Welcome to the Future: The Age of Uncertainty Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, February 28th 2016 Politics and public life are meant to follow neat, tidy, predictable patterns. Experts and forecasters are supposed to be able to give informed analysis on future change. This doesn’t always work out. Even experts have a continuity bias, while sudden events or factors can emerge, seemingly from nowhere that no one foresaw. We are living in a time where the art of prediction is becoming more difficult. Think of the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader, the insurgency of Bernie Sanders in the

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Britain’s Elites can no longer control our politics: The European Vote will change Britain and Scotland Forever Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, February 26th 2016 The European referendum is a milestone for Scotland and the UK. It is impossible to understate the historic times we are witnessing - a British establishment and political elite no longer in command of politics and affairs of the state in a way they are used to. The Economist this week, well known for its advocacy of economic liberalism and the maintenance of the union of the UK, acknowledged that this vote was ‘not only the

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The ‘War ‘on Free Speech and Free Thinking in Scotland and the UK Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, February 24th 2016 Freedom of expression and thought are cornerstones of any ‘free society’. Who could disagree with such an uncontentious statement? It is not quite as simple. There are always going to be tensions and conflicts, but more and more the issue of what is ‘free speech’ has become heated and controversial, with claims and counter-claims on what people have the right to say and shouldn’t say, and who can say it. This can be seen across the UK and West, from

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The European debate begins but what about a debate about Britain? Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, February 21st 2016 After months of rumours the official countdown to the European referendum on June 23^rd begins. This is David Cameron’s triumph, the high point of his Premiership, and the beginning of the end for him. Whatever the merits of his ‘deal’, power now and particularly after the vote, irrespective of the result, flows away from him. It is a huge moment for Britain. Its ‘special status’ in Europe has been formally recognised – making explicit something obvious from the moment the UK joined

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The Last of the True Believers: Comrades of the World Unite! Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, February 17th 2016 The age of insecurity has turned out to be an age of rage and anger. Yet, so far, a near-decade of economic collapse, turmoil and corporate deception hasn’t led to a widespread revival in the fortunes of the left’s ideas and popularity. Instead, the picture is a very mixed, patchy one. There has been a rise in populism, xenophobia and identity politics: Trump and the US Republicans, UKIP and the French Front National, and the much more sinister hard-right examples in Poland

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Are Scotland’s true Tartan Tories finally finding their voice? Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, February 14th 2016 For years the Scottish Tories have been in retreat and decline. Until now. A succession of Scottish Tory leaders from David McLetchie to Annabel Goldie have gained numerous plaudits, but not changed the political weather. Ruth Davidson has looked to be mining similar ground: gaining good press notices, but none of it changing the fundamentals of the unpopularity of her Tory brand. The Scottish Tories are seen by many as toxic and a pariah party. Even worse, Tory is widely used as an expletive

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The Real Glasgow Effect on all of us Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, February 10th 2016 Glasgow is many things. It is a place, an idea and a story. Willie McIlvanney once captured this writing: ‘Glasgow is a great city. Glasgow is in trouble. Glasgow is handsome. Glasgow is ugly. Glasgow is kind. Glasgow is cruel.’ There is a Glasgow industry of books about the city - the biggest and most burgeoning concerning any UK city - London apart, which is over ten times its size. There are dry academic accounts and studious examinations. There are cultural tours. Then there is

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Labour’s Taxing Problems: The Party is fighting for its very existence Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, February 7th 2016 This week Scottish Labour made a move on tax. Is it a daring or desperate move? It broke with the party’s position since the Scottish Parliament was set up in 1999 not to propose any tax increases. At the same time, as the SNP retained its stratospheric poll ratings for the May elections, the Tories drew level with Labour for second place, while Labour issued their regional list candidates with an obvious lack of ‘new blood’ or talent. With the Scottish Parliament

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The Herald and Rangers FC: Noise annoys and listening for the Sounds of Silence Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, February 3rd 2016 A series of illuminating conflicts in the last week - the Graham Spiers sacking from ‘The Herald’ and the J.K. Rowling/Natalie McGarry argument on twitter - show something revealing about modern Scotland. Spiers sacking from the paper, along with Angela Haggerty’s from the ‘Sunday Herald’, brought up numerous issues. One immediate issue was where power lay in the newspaper group – with open disagreement emerging between ‘The Herald’ and ‘Sunday Herald’ editors. More fundamentally it touched upon the legacy

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The Great British Economic Miracle is an Illusion Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, January 31st 2016 Something is wrong with the British economy. George Osborne seems to be experiencing his own ‘Boom and Bust’. Just before Christmas he was singing the joys of the British economy on the mend.  Yet a few weeks later he changed his tone talking of the uncertain economic times. He hasn’t had to look too far for his troubles - from the tax credits’ chaos where he had to do a U-turn, to this week’s judgement that the bedroom tax was illegal and discriminated against

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