• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • blog
  • About
  • Book Publications
  • Other Reading
  • Social Wall
  • Back Pages
  • Contact Me

British politics

Brexit is aiding the break-up of Britain but this crisis has deeper roots

June 21, 2018
Brexit is aiding the break-up of Britain but this crisis has deeper roots Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, June 20th 2018 Brexit isn’t going well. Two years after the referendum vote for the UK to leave the EU there is still no agreed plan on what kind of Brexit the UK Government wants. Theresa May’s administration staggers from day to day - too weak to dare to define what it stands for - facing regular crises, critical parliamentary votes and defeats. Last week, after Scottish affairs was reduced to 15 minutes in the House of Commons, the SNP walked out during

Continue Reading Brexit is aiding the break-up of Britain but this crisis has deeper roots

The Good Ship Britannia Sinks Below the Waves: Scotland, Brexit and the Thoughts of Tim Shipman

June 14, 2018
The Good Ship Britannia Sinks Below the Waves: Scotland, Brexit and the Thoughts of Tim Shipman Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, June 13th 2018 The events of the last two days have shown how the British establishment, political classes and their supporters view the UK. There is the contempt and chaos in the Brexit process; ‘Taking Back Control’ has come down to running roughshod over parliamentary processes, Henry VIII powers, with Scotland being treated with the disdain of a mere fifteen-minute non-debate on the key Brexit bill. Similarly, crocodile tears for Northern Ireland were shown to be empty - with no

Continue Reading The Good Ship Britannia Sinks Below the Waves: Scotland, Brexit and the Thoughts of Tim Shipman

Living in the Shadow of Empire State Britain and the Problem of Cultural Dementia

April 20, 2018
Living in the Shadow of Empire State Britain and the Problem of Cultural Dementia Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, April 19th 2018 The UK has been an uncomfortable place in the last few days. There has been the controversy over the Windrush deportations, Tory Cabinet minister Esther McVey defending the rape clause at the Scottish Parliament as ‘non-invasive’, and the resuscitation of Enoch Powell’s ‘rivers of blood’ 1968 speech from beyond the grave. On top of this there has been the Trump-led bombing of Syria, backed by UK and French forces, without parliamentary vote or international approval. We have to understand

Continue Reading Living in the Shadow of Empire State Britain and the Problem of Cultural Dementia

Enoch Powell’s Ghost and Bigotry still haunts modern Britain

April 17, 2018
Enoch Powell’s Ghost and Bigotry still haunts modern Britain Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, April 17th 2018 This week sees the 50th anniversary of Enoch Powell’s infamous ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech which occurred on April 20th 1968, with the BBC deciding to recreate it and broadcast on ‘Archive on 4’ - read by actor Ian McDiarmid. The speech has never been broadcast before in full, and this decision hasn’t been without controversy, both before and afterwards. It was an extraordinary experience to hear this much cited, even legendary, speech in its entirety - 45 minutes of powerful, passionate, and shockingly over

Continue Reading Enoch Powell’s Ghost and Bigotry still haunts modern Britain

The View of Britain from Europe: A Perspective from Lublin

March 22, 2018
The View of Britain from Europe: A Perspective from Lublin Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, March 21st 2018 Europe feels very different when viewed from its eastern borders. This week I have been travelling across Europe and staying for several days in the beautiful Polish city of Lublin – 95 miles from Warsaw, in the south-east of the country, not far from the Polish-Ukrainian border. Lublin is a proud city with a rich history and sense of its past importance. It currently has a population of 349,103 and four universities, numerous colleges and lots of successful and impressive businesses and start-ups.

Continue Reading The View of Britain from Europe: A Perspective from Lublin

As Brexit Britain heads for the rocks what does Corbyn’s Labour stand for?

March 14, 2018
As Brexit Britain heads for the rocks what does Corbyn’s Labour stand for? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, March 14th 2018 The diminished global status of Britain and our future post-Brexit has been on display in the last few days. The attempted murder of Sergei Skripa and his daughter Yulia and the possible role of Russian authorities; the visit of the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince, and the continued saga of Donald Trump’s unpredictable, erratic Presidency from trade wars to his state visit, all illustrate the challenges a diminished UK will face in the aftermath of Brexit. Twenty-one months on from the

Continue Reading As Brexit Britain heads for the rocks what does Corbyn’s Labour stand for?

