What do you do when democracy fails you? The crisis of Scottish Labour
What do you do when democracy fails you? The crisis of Scottish Labour Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, October 15th 2011 Scottish Labour has at last awoken from its slumber. Douglas Alexander’s speech at Stirling University on Thursday was an important moment for the party and wider body politic. Alexander expressly admitted that the traditional Labour approach is over, conceding that ‘the old Labour hymns’ have become ‘increasingly unfamiliar to an audience increasingly without personal knowledge of the tunes’. He recognised the need for ‘an alternative story’, ‘a renewed story’ and ‘a new statecraft for this new decade’.’ Old Labour’ has
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The age of the rainbow coalitions
The age of the rainbow coalitions Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, September 24th 2011 Political colours are all the vogue at the moment. We have had Red Tories and Orange Book Liberals. And now we have the latest manifestations, Blue Labour and Purple Labour. The last two are signs of some intellectual activity in British Labour, as it tries to come to terms with the post-Blair/Brown era. Blue Labour is associated with Ed Miliband’s favourite guru, Maurice Glasman, which emphasises community, authority and the need for the state to provide some solidarity in society. Purple Labour is the creation of
The Strange Death of Labour Scotland
The Strange Death of Labour Scotland Gerry Hassan Chartist, July/August 2011 Things have changed dramatically in Scotland. Our political map has altered completely. The Nationalist landslide has carried nearly all before it, winning in areas it never thought possible. Labour have been pushed back to a few isolated pockets, overwhelmed even in its former West of Scotland heartland. It is possible to note the limits of the SNP’s appeal at the moment of their greatest triumph (45.4% on FPTP vote), just as it was salutary to do with New Labour in 97 and Thatcher in 87. This is
The Pains of Labour after Blair and Brown
The Pains of Labour after Blair and Brown Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, June 18th 2011 The condition of British Labour may seem a distant subject to many Scots. We after all have a SNP majority government and our politics now march to a different beat. Despite everything, British Labour still matters. It is the majority Scots party at Westminster, winning 41 out of 59 seats only last year. And British politics still matter, for as long as Scotland remains part of the UK. There is a strange atmosphere in what used to be called ‘the people’s party’. Ed Miliband’s
The Last Utopia: Thatcher, New Labour and the Cameron Conservatives and the Demise of Social Democratic Britain
The Last Utopia: Thatcher, New Labour and the Cameron Conservatives and the Demise of Social Democratic Britain Gerry Hassan University de Nice-Sophia Antipolis Keynote Lecture January 29th 2011; reprinted by Open Democracy February 28th 2011 The question that hovers above the Iraq inquiry is – since the evidence on Saddam Hussein’s weaponry was so flaky and the post-war planning so atrocious – why on earth Tony Blair did it. One theory, albeit not the one likely to be offered by Mr Blair himself, is that his militarism and messianism, the mix of responsibility and entitlement that he evinced,
An Open Conversation on Compass with Jeremy Gilbert
An Open Conversation on Compass with Jeremy Gilbert Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, January 14th 2011 Gerry, When I was at Sussex Jonathan Dollimore used to have a great riposte to ever carping postgrad who complained that he hadn't mentioned x y or z issue in his latest paper - "Great point - now why don't YOU go and write about that?" Gerry you've been complaining for more than a year now that Compass doesn't address these issues, but I have three points to make in response: 1) You've never given more than the vaguest hint as to what it would
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An Open Letter to Compass: The Problem with the British State
An Open Letter to Compass: The Problem with the British State Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, January 12th 2011 After Neal Lawson and John Harris wrote a call for ‘New Socialism’ in the ‘New Statesman’ (1) I responded (2). Now Neal has posted a note about what I said (3). He feels that I am being uncomradely and this upsets him as I have long been complementary of Compass’ work and have collaborated with them in a number of ways. I consider myself a friend and admirer of Compass and its work. In these challenging times they are one of the
Continue Reading An Open Letter to Compass: The Problem with the British State
After New Labour, the Limits of the New Socialism and the Need for a Radical Politics
After New Labour, the Limits of the New Socialism and the Need for a Radical Politics Gerry Hassan Compass, December 20th 2010 British politics are in a strange place – one where while some of the landscape remains the same so much is different. All of the three main parties have been disorientated by the result of the election and coalition along with the scale of the crisis. One response to this from parts of the left is to retreat into the hoary old slogans of opposition and struggle, of shouting ‘Tory cuts’ without strategy or the need for rethinking.
