Nicola Sturgeon

The return of Alex Salmond, Alba and whether it helps independence Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, March 31st 2021 That was a week that was. From the Hamilton inquiry clearing the First Minister to a vote of no confidence; to Alex Salmond taking the Scottish Government to court, topped off just before the weekend by Salmond launching his very own personal political force - the Alba Party. The official version spun by Salmond about Alba - or ‘the Ecksit party’ as some wit dubbed it – is that it is all about independence and achieving a ‘supermajority’ in the Scottish

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Alex Salmond, Nicola Sturgeon and Lessons for Politics and Public Life Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, March 24th 2021 Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon’s political relationship has defined Scotland over the past two decades. They oversaw the rise of the SNP and its transformation into a party of power. They achieved and nearly won an indyref - followed by the slow, painful unravelling of their relationship in public; the turbulence of the past three years, and the bitter end of their partnership. We have seen nothing like it in Scottish or UK politics in living memory. No previous political

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Scotland already is quasi-independence. It is time to own that and act like that Gerry Hassan Sunday National, March 7th 2021 We’ve had a week of huge drama and court politics - from ongoing UK Royal Family splits to the SNP stand-off between Sturgeon and Salmond and their respective camps. The two may compete as theatre, psychodrama and power politics whilst throwing light on gender politics, and the nature and limits of democracy. But there are important differences – with Scotland’s controversy also posing big questions of the SNP, Scottish Government, public institutions, and future of independence. Putting

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What has gone wrong with Scottish politics and democracy? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, February 24th 2021 There is a feeling of crisis across Scottish politics and democracy. Partly this is the sense of decay and drift in the SNP with infighting, divisions and lack of trust between senior figures in the party; amplified by the Salmond-Sturgeon implosion. But there is more at play both in the SNP and public life, which points to things not being quite right in politics and democracy. All across political life there is now a hyper-adversarial nature - not just between, but within parties –

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Joanna Cherry, Andy Wightman and the importance of dissent Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, February 3rd 2021 These past few weeks have not been quiet ones for the SNP and Scottish Greens, the two pro-independence parties in the country. First of all, respected Green MSP Andy Wightman announced he was leaving the party, and this week, Joanna Cherry was sacked from her position on the SNP Westminster frontbench: Cherry, MP for Edinburgh South West commented: ‘Despite hard work, results and a strong reputation I’ve been sacked today from the SNP front bench’. Running through both events are how political parties

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Trump and the Problem with Sexist Men and Masculinity Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, January 20th 2020 Today is the end of the Trump Presidency - four years of chaos, incompetence, hatred and prejudice, fuelled by his constant craving and need for attention and approval. But this is not just a story about one repulsive man in America; it is a global moment and warning. One of the underlying factors in the personality of Trump is his expression of masculinity – boorish, abusive, intolerant, lacking any empathy of others, irresponsible and unreconstructed. He has believed all his adult life that he

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Independence is a story about all of us – and there is serious work to do Gerry Hassan Sunday National, December 6th 2020 2020 has been the year of many striking things. It has been a year of progress for Scottish independence. A raft of polls show a consistent majority for independence and the SNP is polling strongly. Nicola Sturgeon is massively more popular than Boris Johnson; while the SNP’s trust ratings on a range of issues is impressive. All of which points towards the likelihood of a pro-independence majority in seats and votes in the 2021 elections. Some independence

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The SNP, independence and the politics of solidarity Gerry Hassan The National, November 30th 2020 The SNP annual conference was, like all party gatherings at the moment, a strange affair conducted through virtual discussions connecting thousands of homes and living rooms. This gave it a decent social media footprint, but restricted what broadcasters had to cover and portray to the wider nation. This conference was the starting gun for the 2021 elections, with the major chance for any cut through being Nicola Sturgeon’s keynote address on St. Andrew’s Day. This was carried by most broadcasters - with the right-wing

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The Pressures of Success: What Independence has to do to win Gerry Hassan Sunday National, November 15th 2020 It has been a historic week, and we are only half way through the month. Trump defeated, Dominic Cummings leaving Downing Street, a COVID-19 vaccine, fourteen polls in a row for independence, and - to top it all - the Scottish men’s football team qualifying for the Euros. Things are looking up. Being in a winning position changes everything. It brings fresh questions, expectations and pressures. There is the cumulative effect of the SNP being in office by 2021 for fourteen years

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Is This The Tipping Point of Scottish Independence? Gerry Hassan Sunday National, October 18th 2020 Independence is the new normal and the mainstream. This is a huge historic shift and moment. It is a dramatic change and opportunity that will require a very different politics and attitude compared to 2014. Then independence represented the insurgents and outsiders, the new kids on the block, shaking the insiders, taking independence in from the cold and the margins. This is independence’s tipping point – or getting close to that point; the moment when everything changes: the argument, context and how the public see

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