Stop the World, Scotland wants to get on!
Stop the World, Scotland wants to get on! Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, February 18th 2012 Scotland has been all over the world news these last few weeks: the independence debate, David Cameron’s high profile intervention, and of course the saga of Glasgow Rangers FC. What has been missing from the Scottish debate is an engagement with the wider environment beyond Scotland, both in relation to the UK and internationally. In times it almost seems as if the debate is being undertaken, irrespective of opinion, in a vacuum. The prevalent Scottish debate amongst politicians, commentators and seasoned observers is to
The Long Revolution: Scottish Self-Government and the Case for the Union
The Long Revolution: Scottish Self-Government and the Case for the Union Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, February 17th 2012 David Cameron came north to Scotland speaking with the authority of Prime Minister of the UK and the status of leading a party with one MP out of 59 Westminster representatives. He delivered an important speech and intervention and met with First Minister Alex Salmond; this can be seen as part of the long campaign and positioning of each man and side seeing himself as a long distance runner, pacing themselves, sizing up and trying to get the better of their
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So who will speak for a better Scotland?
So who will speak out for a better Scotland? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, February 4th 2012 Human beings have a need to associate, to feel they belong and to be part of wider groupings. We all recognise this, but we also know some of the limits: the power and negativity of being in a gang, tribe or group, of including and excluding. In my life many things have defined how I see myself and how I interpret the world: various values, philosophies, labels and outlooks, from politics to culture to of course, football. I used to define myself
The Battle for Britain: A Note for Independistas and Anti-Independistas
The Battle for Britain: A Note for Independistas and Anti-Independistas Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, January 25th 2012 January 25th 2012, Burns Night, will be remembered as a historic, watershed day for Scotland and the UK. Alex Salmond announced to the Scottish Parliament his government’s proposed question for the autumn 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, ‘Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?’ This was he said ‘short, straightforward and clear’ (1). The Scottish Government consultation paper, ‘Your Scotland, Your Referendum’ (2) is a cogent, thoughtful document, offering the vision of a modern, progressive Scotland at ease with
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The Self-Preservation Society of Civic Scotland
The Self-Preservation Society of ‘Civic Scotland’ Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, January 21st 2012 ‘Civic Scotland’ has been spotted these last few weeks, out in public, on manoeuvres, laying out their claims to be not forgotten in ‘the great debate’ about to ensue. The official story of ‘civic Scotland’ matters because various people in the voluntary sector, trade unions and churches are articulating a very partial version of history to justify their place and stance now. And at the minimum we should, like every aspect of public life, put this and its claims under proper scrutiny. ‘Civic Scotland’ says that
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The Story of a Northern Rebellion and how it could remake Britain
The Story of a Northern Rebellion and how it could remake Britain Gerry Hassan New Statesman, January 16th 2012 The Westminster parties have a northern problem but they do not know what it is or what to do. Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party and First Minister, stands all-conquering, a nationalist hero to some; a one-man band of “El-Presidente Salmond” to others. The SNP’s “big tent” politic, social democratic and pro-business, leaves the opposition with little terrain to mark out; redolent of Tony Blair and New Labour at their peak in 1997. How has this happened in
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When ‘Two Tribes’ Go To War: Why Independence Needs to Understand the Union Case
When ‘Two Tribes’ Go To War: Why Independence Needs to Understand the Union Case Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, January 14th 2012 This week Scotland exploded onto the UK and international stage. The constitutional debate and independence have become the talk of Westminster and across the world. Pro-union forces have been caricaturing the independence camp as ‘separatists’ with even the British Government paper published this week having contained within its title the phrase: ‘whether Scotland should leave the United Kingdom’. Independence supporters like to think they are above this. Yet they have a tendency to think the union is
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The Possible Scotlands of the Future
The Possible Scotlands of the Future Gerry Hassan The Guardian Comment, January 13th 2012 The Scottish independence story has become one of the UK’s hottest stories, forcing Westminster and London politicians and correspondents to gen up quickly about Scotland and Scottish politics as they try to make sense of what is going on. Scottish independence and self-government are not about an old-fashioned nationalist movement drawing from reactionary ideas, but a profoundly modern, pro-European, centre-left politics. The debate of independence versus the union has already seen battlelines drawn, David Cameron and Alex Salmond engage in the first of what will
The Beginning of the Break-Up of Britain?
The Beginning of the Break-Up of Britain? Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, January 11th 2012 The Scottish constitutional question has shot to the top of the UK political agenda. The manoeuvrings of the UK Government and Scottish Government on the Scottish independence issue have consistently led the UK news bulletins this week, even giving the high impact HS2 development go-ahead a run for its money. We are now entering uncharted waters. Scotland and the UK are now changing and things will never be the same again. Whatever the outcome of the stand-off between the two governments and the eventual referendum,
The ‘Three Scotlands’ and How to Win an Independence Referendum
The ‘Three Scotlands’ and How to Win an Independence Referendum Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, January 4th 2012 Scottish politics post-the election and the return of a majority SNP Government have existed in a seeming state of limbo, a kind of political phoney war. The SNP have won a landslide victory but have yet to produce a serious strategy for winning independence; the unionist parties in Scotland have all been reduced to an existential crisis about defining their purpose and point; while David Cameron’s government (if it ever thinks about Scotland) is of the view that the break up of the
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