Scottish Devolution

It was twenty years ago: Scotland, our Parliament and the limits of Devolution Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, November 14th 2018 Twenty years ago Scotland began the devolution era when the Scotland Act 1998, which established the framework for the Scottish Parliament, achieved Royal Assent on 19 November 1998 – the final parliamentary debate having taken place two days before in the House of Lords. Much has happened in the intervening twenty years. The Scottish Parliament was set up with a Scottish Executive, which morphed into the Scottish Government. Donald Dewar became the first of five First Ministers, and died tragically

Continue Reading It was twenty years ago: Scotland, our Parliament and the limits of Devolution

Are a ‘liberal elite’ really running Scotland? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, December 6th 2017 Is Scotland run by a ‘liberal junta’ or a ‘social junta’? This might seem a far-fetched notion but this is the charge made by Observer and Herald columnist Kevin McKenna (‘social junta’) and backed up by Iain Macwhirter (‘liberal junta’). I have enormous respect for both Kevin and Iain and value their many contributions to public life, but do think that on this they have got it badly wrong. The argument put by McKenna in The Observer is that the Scottish Parliament is more focused on

Continue Reading Are a ‘liberal elite’ really running Scotland?

Twenty years on maybe it is time to move on from devolution Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, September 13th 2017 Twenty years ago this week Scotland held a referendum and voted decisively for a Scottish Parliament and for it to have tax-raising powers. This anniversary provides an opportunity to look back and assess what the last twenty years has meant - measuring it against expectations, and the state of the nation. It has also provided an excuse for some elements in the mainstream media to dust down the insults and attempt to trash the reputation of the Scottish Parliament and

Continue Reading Twenty years on maybe it is time to move on from devolution

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

Continue Reading Holyrood has given Scotland independence of the mind

How do we have a Genuine People’s Democracy? Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, January 25^th 2015 It was UK Democracy Day last week - 800 years since Magna Carta. And on the same day of the announcement that the Chilcot inquiry on the Iraq war would not be published until after the May general election - hardly an advert for British democracy. Then it was the debate about the on-off TV election debates. Was Cameron or Miliband more chicken? Will the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Greens finally get their place on the UK platform? There was also the publication

Continue Reading How do we have a Genuine People’s Democracy?

Scotland’s Constitution and the Strange Non-Death of ‘Civic Scotland’ Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, April 2nd 2014 Scotland is to have its own constitution. Two years exactly to the day that Scotland could become an independent nation, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made the announcement that many had long anticipated and suspected. This was a significant moment with huge import, whatever the result of the independence referendum. It can be seen as confirmation of Scotland’s slow reassertion of itself as a distinct political community, but was also filled with all the usual tropes and references: ‘enshrining Scottish values’, the ‘sovereignty of

Continue Reading Scotland’s Constitution and the Strange Non-Death of ‘Civic Scotland’

The Missing Voices of Public Life and How We Create a Different Scotland Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, November 9th 2013 To many of the tribes and partisans who inhabit our public life, all that matters is the contest and defeating their opponents. Democracy and politics in this mindset are in fine working order, beyond the difficulty of trying to get your own way! In reality, Scottish democracy barely exists in any meaningful sense. The 1707 settlement guaranteed the autonomy of ‘the holy trinity’ of Kirk, education and law, giving prominence to these institutional identities, which came to the fore as

Continue Reading The Missing Voices of Public Life and How We Create a Different Scotland

What is the point of Scotland’s Westminster Politicians? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, November 2nd 2013 Once upon a time Scottish politics meant one of two things: what your local council got up too, and Scottish MPs standing on College Green talking on BBC and STV about what often seemed far-flung issues. The latter were our only articulation of national party politics. And while it now seems a long time ago it did produce a sort of effective politics and a range of ‘Big Beasts’ - from Tom Johnston and Willie Ross to George Younger, Malcolm Rifkind and Gordon Brown, to

Continue Reading What is the point of Scotland’s Westminster Politicians?

What did devolution ever do for Easterhouse? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, October 5th 2013 Labour likes to think that ‘devolution’, like the NHS is its exclusive project. ‘We legislated for the Scottish Parliament’ you hear on occasion from numerous party spokespeople. This is proprietorial, but there is also a Labour story which stresses that devolution is about changing Scotland, better governance and improving lives, differentiating it from the Tories and SNP. However, Margaret Curran, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland in the last week made remarks at Labour conference which seem to raise questions about how the party sees

Continue Reading What did devolution ever do for Easterhouse?

What Difference Does It Make? Making Explicit the Change of Independence Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, May 4th 2013 It has been another fast-moving week in Scotland’s constitutional conversation even leaving the comedy controversies aside. There was Denis Canavan, chair of ‘Yes Scotland’, distancing himself from SNP policy in suggesting Scotland that should have its own currency; while the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee made the startling observation that independence will involve shaking things up for the UK. Then there was Alex Salmond’s announcement that an independent Scotland would not have a central bank. This is part of the

Continue Reading What Difference Does It Make? Making Explicit the Change of Independence