• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • blog
  • About
  • Book Publications
  • Other Reading
  • Social Wall
  • Back Pages
  • Contact Me

recent articles

Does Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP have the courage to challenge and her own side?

September 4, 2016
Does Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP have the courage to challenge Scotland and her own side? Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, September 4th 2016 This week First Minister Nicola Sturgeon launched a major new initiative on independence. At the moment she is playing for time – waiting to see the developing post-Brexit landscape, Theresa May’s hand with Article 50 and the broad outline of the deal the UK is proposing with the EU. There are numerous factors at work. Sturgeon has to be seen doing something. She has to appear in charge and doing something on independence. Plus there is the

Continue Reading Does Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP have the courage to challenge and her own side?

The Myth of the Great Leader: Gordon Brown, Jimmy Reid and Alex Salmond

September 2, 2016
The Myth of the Great Leader: Gordon Brown, Jimmy Reid and Alex Salmond Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, September 1st 2016 The times they-are-a-changing. There is a tangible feeling in the air of discontent, anger and bewilderment. People feel let down and cheated by the multiple powers that be. It isn’t surprising then that there is a palpable sense of national nostalgia depicted on TV – remakes fill the screens (Are You Being Served?, Porridge), while period dramas (Downton Abbey) or endless documentaries on World War Two and the Nazis are hugely popular. The left aren’t immune to this either –

Continue Reading The Myth of the Great Leader: Gordon Brown, Jimmy Reid and Alex Salmond

Every Year When the World Comes to Scotland

August 29, 2016
Every Year When the World Comes to Scotland Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, August 28th 2016 At the end of every summer Edinburgh becomes a global village - walking down any street or lane entails coming across numerous nationalities, languages and different cultures. Streets are packed with tourists, sightseers, and cultural backpackers; there are performances in every nook and cranny of the city centre, and all sorts of impromptu and free shows going on all around. All of this puts Edinburgh and Scotland on the cultural map unlike anything else. It generates large amounts of revenue for the city and wider

Continue Reading Every Year When the World Comes to Scotland

Flags and Stramashs in Scotland’s Summer of Independence

August 25, 2016
Flags and Stramashs in Scotland’s Summer of Independence Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, August 24th 2016 A couple of weeks ago I was involved in one of the many online conversations about politics that now characterise Scotland. Afterwards the animated chat in the pub turned to the previous day’s pro-independence march in Glasgow. Saltires had been there in plenty – and one person, perhaps more fully signed up to independence than the others, asked ‘Why is Scotland the only place in the world where people are told off for flying their flag?’ This was met by myself and others with incredulity,

Continue Reading Flags and Stramashs in Scotland’s Summer of Independence

What does the British Summer of Olympic Success mean?

August 22, 2016
What does the British Summer of Olympic Success mean? Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, August 21st 2016 Rio 2016 has made the headlines. Before the games, there was the backstory of the Brazilian lack of preparation, corruption and wasting of billions in a country without basic sanitation and health facilities for millions of its population. As the games got underway, one of the big stories became that of British success – as medal after medal was won, with Team GB achieving second place in the medals table ahead of the Chinese and in its final tally exceeding the number of medals

Continue Reading What does the British Summer of Olympic Success mean?

The Problem with Britain and Why It Can’t Be Tidily Put Back Together

August 15, 2016
The Problem with Britain and Why It Can’t Be Tidily Put Back Together Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, August 14th 2016 Britain throughout its history has had a reputation for stability and security. This after all was one of the main clarion calls in the indyref and, more recently, the Brexit vote, but this has always been a bit of a myth and is now increasingly fictitious. In the European referendum and its aftermath, much of the discussion that occurred repeatedly - supposedly about the country, its challenges and future - wasn’t actually about the UK, but instead about England. This

Continue Reading The Problem with Britain and Why It Can’t Be Tidily Put Back Together

The SNP’s Depute Leadership Contest could aid a more honest version of independence and post-Brexit politics

August 7, 2016
The SNP’s Depute Leadership Contest could aid a more honest version of independence and post-Brexit politics Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, August 7th 2016 The SNP is about to have a leadership election. A depute leader contest. Given the SNP is in government in Holyrood - with 63 out of 129 MSPs - and last year won 56 out of 59 Westminster seats, this will have some impact. Rarely do Deputy Leaders count in parties. Labour has had one since 1922 and none were that important: John Prescott didn’t restrain Blair, and Tom Watson can’t show Corbyn the door. Tories don’t

Continue Reading The SNP’s Depute Leadership Contest could aid a more honest version of independence and post-Brexit politics

The Named Persons legislation and who stands up for liberty in Scotland?

