The Limits of the Ruth Davidson Show Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, June 21st 2017 These are times of change. An election that shocked. Parties in crisis. And a world which never seems to stop in terms of news, surprises and tragedy. Scotland isn’t immune to this. But one take as we come up for two weeks after the election has been that the Tories are back and that this is all due to the appeal of Ruth Davidson. And then there is the secondary story of Scottish Labour showing that it isn’t dead, and has possibly even come off

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We have reached a watershed for UK politics: Time for independence to catch the wave of change Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, June 20th 2017 These are bewildering and often disorientating times to live in. In recent weeks and months it has felt at times difficult to keep up with the speed of events – as history has been seemingly made and remade every few days. Such periods call for being honest, respectful in debate, and reflection and self-awareness in everything any of us say or do in public. Look around at the events in the UK and world and they

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A new era of Scottish politics has begun: The Forward March of the SNP Halted? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, June 14th 2017 There was a UK election last week. We have the semblance of a UK Government, but underneath all this there remains little that could be called British politics. This was a four nations UK election. Each gave a different party a conditional victory. The SNP were the most popular party in Scotland with 36.9% of the vote. The Tories were the biggest force in England with 45.6%. Labour were by far the strongest party in Wales with

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Build It and They Will Come: Scotland and Independence after the election Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, June 13th 2017 The 2017 election marks the end of an era of Scottish politics. The immediate shadow of the 2014 indyref dominating everything is over. As is the age of the Big Tent, omnipotent SNP carrying all before it. The re-emergence of the Scottish Tories and the stalling of the retreat of Scottish Labour has confounded many Nationalists. Not only is the post-2014 indyref environment over, so too is politics defined by the constant invoking of Thatcher and Blair. No matter the depths

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Scotching the Myths of Modern Scotland Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, June 7th 2017 Cultures and nations live by myths. This has been so since the dawn of civilisation and has never been more apparent in recent weeks, in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Manchester and London that have so dominated the first half of 2017 in Britain and the UK general election. The popular slogan invoking the spirit of the Blitz and World War Two - ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ - embodies how the British like to see themselves when under pressure. There is stoicism, a

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A World of Borders, Space and Culture: A Tribute to Roanne Dods Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, May 31st 2017 Much of modern life is shaped by the chasm between the official narratives of institutions, authority and experts and how most of us experience everyday life. This is obvious in the bizarre experience of Britain and Scotland’s current election - one which is consuming the attentions of the political classes and its hangers-on, but which is bemusing and infuriating most of the rest of us. Don’t switch-off now. This isn’t another piece about the election and how awful it is. Instead,

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The SNP and Tories have swapped places in Scotland: The former is the party of government. The latter the party of protest Gerry Hassan The Guardian Comment, May 31st 2017 It is a topsy-turvy time in Scottish politics. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon now regularly challenges Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson for going on about nothing else but independence. Tories in Scotland have become a party of protest. Today Tory protestors stood outside the SNP manifesto launch earlier in Perth with anti-independence placards. The SNP have become a party of government. The two have literally swapped roles. The SNP

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Time for the SNP and Labour to break with the failed policies of divided Britain Gerry Hassan Sunday Herald, May 28th 2017 Until last week this election was one in which nothing seemed to be happening. All of that changed with the horrors of Manchester. Such atrocities test the fabric of our democracy and civic culture and sadly find some – though thankfully few – wanting. Theresa May came out saying some of the right words. But we have nearly 1,000 armed troops now on our streets:; a reflection of the huge police cuts she made in her six-year

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Is it time to think of independence for London? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, May 24th 2017 Every day in so many ways the UK becomes more obviously divided and fragmented. The current UK general election campaign showcases this - with the absence of any real national UK politics beyond the theatre of Westminster with instead numerous national and sub-national debates. There are, along with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, several different Englands. And then there is the special case of London. As the capital of England and the UK, London is an island apart from the rest of us. It

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Sorry seems to be the hardest word in Scotland Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, May 17th 2017 Power and privilege seldom likes to have to openly reflect on its place in front of others. Instead, power likes to present its position as a natural state of affairs – to just be, manifesting and imbuing a sense of its own importance. This is how power exerts and expresses itself, from the City of London to senior bankers and the forces of international capitalism. The same is true of Scotland and in recent years this has been aided by, in significant areas, power

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