ‘an independent one.’ Behind Sturgeon’s non-question is the belief in Scottish difference, the efficacy of our values, and the link of both of these to the idea of Scotland as a social democratic country. Thus, around the conference chatter and commentary, Lesley Riddoch on Sky

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