Confused by the European Debate? You should be! Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, June 5th 2016 The EU referendum is so far one of the worst political debates in my lifetime, with no sign of it improving. It is unlikely to descend to the gutter of Trump v. Clinton coming up shortly. But it still leaves a lot to be desired. The academic Philip Cowley this week compared the referendum to ‘a shit game of football match, with little skill, in the pouring rain, on a Tuesday, but there still has to be a winner.’ There are good arguments for Remain

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My Favourite Seinfeld Episodes Gerry Hassan June 3rd 2016 ‘Seinfeld’ is without question IMHO the greatest TV comedy show every made. Its storylines sing with wit and invention. The four main characters: Jerry, George, Kramer and Elaine, play brilliantly off each other as they attempt to avoid (often unsuccessfully) disaster, embrace maturity and learn from their own mistakes. ‘Seinfeld’ became huge in the US when it showed over its nine seasons until 1998. In the UK it was only ever shown on terrestrial TV late night on BBC2 in the late 1990s in double-bills with the equally brilliant ‘The Larry

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Does Glasgow have a chip on the shoulder? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, June 1st 2016 Glasgow is not Scotland. For most of its history it has seen itself as bigger than the nation that hosts it - looking out to Transatlantic trade and commerce routes, and linked to the world through shipbuilding and human connections. Since the early 19^th century Glasgow has seen itself as a ‘Big City’ - even though it is now half the size it was at its peak, in the mid-1950s. This bigness is about swagger, attitude (both good and bad), and having a sense of

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Glasgow’s Success is Key to Scotland’s Success Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, May 29th 2016 Glasgow is Scotland’s biggest city. It may only contain 606,340 people in its council boundaries, but the Greater Glasgow conurbation is double that - at 1.2 million. Glasgow is one of the drivers of the Scottish economy and society: a place of great wealth, enterprise, jobs and culture. But it is also characterised by staggering degrees and levels of poverty, inequality and disadvantage. This isn’t anything remotely new and has been the case since the city experienced rapid industrialisation from the early 1800s, but it limits

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Why Does Football Matter So Much? And is it about something else? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, May 25th 2016 Football saturates Scotland. It fills numerous conversations and dominates spaces, both public and private – and affects attitudes, thoughts and emotions. According to some measures Scotland is the most football mad part of Europe; in others, it comes third behind Iceland and Cyprus. This isn’t just an essay about football - so if you aren’t a football fan, don’t stop reading as this affects you. If you are a football fan – and a partisan follower - let me be clear.

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What's Missing from the European Referendum? Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, May 22nd 2016 As memory of the Scottish campaign fades, along comes another one: the European referendum. It is like the deregulated chaos of buses – first none, then a stampede! We now have regular referendums. Scotland has had three, as has Wales, Northern Ireland two, and this is the third UK-wide vote. When they were first mooted in the 1970s they were called, particularly by MPs, ‘alien’, ‘unBritish’, ‘undermining of parliamentary sovereignty’, and the sort of things dictatorships do. Since then the referendum has slowly become part of the

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Have We Passed Peak SNP? After the Three Dreams of Scottish Nationalism Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, May 18th 2016 Nearly fifty years ago Scotland embarked on a new political journey - one defined by the politics of Scottish nationalism, the electoral challenge of the SNP, and the debate on self-government and how to best express Scotland’s collective interests. It has been a bumpy ride, involving controversies, incidents, moments of elation and disappointment, but while history is never tidy and linear, Scotland post-Winnie Ewing winning Hamilton in November 1967 was never the same. That much is uncontroversial. There have been subsequently

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An Open Letter to the SNP Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, May 15th 2016 Congratulations on last week’s historic third term. It was well deserved. The party has rightly established a reputation for competence. Nicola Sturgeon is popular and liked; none of the opposition come near. The SNP has contributed enormously to public life. It is seen as standing up for Scotland’s interests and after decades of Labour cronyism has been a new broom. This is probably as good as it gets. For the good of the country, the party and independence, it needs to understand the nature of its

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Armageddon Days are Here Again: Ulsterification and the Potential of DIY Scotland Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, May 11th 2016 Language, words and how people communicate matter. Yet, many would agree that much of the conduct of politics and politicians - and even public life in Scotland and the UK – falls short and leaves a lot to be desired. There is a lack of straight-talking and honesty, and over-use of worn out phrases and expressions, along with attempts to close off debates by caricaturing and stereotyping opponents and their arguments. This week David Cameron decided to invoke, in relation to

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The End of An Era: Goodbye to the 1980s and the Age of the Imperial SNP Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, May 8th 2016 Last week’s election marked the end of a historic era -  a Scotland defined by the explosion and aftermath of the independence referendum. Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP have been given a mandate of sorts – not the kind they were looking for or expecting. It is much more conditional, while still tinged with respect. The SNP won but their expectations about a landslide got the better of them. Sturgeon tried to play it both ways on

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