The Revolution has not been televised: And why mainstream politics and media prefers not to talk about it

March 8, 2018
The Revolution has not been televised: And why mainstream politics and media prefers not to talk about it Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, March 7th 2018 Switch on your TV news these days and you will find, when they get past the poor weather and Royal Family announcements, that the world doesn’t exactly feel a happy place. There is disorder, division and disaster seemingly everywhere, but also very little attempt to make sense of why much of this happening. Last week the BBC news and current affairs programme ‘This Week’ hosted by Andrew Neil began with a film and discussion

Continue Reading The Revolution has not been televised: And why mainstream politics and media prefers not to talk about it

Time to Wake Up and Ask Some Difficult Questions about the SNP and Independence

January 24, 2018
Time to Wake Up and Ask Some Difficult Questions abut the SNP and Independence Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, January 23rd 2018 ‘What Do You Do When A Society Lies to Itself?’ So said writer Umair Haque this week in the context of the constitutional standoff in Trump’s America. But it is true of most nations most of the time; certainly it is true of today’s UK - and also of modern Scotland. Scottish politics are currently in what can only be described as a phoney war - a becalmed period of inertia and inactivity in-between the storms that buffet politics.

Continue Reading Time to Wake Up and Ask Some Difficult Questions about the SNP and Independence

Brexit is turning Britain upside down – and Scotland has a chance to say No

January 17, 2018
Brexit is turning Britain upside down – and Scotland has a chance to say No Gerry Hassan The Guardian Comment, January 15th 2018 Brexit has turned British politics and Britain itself upside down. But to the UK Government and Westminster political classes it is business as usual on the home front as far as Brexit and everything else is concerned. Not for them that Brexit is nearly entirely an English revolt (with Welsh acquiescence), or that Scotland and Northern Ireland are being dragged along against majority sentiment in their territories. Today the Scottish Government published its latest paper on Brexit,

Continue Reading Brexit is turning Britain upside down – and Scotland has a chance to say No

The World in 2018: Trump, Brexit, Britain and the Scottish Debate

January 11, 2018
The World in 2018: Trump, Brexit, Britain and the Scottish Debate Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, January 10th 2018 The New Year is always a time for reflection. I spent the Christmas and New Year break in the United States, providing an opportunity for reflection and a different take on the world. Two and a half weeks in an American urban setting, even in one of the wealthiest and most creative clusters in the country around Boston and Cambridge, showcases what works and what doesn’t. Conspicuous wealth sits side-by-side crumbling infrastructure and poverty personified by the MBTA train system that looks

Continue Reading The World in 2018: Trump, Brexit, Britain and the Scottish Debate

< Older Entries
Newer Entries >

Primary Sidebar

categories

  • Blog
  • Events
  • Futures Thinking
  • International Conversations
  • Longer Essays
  • Short Essays
  • What Gerry's groovin' to
  • What Gerry's reading
FacebookTwitter

featured publication

Scotland Rising: The Case for Independence

Click here to buy Gerry’s latest book.

what Gerry’s groovin’ to

My Music Albums of the Year

January 2, 2025

what Gerry’s reading

Books of the Year: Politics, History, Culture and Ideas

December 26, 2024

tags

Scottish politics | Scottish Independence | Scottish Review | British politics | The Scotsman | Scottish Nationalists | Scottish Nationalism | Open Democracy | Nicola Sturgeon | Scottish Labour Party | Sunday National | Scottish society | The British State | Sunday Mail | Brexit | Scottish National Party | Boris Johnson | Social Democracy | British Labour Party | Conservative Party | Bella Caledonia | Alex Salmond | Jeremy Corbyn | Popular Culture | Scottish Parliament | David Cameron | The National | Scottish Independence Referendum | Labour Party | Scottish Media | British Conservatives | British Nationalism | Social Justice | Scottish Unionism | British Society | Scottish Men | The Future of the Left | 2021 Scottish Parliament elections | Scottish Devolution | SNP

Categories

Footer

about Gerry

Gerry Hassan is a writer, commentator and thinker about Scotland, the UK, politics and ideas.

More >

recent

  • After Hamilton, Scottish Politics and the Cause of Independence
  • Why the Reform Bandwagon is coming to Scotland – and what can be done to stop it?
  • The Road from 2014 is Over: A New Road Map is needed for Scotland and Independence

search

FacebookTwitter

Terms of Use | Privacy Statement
Copyright © Gerry Hassan - writing, research, policy and ideas. All Rights Reserved.
Illustration and website design by Infinite Eye