Is this the beginning of the end of Britain?
Is this the beginning of the end of Britain? Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, July 3rd 2016 It may not be the beginning of the end of the UK quite yet. But it is the end of British politics - and Britain, as we know it. The British state faces its biggest geo-political set of challenges in generations. Blair and Iraq, Anthony Eden and Suez pale compared to this in terms of damage to the UK’s reputation, and only Neville Chamberlain and Munich, and Lord North’s loss of the American colonies, are in any way in the same league.
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This is the world of little Britain and Scotland wants no part
This is the world of little Britain and Scotland wants no part Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, June 26th 2016 This is what the death of a nation looks like - petty nationalism, populism, fact-free politics, and surprises everywhere. This is the world of ‘little Britain’ - and it isn’t pretty. These are unpredictable times. There is anger and frustration. Whole sections of British society feel that politicians, elites and experts don’t understand them. Such is their desperation and feeling of powerlessness that many felt that Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage are the answer. This referendum is about Europe, and
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Whatever happens, Britain has already left the building
Whatever happens, Britain has already left the building Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, June 22nd 2016 The UK has already left Europe. It never really joined in any real sense. National debates like this reveals much about the psyche of a country, and how it sees its collective hopes and fears. For one, it illuminates a lot about the ghosts of the past that haunt a country. In the Scottish indyref, for example, a great deal of this focused on the perceived legacy of Thatcherism and deindustrialisation. In this European debate, the ghosts seemingly ever-present are those of the spectre of
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This campaign is a future warning from a British Trumpland
This campaign is a future warning from a British Trumpland Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, June 19th 2016 The Euro campaign has been without any joy or love, and has reached depths unseen for decades in British politics – reducing complex subjects to the gutter. This last week has been a humbling one. The tragic death of Labour MP Jo Cox, the UKIP poster ‘Breaking Point’ on the threat of mass immigration coming to the UK, and the disgraceful antics of Leave.EU (the UKIP dominated Leave campaign) linking the Orlando massacre to Muslim immigration. It has been a long low road
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Are We Better Than This? The Tragic Killing of Jo Cox
Are We Better Than This? The Tragic Killing of Jo Cox Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, June 17th 2016 This is an attack on all of us. The murder of Labour MP Jo Cox is an assault on parliamentary democracy but disgracefully not as much a shock as it should be. Part of British politics have sunk that low. This is an age of anti-party politics - of anger at the political classes and of populist indignation and cynicism. Across Europe, there has been the rise of racist, xenophobic and anti-immigration parties, and even the re-emergence of neo-Nazis as electoral forces
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Britain’s Elites can no longer control our politics: The European Vote will change Britain and Scotland Forever
Britain’s Elites can no longer control our politics: The European Vote will change Britain and Scotland Forever Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, February 26th 2016 The European referendum is a milestone for Scotland and the UK. It is impossible to understate the historic times we are witnessing - a British establishment and political elite no longer in command of politics and affairs of the state in a way they are used to. The Economist this week, well known for its advocacy of economic liberalism and the maintenance of the union of the UK, acknowledged that this vote was ‘not only the
The Europe Debate will tell us much about the state of Britain
The Europe Debate will tell us much about the state of Britain Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, January 24th 2016 2016 will be a turbulent year for Britain and the world. One issue will dominate the UK political classes beyond economic and financial worries or anxieties about immigration and security, and that is Europe. Europe will connect with all of the above and more. Cameron’s main impetus is to have a quick referendum, to win it and get on with the rest of his Prime Ministership. It won’t work out that way. To have the referendum relatively soon (meaning before Scottish
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The European Debate has only just begun for Scotland and the UK
The European Debate has only just begun for Scotland and the UK Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, November 15th 2015 Europe has returned to the centre of British politics. The phony war within the Tories is over as David Cameron revealed his want list from European leaders. It wasn’t exactly long or substantial. He wants change in four areas - exempting the UK from ‘ever closer union’, boosting economic competitiveness, protection of the non-euro countries from further integration, and restrictions on EU migrants drawing UK benefits. These requests are not far-reaching, leading Tory MP Bernard Jenkin to ask ‘is that it?’
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The Greek Crisis matters to Scotland, Britain and Europe – as well as Greece
The Greek Crisis matters to Scotland, Britain and Europe - as well as Greece Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, June 21st 2015 Europe is not a happy place. The European Union has failed to agree a common stance on the human disaster of Mediterranean immigrants, while Vladimir Putin has used military aggression to alter the boundaries of Russia and Ukraine and annex Crimea, as Europe has stood by. Closer to home, Britain is preparing for a referendum on whether or not to continue its EU membership - the first full member state to ever do so. And then most seriously, there
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The Battle of Europe beckons. It will change Britain and Scotland whatever the result
The Battle of Europe beckons. It will change Britain and Scotland whatever the result Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, May 31st 2015 Forty years ago next week, Britain entered a new era. On June 5th 1975 Britain held its first nationwide referendum on whether to stay or leave, what was then called, the European Economic Community (EEC). The UK voted emphatically 67.2% to 32.8% to stay; Scotland voted 58.4% to 41.6% in favour. This debate changed Britain in ways that continue to have ramifications. It began the constitutional practice of using referendums for big issues. The first had actually been two
