Is this an elegy for the end of Britain?
Is this an elegy for the end of Britain? Gerry Hassan The National, 11 January 2022 The UK is in serious crisis – a malaise that affects its politics, political elite, system, and the ethos and practices by which they govern, act and think. That much is obvious to anyone studying the descent of Britain. But what is rare is for this to be spoken about openly and candidly, clearly directed at those who have produced this sorry mess. Tom McTague’s essay in The Atlantic magazine, “How Britain Falls Apart?” last week showed insight and honesty along with a
The rise, fall and rise of party and movement and the changing idea of Scotland
The rise, fall and rise of party and movement and the changing idea of Scotland Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, 7 January 2022 Review of The National Movement in Scotland, Jack Brand, Routledge The SNP have been in existence for a long time and a serious electoral force since the 1960s. But at the same time there have been few studies of the party that have contextualised it within the wider nationalist movement and the changing nature of Scotland, and that have attempted to analyse and understand the dynamics of this relationship. The National Movement in Scotland by the late Jack
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Scotland needs to learn the lessons of how we defeated Margaret Thatcher
Scotland needs to learn the lessons of how we defeated Margaret Thatcher Gerry Hassan The National, 28 December 2021 Margaret Thatcher looms large in the history of modern Scotland. Her minority rule of Scotland, her dogma and indifference to hardship and suffering, her English nationalism wrapped in the flag of the Union Jack: all this and more irritated an overwhelming majority of Scots. She did change history here, although not in ways she intended. She underlined that the old union of compromise was broken; she weakened the strength of the unionist case; and she was a handmaiden in creating the
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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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Scotland’s progressive politics needs some championing
Scotland’s progressive politics needs some championing Gerry Hassan The National, 30 November 2021 Scotland’s progressive values have defined much of our politics - the first 20 years of devolution, majority opposition to Thatcherism, and the independence debate. And yet for all their wide support they need attention, nurturing, and championing. On Saturday Plaid Cymru voted to endorse a deal with Welsh Labour for a co-operation agreement in government covering 46 areas including free school meals for primary children, free childcare, and tackling the second homes crisis. Adam Price, Plaid leader, said that this renewed “trust in a new democracy with
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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
The Keir Starmer-Brian Cox exchange tells us how Scottish independence needs to be reframed
The Keir Starmer-Brian Cox exchange tells us how Scottish independence needs to be reframed Gerry Hassan The National, 9 November 2021 The past week has been one of the worst in British public life for decades as the scale of corruption of the UK Government and the Tories has been further revealed. This should be a good time for Labour and Keir Starmer – the latter appearing on BBC’s Andrew Marr Show after a period in isolation due to COVID. Instead, Starmer gave an interview where his main takeaway was that the UK should shift focus from “Get Brexit Done”
The case for the union is not in a good way but that doesn’t mean independence can be complacent
The case for the union is not in a good way but that doesn’t mean independence can be complacent Gerry Hassan The National, 12 October 2021 The pro-union argument has been playing hard ball of late but underneath the posturing is a profound lack of substance and coherence. One minute the Downing Street union unit is promising this and that; the next it is disbanded; the next we have “muscular unionism” followed by “wheesht on independence” – to the backdrop of Boris Johnson’s bravado boosterism. Johnson’s speech minus the gags and unending optimism had little to say on Scotland. We
Is this really the best Tory case for the union?
Is this really the best Tory case for the union? Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, 10 October 2021 Strength in Union: The Case for the United Kingdom, edited by Andrew Bowie, Centre for Policy Studies. The Tory Party are seeking a coherent strategy to deal with Scotland and the threat of independence – one that twin-tracks between looking at iconic infrastructure projects they can fund and wrap a Union Jack around, and the ‘wheesht on independence’ mindset – that entails not talking about the issue to avoid making it more real. If the latter is more than a passing Downing
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How to defeat the Tories and aid democracy
How to defeat the Tories and aid democracy Gerry Hassan The National, 5 October 2021 Tory problems mount by the day. There’s fuel and food shortages evoking the 1970s, a Brexit that seems only to be delivering problems and, in Boris Johnson, a PM who seems to know and care little about detail and the real lives of people. Despite all of this and more the Tories are still in the lead in the polls and the odds remain against Labour winning the next election outright. Labour has a mountain to climb to win the next election that could be
