Independence is a story about all of us – and there is serious work to do
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 Pressures of Success: What independence has to do to win
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?
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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Understanding and defeating the argument for the union in twelve steps
Understanding and defeating the argument for the union in twelve steps Gerry Hassan Sunday National, August 30th 2020 It has been an uplifting last few weeks to be an independence supporter. Not only has there been a swathe of polls showing a growing independence majority, the pro-union side seems to be in a bit of a panic. Michael Gove has been desperately trying to wake up the UK Cabinet to the dangers of independence saying it could bring the government down. Gove has been in discussions with the new self-appointed defender of the union – George Galloway – which
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Independence as the New Majority and the work that still needs to be done
independence as the New Majority and the work that still needs to be done Gerry Hassan Sunday National, August 23rd 2020 The past week has seen two milestone polls put independence in front by 55:45 and 54:46, confirming a trend over the past two months. What is it that is moving public opinion in such decisive numbers? There is the nature of the UK, the UK Government and the rightward drift of British politics. There is the disastrous Premiership of Boris Johnson – the UK’s 20th PM from Eton, of 55 (36%) and 28th from Oxford (51%) – and an
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Independence as the new normal: Listening to the Scotland that did not vote Yes in 2014
Independence as the new normal: Listening to the Scotland that did not vote Yes in 2014 Gerry Hassan Sunday National, July 26th 2020 This week ‘All Under One Banner’ asked on social media: ‘What do you think is the main obstacle to overcome in order to restore Scottish independence?’ This brought forth comments about the state of the mainstream media, BBC, Westminster parties and UK Government, but very little on actual voters. It took pro-independence writer Michael Gray to answer that: ‘The reality that independence was rejected by two million of our fellow citizens for many decent and understandable
Border troubles point to the long-term crisis of unionism in Scotland and the UK
Border troubles point to the long-term crisis of unionism in Scotland and the UK Gerry Hassan Sunday National, July 5th 2020 Reaching 100 days since the start of the UK lockdown was always going to be a milestone, but in many places it has been marked by a kind of cabin fever irritability and over the top remarks. Boris Johnson attempted to convince voters that he was the inheritor of Roosevelt’s political ambition and wanted a ‘New Deal’ in a speech he made in Dudley - whilst 56 miles away, the residents of Leicester were having to deal with a
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Scotland’s future as an independent nation is being created in the here and now
Scotland’s future as an independent nation is being created in the here and now Gerry Hassan Sunday National, June 28th 2020 Independence is back in the news and making the news. Truth is it never went away, but last week’s 54:46 poll in this paper set a surge of energy through the Scottish political scene. The British state and government, and Boris Johnson’s serial incompetence and inability to tell the truth in a national crisis of life and death proportions, is making the case for independence. Johnson represents all that most Scots are repulsed by - a posh entitlement
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The State of the Union: Can Unionists reinvent their argument on the UK?
The State of the Union: Can Unionists reinvent their argument on the UK? Gerry Hassan Sunday National, March 1st 2020 In recent years the case for the union has been on the defensive - nervous and unsure of its own arguments and the future. It may have won the 2014 referendum, but there has been a rising sense of foreboding in pro-union opinion that the future is being made in the here and now by independence supporters. Such sentiment was one of the reasons behind the gathering last weekend called ‘Our Past, Present and Future’ organised by These Islands, the
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Scotland after Brexit: What needs to happen win independence?
Scotland after Brexit: What needs to happen to win independence? Gerry Hassan Sunday National, February 2nd 2020 Leadership isn’t easy. It can be lonely and difficult. But it is not without rewards when you get it right. Nicola Sturgeon said on Friday: ‘leadership is not about giving people easy answers … It is about being honest with people.’ In the aftermath of Sturgeon’s announcement hours before Scotland was dragged out of the EU against our democratic wishes – many felt a plethora of different emotions about Scotland’s future, independence, and the role of the Scottish Government and SNP. Some felt
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