How the London Political Classes See Scotland and the Future of Scottish Politics Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, March 30th 2011 There is now a discernable political trend of London based centre-left policy wonks and commentators attempting to demystify or understand the dynamics of Scottish politics and falling flat on their faces. Recent examples have ranged from Matthew Taylor’s offensive ramblings comparing Scotland and Japan after the earthquake and nuclear crisis, to the more thoughtful contributions of Nick Pearce, head of IPPR, and now Sunder Katwala, head of the Fabians. From a different direction, Neal Lawson, chair

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What is Scotland’s Big Story? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 26th 2011 What is the Big Story of Scotland: as a nation, society, and politically? Like William Hague’s mojo, we know we once had one and that we have now lost it. Scotland has had a number of big stories over the years: Empire Scotland, kirk Scotland, Red Clydeside, and the nationalist dream of independence. Now we mostly have muddle and confusion. The next few weeks are going to see an awful lot of sound and fury. Politicians will make jabbing points not listening to each other; men will make

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Changin Scotland A weekend of politics, culture and ideas …. And fun! Friday March 25^th-Sunday March 27^th Come and join us in our ninth year of discussion, blether, listening, having fun and a good time, and even occasionally admiring the beautiful scenery! Yes we now prepare for the year before our tenth anniversary … so come along and contribute to changing Scotland. Andy Wightman on land, power and politics Author of ‘The Poor Had No Lawyers’ Drew Scott on why Scotland needs Fiscal Autonomy The man that Wendy Alexander tried to silence! Robin Callander on the Scottish Crown Estates Author

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How do we stop the Forward March of the New Revolutionaries? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 19th 2011 Once upon a time we had a powerful left which shaped a large part of 20^th century Scotland: Red Clydeside, the rise of Labour, the creation of the welfare state, and part of the home rule movement. What has happened to this politics, idealism and radicalism today, and what do we do without it? The memory, folklore and language of parts of the left still influences a large, although dwindling part of society. These questions and more were touched on by

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Scotland and the Japanese Earthquake: The World According to Matthew Taylor Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, March 18th 2011 We know that there is a tradition of criticising Scotland from afar or in the briefest of visits north bringing your prejudices with you unchallenged. This used to be the terrain of the centre-right, of Thatcherites such as Nigel Lawson in the 1980s and The Spectator, but now what remains of the British centre-left has begun to join in. Recently Nick Pearce of the IPPR had a whistle wind Scottish tour checking out Scottish Labour’s preparation for returning to power, which led

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The Divine Right to Rule: Power and the Scots Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 12th 2011 Scotland likes to see itself as a land of passion, romance and rebellion: a disputatious society where no one is allowed to get too big for their boots: a permanent ‘diverse assembly’ in Robert Crawford’s telling phrase. At the same time the Scots have displayed a curious attitude towards power, who has it, how they exercise it, and what it means. One could characterise it as an indifference, but it slips over into something much stronger: acquiescence. One account, found in the Scottish Government

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Scotland and the Politics of Change after Social Democracy Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, March 9th 2011 Scotland likes to see itself as a radical nation. An egalitarian country. A country of socialism and more latterly social democratic and progressive values. A nation which never voted for the Tories in large numbers in recent decades, didn’t like Mrs. Thatcher and didn’t buy into Thatcherism. A political community which has stood for timeless Scottish values of caring for the vulnerable, compassion and not buying into the certainties of the last few decades which have obsessed Westminster and Washington. It is a

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After Devolution: How Do We Change Scotland? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 8th 2011 The last decade of Scotland has shown the limits of devolution and the power of the forces of caution and conservatism – despite our belief that we are radicals, rebels and challengers of orthodoxy. There were several accounts of devolution, but the dominant, prevailing one was not about transforming Scottish society or a supposed ‘new politics’. Instead, it was about legitimising the existing vested interests and forces of institutional Scotland. There have been many positives in the last decade: the effortless establishment of the

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Scotland’s Shame Deniers and the Silence of Men Gerry Hassan Open Democracy. March 7th 2011 The power and pull of Scottish football reaches into every nook and cranny of Scottish society for good and ill. It obsesses us, transfixes us and blinds us to addressing so many things in our country. The most recent Celtic v Rangers game has shown that football has a life force of its own which takes over most of Scotland: three Rangers players sent off, 13 yellow cards, the Celtic manager and Rangers assistant in a bitter exchange, hundreds of arrests, and the number of

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How We Grow Up in Scotland Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 5th 2011 Scotland we know has its fair share of problems, but we used to tell ourselves a set of comforting stories to disguise this. One was that we were an egalitarian nation. Another was that this was a child friendly society – due to things like Children’s Panels – but fortunately you don’t hear that much anymore. Susan Deacon, former Labour minister was commissioned by the Scottish Government to look at early life experiences - with ‘Joining the Dots: A Better Start for Scotland’s Children’ the result. Deacon

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