Speaking for Scotland: The Salmond Case, Independence and the Silences of Modern Life
Speaking for Scotland: The Salmond Case, Independence and the Silences of Modern Life Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, September 5th 2018 The Salmond controversy has garnered huge press coverage. Beyond the actual cases itself, this says a lot about the state of Scotland. I am not making any assumptions about the guilt or innocence of Alex Salmond or the veracity of the accusations. This case is not just about Salmond or the allegations, but casts a wider light on some aspects of Scottish life, with certain parts of society not coming up smelling of roses. A caveat. ‘This is what we
Why the Alex Salmond controversy matters beyond politics
Why the Alex Salmond controversy matters beyond politics Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, August 29th 2018 There has only been one story in the last few days in Scotland; that of Alex Salmond. The substantive allegations and Alex Salmond’s response and denial of any wrong-doing have been amply catalogued. The whole controversy covers many issues - alleged wrong doing, how to deal with such sensitive subjects, the role of the media and wider politics, and how justice is done and seen to be done, including how we treat those accused as well as their accusers. Given there has been so much
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Celebration and a Politics of Collective Joy is central to making Scotland’s Future
Celebration and a Politics of Collective Joy is central to making Scotland’s Future Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, June 13th 2018 The sunshine has been out a lot in Scotland recently and in more ways than just the weather. It seems us Scots are feeling happier about things and more optimistic about the future - 36% look to the future with hope, whereas 29% of us feel that Scotland’s best days are behind us. Comparative English figures show that 17% feel optimistic about the future and 49% think that England’s best days are in the past. The above figures tell us
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A Tale of Two Nations and Becoming Normal: Ireland and Scotland
A Tale of Two Nations and Becoming Normal: Ireland and Scotland Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, May 30th 2018 Ireland has made international headlines in the last week as the country voted to legalise a woman’s right to choose, overturning decades of religious and moral dogma. Meanwhile in less dramatic terms Scotland’s debate on independence and its future has been shaped by the publication of the governing SNP’s Sustainable Growth Commission. The two have similarities in ways neither is aware of. i) Ireland’s trust in its own people Ireland’s debate was ostensibly about a woman’s right to choose and repealing the
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Independence has to be about more than an indyref. It is a state of mind
Independence has to be about more than an indyref. It is a state of mind Gerry Hassan Sunday Herald, May 13th 2018 Scotland and the UK feel in hiatus and stasis - awaiting the unfurling and unraveling of Brexit. Some people are marching. Last Saturday’s gathering was significant given the lack of SNP and Scottish Green support. It shows the energy, but also frustration and impatience, in parts of independence opinion. But it also shows the limits of such a politics. Any movement that marches under banners like ‘Tory Scum Out’, and with Tommy Sheridan on the platform, isn’t
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Time to Wake Up and Ask Some Difficult Questions about the SNP and Independence
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.
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Brexit is turning Britain upside down – and Scotland has a chance to say No
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,
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Is Scotland really a social democratic country?
Is Scotland really a social democratic country? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, October 18th 2017 At last week’s SNP conference in the middle of her keynote speech, Nicola Sturgeon asked: ‘What kind of country do we want to be?’ She wasn’t expecting an answer, and seemed surprised when a member of the party faithful shouted out ‘an independent one.’ Behind Sturgeon’s non-question is the belief in Scottish difference, the efficacy of our values, and the link of both of these to the idea of Scotland as a social democratic country. Thus, around the conference chatter and commentary, Lesley Riddoch on Sky
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Scottish Independence in the Age of Dirsruption: Big Questions for the SNP, Labour and Tories
Scottish Independence in the Age of Disruption: Big Questions for the SNP, Labour and Tories Gerry Hassan LSE Politics Blog, October 9th 2017 Scottish politics are in a strange place at the moment - not one of calm, but of transition with the future uncertain. After several years of high-octane politics, and the twin peaks of disruption of the 2014 indyref and 2016 Brexit vote, all of Scotland’s main political parties have some adjusting to do. The SNP, ten years in office, are still trying to digest the reverse of the 2017 UK election; the Tories how to continue their
Holyrood has given Scotland independence of the mind
Holyrood has given Scotland independence of the mind Gerry Hassan The Guardian, September 11th 2017 Twenty years ago today Scotland voted 3:1 for the establishment of a Scottish Parliament. It was clear the old Westminster system of governing Scotland was discredited. Voters recognised it was undemocratic, and produced bad politics and legislation. The case for change had become a consensus – ‘the settled will’ in John Smith’s description – that the referendum merely and validated. Twenty years later devolution has been a success. There are no serious calls for the Scottish Parliament to be abolished or for a return of
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