August 1, 2016
The Named Persons legislation and who stands up for liberty in Scotland? Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, July 31st 2016 The summer of 2016 is proving dramatic and historic. Brexit, David Cameron resignation as PM, Theresa May becoming the new PM, Jeremy Corbyn’s travails. That’s just Britain. Across the world there is Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, violent and terrorist attacks in Germany and France, Putin flexing his muscles, while a belligerent China shows its power in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has been playing an astute game on Brexit. This week Nicola Sturgeon spoke in a way no

Continue Reading The Named Persons legislation and who stands up for liberty in Scotland?

Confiscating the nationalist halo: Review of Independence of the Scottish Mind

July 27, 2016
Gerry Hassan, Independence of the Scottish Mind: Elite Narratives, Public Spaces and the Making of a Modern Nation, Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 978-1-137-41413-7 Reviewed by Scott Hames Soundings: A Journal of Politics and Culture, Summer 2016 The feverish upheaval of Scottish politics has gradually become its own kind of normal. On 5 May the voters practically yawned as they seized their second chance in twelve months to slaughter the Scottish Labour party. (The body-count is considerable, but it was an apathetic smothering compared to the gore of 2015.) As the SNP’s post-referendum insurgency beds down into cautious hegemony, boredom and

Continue Reading Confiscating the nationalist halo: Review of Independence of the Scottish Mind

The Labour Party: that pillar of the British constitution doesnt have a right to exist

July 25, 2016
The Labour Party: that pillar of the British constitution doesn’t have a right to exist Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, July 25th 2016 Politics requires a credible opposition that holds government to account. One that offers the prospect of an alternative government – but now, and for the foreseeable future, Scotland and the UK is without one. This is due to the state of Labour. The last year has been one of the most disastrous in the party’s history. A second election defeat, Scotland lost - and then Brexit. And after last year’s defeat the party curled up even more in

Continue Reading The Labour Party: that pillar of the British constitution doesnt have a right to exist

< Older Entries
Newer Entries >

Primary Sidebar

categories

  • Blog
  • Events
  • Futures Thinking
  • International Conversations
  • Longer Essays
  • Short Essays
  • What Gerry's groovin' to
  • What Gerry's reading
FacebookTwitter

featured publication

Scotland Rising: The Case for Independence

Click here to buy Gerry’s latest book.

what Gerry’s groovin’ to

My Music Albums of the Year

January 2, 2025

what Gerry’s reading

Books of the Year: Politics, History, Culture and Ideas

December 26, 2024

tags

Scottish politics | Scottish Independence | Scottish Review | British politics | The Scotsman | Scottish Nationalists | Scottish Nationalism | Open Democracy | Nicola Sturgeon | Scottish Labour Party | Sunday National | Scottish society | The British State | Sunday Mail | Brexit | Scottish National Party | Boris Johnson | Social Democracy | British Labour Party | Conservative Party | Alex Salmond | Bella Caledonia | Jeremy Corbyn | Popular Culture | Scottish Parliament | David Cameron | The National | British Conservatives | Scottish Independence Referendum | Scottish Media | Labour Party | British Nationalism | Social Justice | Scottish Men | British Society | The Future of the Left | Scottish Unionism | 2021 Scottish Parliament elections | SNP | Football

Categories

Footer

about Gerry

Gerry Hassan is a writer, commentator and thinker about Scotland, the UK, politics and ideas.

More >

recent

  • How do we address the Future of the Future?
  • After Hamilton, Scottish Politics and the Cause of Independence
  • Why the Reform Bandwagon is coming to Scotland – and what can be done to stop it?

search

FacebookTwitter

Terms of Use | Privacy Statement
Copyright © Gerry Hassan - writing, research, policy and ideas. All Rights Reserved.
Illustration and website design by Infinite Eye