Independence is not about process politics. It is about democracy
Independence is not about process politics. It is about democracy. Gerry Hassan The National, 21 June 2022 The air is thick with talk of referenda. How one is held, its status, who can initiate it and has to agree to it, and the timetable indicated by Nicola Sturgeon and Angus Robertson of October 2023. All of this is to be expected but what it misses is several-fold. This all concentrates on process rather than substance, misses the big picture here of democracy, and overlooks the nuances of public opinion. There is significant popular support for the principle of Scotland’s right
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What Scotland’s big independence debate is about and should be about
What Scotland’s big independence debate is about and should be about Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, 15 June 2022 Nicola Sturgeon has fired the gun on Scotland’s independence debate, standing in Bute House yesterday with Patrick Harvie, co-leader of the Scottish Greens, launching the first of several papers on independence. This has brought forth the usual and predictable claims and counter-claims. SNP, Green and independence supporters are excited and hopeful; Labour, Tories and Lib Dems along with pro-union advocates of no party are filled with scorn and fury that anyone would want to progress independence in such times of upheaval and
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What independence has to do to win
What independence has to do to win Gerry Hassan The National, 14 June 2022 The Scottish Government will make an important announcement on independence today; one long awaited by independence supporters. It has long been apparent that the 2014 offer needs not just updating but completely revising and that serious, substantive work needs to be done. Fundamental to this is not just the usual suspects mentioned – currency, borders, finance, EU membership – but the issue of how independence embodies and champions democracy. The independence offer is often portrayed by its supporters as personifying democracy in principle – Scotland’s right
Scottish independence needs to offer “a shining city on a hill”
Scottish independence needs to offer “a shining city on a hill” Gerry Hassan The National, 14 December 2021 Scottish politics feels once again stuck in a Groundhog Day. We are only seven months from the endorsement of the SNP in the May elections, and only weeks from the English political commentariat being convinced that Boris Johnson was a sure-fire winner who would continue to carry all before him. Things that seem secure can suddenly change and crumble. Yet there is currently low-level trench warfare in Scottish politics as the forces of the union and independence psyche each other out, waiting
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Seven years of Nicola Sturgeon and resolving the tensions between party and movement
Seven years of Nicola Sturgeon and resolving the tensions between party and movement Gerry Hassan The National, 23 November 2021 Nicola Sturgeon has been First Minister and SNP leader for seven years. This formidable achievement is part of a bigger picture of the SNP’s emergence as the dominant party, the rise of independence, and the relationship of the Nationalists to the wider independence movement. This is an appropriate time for reflection and assessment not just of her leadership but of the wider context in which it sits. Specifically of the SNP as a party and its record in office, and
Seven years on independence has serious work to do to win
Seven years on independence has serious work to do to win Gerry Hassan The National, 21 September 2021 Last weekend was the seventh anniversary of Scotland’s big date with destiny on independence – and for some this is an understandable seven-year itch. Cue the demand from some that Scotland holds another indyref as soon as possible. The previous weekend at the Alba gathering Alex Salmond made the case for an indyref in the midst of the COVID pandemic on the grounds that the 2021 Scottish elections were held against the same backdrop (when legislation would have been required to postpone
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Westminster, the SNP and Independence: How SNP MPs can stand up for Scotland’s right to decide
Westminster, the SNP and independence: How SNP MPs can stand up for Scotland’s right to decide Gerry Hassan The National, August 3rd 2021 The recent Scottish Parliament elections of May 2021 are a mere three months old, yet for some people who grow easily impatient at the pace of our politics seem to have been already written off. At the same time our politics and society face numerous challenges: COVID-19, the escalating chaos of Brexit, the daily incompetence of Boris Johnson and his Tory Government, the scale of Scotland’s drug deaths, and more. Yet, in parts of the independence movement
The campaign of the next Scottish indyref has already begun
The campaign of the next Scottish indyref has already begun Gerry Hassan Sunday National, May 16th 2021 The campaign of the next Scottish indyref has already begun. The Scottish and British Governments both know this and all that is left to be decided is the timing, the immediate context and details. This could be the end game for the UK as we know it and the start of a new chapter for Scotland. That requires that people get serious and up their game. If anyone thought the issue of the power of the British state was some distant, abstract issue
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A big moment for Scotland and Democracy
A big moment for Scotland and Democracy Gerry Hassan Sunday National, May 9th 2021 The morning after the 2014 indyref UK PM David Cameron stood on the Downing Street steps and said it was time to listen to England and bring in “English Votes for English Laws.” Fast forward seven years, Scotland went to the polls and before most of the results were declared Boris Johnson gave an interview to the Daily Telegraph where he said no to another indyref calling it “irresponsible and reckless.” Tory contempt for the people runs deep when they express what Tories decree is the
Twenty Years of Scottish Elections and the Importance of the Everyday
Twenty Years of Scottish Elections and the Importance of the Everyday Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, May 5th 2021 Today is the last day of campaigning in the Scottish Parliament elections – held under the restrictions of the COVID pandemic. This has been a strange experience, almost surreal at times, as if coming from a far-off political universe we have vaguely heard of but never visited beamed into our homes via TV and radio. There is an element of ‘the society of the spectacle’ about most modern elections and politics that raise profound questions. Is this really who we are
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