Nicola Sturgeon

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 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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Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Question of Europe, the UK and Scotland Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, April 20th 2016 I am a European. I believe in Europe as an idea. And for all of my life I have felt an affinity and connection with the notion of greater European integration. Now I am not so sure. When I was a child my parents voted in the 1975 referendum against the then EEC. I wasn’t convinced of their argument. The BBC were showing then John Terraine’s ‘The Mighty Continent’ – a history of Europe in the 20^th century

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Scotland the Brave No More on Taxation Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, April 10th 2016 One theme has dominated this week in Scotland and the UK - taxation. From April 6^th 2016 the Scottish Parliament gained powers over a Scottish rate of income tax representing half of all income tax raised – and from next year it will have complete power over all this revenue. The leak of the Panama Papers lifted a veil on the activities of the super-rich including 12 existing or former national leaders. David Cameron’s late father’s offshore tax arrangements became public, forcing Cameron’s office to make

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Scotland needs a Parliament with more radical voices Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, March 13th 2016 Nearly everyone assumes an SNP victory in the forthcoming Scottish elections. There is a battle for second place between Labour and the Tories, while the leftovers will be fought over by the Lib Dems, Greens, UKIP and new left RISE. An SNP majority government seems likely. The odds on the Nationalists winning every one of the 73 constituency seats are decent. There is the distinct prospect that they won’t quite manage it – with the Tories and maybe even Labour holding out in one or

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Who will make the big, bold decisions if Nicola won’t? Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, March 6th 2016 These are supposedly exciting times in the broad sweep of Scottish history. There’s the epic spectacle of the referendum; a union questioned and nearly broken; and an upsurge of political engagement, activism and hopes. Yet, sometimes the predominant story of any period belies much of what it is going on. Take the art of government and making decisions as an example. How local government is paid for might sound arcane and boring, but it is one that politicians have long been wary of

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Fear, Loathing and the Problem of ‘Sovereignty’ in the EU Referendum Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, March 2nd 2016 After years of second guesses and a rising tide of Europhobia and scare stories, finally the UK faces the certainty of a vote on June 23^rd on whether or not it remains a member of the European Union. This will be a debate about so much - about how people see Britain and its future, the English question, and the distinctiveness and autonomy of Scotland – all illustrating the absence of any uniform national British politics. The referendum will be dominated by

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Labour’s Taxing Problems: The Party is fighting for its very existence Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, February 7th 2016 This week Scottish Labour made a move on tax. Is it a daring or desperate move? It broke with the party’s position since the Scottish Parliament was set up in 1999 not to propose any tax increases. At the same time, as the SNP retained its stratospheric poll ratings for the May elections, the Tories drew level with Labour for second place, while Labour issued their regional list candidates with an obvious lack of ‘new blood’ or talent. With the Scottish Parliament

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2016: The Year of the UK as a Disunited Kingdom in an Unstable World Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, December 27th 2015 ‘The future ain’t what it used to be’ - said American baseball player Yogi Berra. This year saw unpredictability, shocks and upsets. There was the election of a majority Conservative Government which no polls predicted. There was the tartan tsunami which saw the SNP sweep nearly all before it. There was the rise and victory of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader, while across the world a whole range of populists, from Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders to Marine

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Let’s Talk about Tax if we don’t want to be Safety First Scotland Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, December 20th 2015 This was a significant week for the Scottish Government and Scottish politics. John Swinney presented his first ever budget since Scotland had been given limited income tax powers which allowed variety up or down by up to 10p. That he choose not to do so is significant. Swinney’s ninth budget came against the backdrop of a decade of real terms cuts by the Tories which we are only half way through. Against this backdrop and a Scottish election next year

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