The Strange Story of Scottish Labour: Unloved and Misunderstood Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, March 19th 2014 The Scottish Labour Party tends to get a bad press. People say it stands for nothing. That for years all it was interested in was power and self-preservation. They thus discount its contribution to public life down the years – and in particular its role in the establishment of the Scottish Parliament. Scottish Labour may not be in a good way but stereotypes evoked of it by some of its enemies are as unhelpful as they are inaccurate. Some nationalists propose that ‘Scottish Labour

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The Big Question: Who ‘Lost’ Scotland? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, March 12th 2014 The independence debate is a product of Scotland changing over decades and generations. Subsequently, this debate has also accelerated and abetted change, challenging old assumptions and throwing light on parts of our public life never previously thoroughly examined. This transformation will continue whatever the result. One big observation, which needs to be stated, is that whatever the referendum result independence has already won. And Scotland has already been ‘lost’ – a point understood by some of the more thoughtful pro-union observers such as Alex Massie and James

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BBC and STV are Falling Short in Scotland’s Great Debate Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, March 5th 2014 The BBC and STV are failing the people of Scotland in their coverage of the independence referendum, despite the best attempts of some of the many talented journalists still in these organisations. The reasons for this are deep-seated: historic, structural, and about the failure of management to lead, be bold and creative. The independence debate could not have come at a worse time for the BBC and STV. It caught both bodies ill-prepared, under-resourced, and basically, not taking Scotland or Scottish politics that

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The Birth Pains of Scottish Democracy and the Anguish of ‘Posh Scotland’ Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, February 26th 2014 Many strange things will be written about Scotland this year. Some will be uncomprehending, some inappropriate or wrong, with others likely to be malevolent and wishing to sew seeds of confusion or distrust. One existing strand is the pain expressed by some English media voices. There is the liberal ‘Guardian’ reading classes, some of whom have just bothered in the last few weeks to look north from their cosmopolitan concerns and to plea, ‘don’t leave us alone with the wicked Tories’.

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The Land of the Living Dead: Jeremy Paxman and Max Hasting’s Britain Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, February 19th 2014 Years ago I believed in Britain; in its future and some of its stories, values and institutions. I thought that those which did not match modern democratic times, could be changed. This was the beauty of Britain and its radical currents. Even as a teenager I knew there was some element of make belief and fantasy in this. The mythical stories of Britain as the land of liberty, rule of law and democracy jarred with too many of the facts. Such

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Scotland’s Historic Year and the Zeal of the Missionary Men Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, February 12th 2014 This is Scotland’s great date with destiny. The biggest moment in 300 years of history. So how are we doing versus the hype and expectation? There is an echo chamber in large parts of public life which so far most of the Yes/No debate has amplified. There is the trench warfare of various tribal positions and the numerous one-way conversations with people talking past one another. And just as problematically, in some of the radical shades of opinion and institutional Scotland, there is

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Changin Scotland A weekend of politics, culture and ideas …. And fun! Friday March 28^th-Sunday March 30^th The Ceilidh Place, Ullapool WHO HAS POWER IN MODERN SCOTLAND? In association with the Reid Foundation Friday March 28^th 8.00-9.30pm: Welcome: Gerry Hassan and Jean Urquhart Scotland after the Crash: The Collapse of RBS Ian Fraser, author, forthcoming ‘Shredded: The Rise and Fall of RBS’ (more…)

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The Battle for Britain and Why Alex Salmond and Independence Has Already Won Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, February 7th 2014 This year is witnessing several battles for Britain – of numerous anniversaries of past military triumphs, of the Scottish independence referendum, and the rising tide of the Tory Party’s continued obsession with Europe. All of these are inter-related in the long-term, almost existential, crisis of what Britain is, what is it for, what kind of society and values it represents, and what kind of future it offers its people. This tumultuous moment we now find ourselves in is one with

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Radical Nostalgia Scotland and Why We Can’t Go Back to the 1970s Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, February 5th 2014 Scotland’s current debate on independence comprises many conversations. They centre on what we were, are and could be, and who did what to whom in the past, and what it means about where we are now, and what we could become in the future. Many of these aspects were to the fore last week at a Jim Sillars-Alex Neil event to launch Jim’s new book, ‘In Place of Fear II’, under the auspices of ‘Yes Airdrie’. On a cold Thursday night,

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The Empathy Gap: Divided Scotland and the Problem of Fantasyland Britain Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, January 29th 2014 It has become part of the commonsense account of the independence campaign that there is a problem with some of the more vociferous, partisan supporters. In one perspective, frequently spun in the mainstream media, this problem is predominantly, if not exclusively, about the ‘cybernat’ phenomenon. Numerous examples are brought out, from comedian Susan Calman facing invective for comments on independence, to incidents with Chris Hoy and Susan Boyle being verbally abused online. Yet to pose the ‘cybernats’ as the sole problem, as

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