British democracy

The British Royal State is in terminal decline but still holds all of us back Gerry Hassan Sunday National, December 13th 2020 The Royal Family have been in the news of late with Kate and William’s three-day, whistle-stop ‘Royal Train Tour’ making just nine stops in Scotland, Wales and England. This marks an end to a very uneasy year for the Royals, defined by personal difficulty, crisis and continued scandal. In terms of supporting their subjects, the Royals have effectively been invisible this past pandemic year. There was the Queen’s TV address in early April; she commented in May

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The Great Big Lie of the British Royal Family  Gerry Hassan The National, December 6th 2020 Feeling a bit blue as the nights grow colder and darker? Worried about all those avoidable COVID-19 deaths and the threat of a chaotic Brexit? Are you worried about Boris Johnson and his hapless government being in charge of anything - let alone a vaccine roll-out - as they shamelessly reward their corporate pals with billions of our monies with no due process and diligence? Never fear because such inauspicious circumstances are the perfect conditions for a royal tour. And not just that,

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British Democracy for Sale Gerry Hassan Sunday National, September 6th 2020 British democracy likes to see itself as among the cleanest and least corrupt in the world, run by good chaps whose word can be taken in good faith and is their bond. This was always part myth but increasingly what passes for democracy in the UK not only no longer confirms this in any way, but the whole system is not in good health. This has been confirmed by the shockwaves of Brexit, Boris Johnson and his government, and their disastrous record on COVID-19 – but it goes much

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Isn’t it time we got serious about democracy? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, December 12th 2019 Democracy is not in good health in the UK or across most of the developed world. The UK election has not been, putting it mildly, an edifying spectacle or healthy clash of ideas and interests. Instead, it has signalled something deeply wrong in the democratic process – something that the political classes do not seem to understand needs to fundamentally change. This election has not felt owned by people. Rather it has felt like something done to voters by others. This malaise is evident

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Democracy isn’t working: Can it be fixed? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, December 4th 2019 Britain likes to claim to be the inventor of democracy, and England to assume the mantle of being ‘the mother of Parliaments’. These are national myths - leaving aside that the oldest national legislature in the world is the Icelandic Parliament. The Whig story of democracy has been one of the most prominent interpretations of British and English public life and traditions. It is one which has been told and retold by enlightened and less enlightened sections of the British establishment. It has also been uncritically

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The Fantasyland Version of Britain is alive and kicking – and driving Brexit Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, Oct0ber 25th 2017 British democracy used to be presented as the envy of the world - the Whig version of history, the rule of law and above all the sense of continuity which was meant to differentiate the UK from its European neighbours. Such a view permeated British elites, institutions and public life. But it also informed many left-wing radicals and dissenters. One notable example was provided by the American writer Edward Shils on visiting the UK in 1953. He reflected on being

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