2016 Scottish Parliament Elections

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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The Scottish Revolution that isn’t quite what people expected Gerry Hassan May 6th 2016 The Scottish election was a foregone conclusion. Everything was settled we were told. But it hasn’t quite turned out that way. A third SNP term, but without the expected overall majority that the Nationalists and polls expected. A Tory revival beyond expectations. And a Labour nightmare implosion which makes it difficult to see a way back. Decent results for the Greens and Lib Dems. All of this will throw up big questions about politics, power and legitimacy. Nicola Sturgeon has talked about ‘a clear and unequivocal

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Govanhill: A Response from Glasgow City Council May 5^th 2016 Dear Mr Hassan, I saw your article on ‘Scottish Review’ about Govanhill and, as a press officer for Glasgow City Council, was particularly taken the paragraph, which said: For years Govanhill has had a palpable feeling of falling between the cracks and has not received council and government regeneration policy and funding. It isn’t by any stretch one of the poorest parts of Glasgow or Scotland, but this has meant that it has consistently missed out on funds, priorities and influence. Below is a fact sheet, which was produced by

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Govanhill: Glasgow’s Ellis Island and the Battle for the Heart of Nicola Sturgeon’s Constituency Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, May 4th 2016 A couple of years ago a community arts project in Glasgow designated Albert Drive on the city’s Southside as ‘Scotland’s most ethnically diverse street’. It was a good strapline – filled with positivity and pride, but inaccurate. Instead, that byline should be held by the nearby community of Govanhill, with 53 different languages recorded in its small area. Govanhill has always been in transition and a place for immigrants: known for a long while as Glasgow’s Ellis Island. In

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What happened to the Spirit of Scotland’s Democratic Revolution? Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, May 1st 2016 There is a Scottish election going on – played out in TV and radio studios, photo-ops and the occasional party leader debates. Its main contestants are the party leaders, no one else from the main parties, and perhaps more importantly, its key media players - Kirsty Wark, Bernard Ponsonby, Gordon Brewer and Jackie Bird. All Scottish elections are strange affairs. In the early years the result was a foregone conclusion, with only 2007 on a knife-edge, while in 2011 the country moved to

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What is the point of manifestos if they wont treat us as adults? Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, April 24th 2016 All the party manifestos are out - bar Labour. But the only really important one - that of the SNP - emerged this week. It was an event. A spectacle. A cross between an American sports event and a Barbara Streisand concert, with the associated emotional overload. It is all part of the modern election ritual. Part of the form and planned grid of the campaign which political and media professionals know and understand. If we step back from the

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The Scottish Pop-up Election will decide many things about our future Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, April 17th 2016 The Scottish election is underway - the winners already decided, the European referendum casting a shadow, and all the parties having difficulty shifting from the land of milk and honey to austerity and cuts. One seasoned observer commented to me that the election wasn’t what things were like in his day, reminiscing about the joys of seeing Harold Wilson in Glasgow in 1966. This is the cry of the older generation down the ages; things aren’t the same, and everything - politics,

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