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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How to Play Political Poker: The High Stakes of the Independence Debate
How to Play Political Poker: The High Stakes of the Independence Debate Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, December 31st 2011 The Scottish constitutional debate will increasingly be the main, if not the only, debate in our national politics over the next year. It is going to be a debate which not only has a Scottish interest, but for obvious reasons, a UK audience, alongside a wider European and international relevance. It is crucial for many reasons that we conduct this debate in the best way possible. International attention, including the world’s media, will be on us. We have to rise
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The Voice of ‘We are 99% Scotland’
The Voice of ‘We are 99% Scotland’ Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, December 10th 2011 The Scottish debate trundles on; accusation and counter-accusation are traded in the Scottish Parliament, Westminster and media about the most important issue in recent political history, namely independence. All of the political parties are in unfamiliar terrain and don’t quite know what to do. In this strange situation, everyone sticks with what they know best, trying to feel safe in their comfort zones. Behind the often arid talk of the constitution and things like ‘devo max’ and fiscal autonomy, the real issue is what kind
How we Democratise Scotland’s Future: Challenging the Conceit that ‘There is No Other Way’
How we Democratise Scotland’s Future: Challenging the Conceit that ‘There is No Other Way’ Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, December 8th 2011 The concurrent Scottish, British and European debates go on as mostly separate, but interconnected conversations; political and economic parallel universes often seeming oblivious to the existence of each other. The British state sovereigntists wax lyrically as if their moment has come, the Tory Party, in David Cameron’s once revealing remarks, returning to its comfort zone of ‘banging on about Europe’, while Labour slowly shift away from two decades of pro-Europeanism, and the Lib Dems and SNP fall nervously
Which England Will Dare to Speak in Britain and Europe?
Which England Will Dare to Speak in Britain and Europe? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, November 19th 2011 The European crisis has already told us many things; that the eurozone in its current form is not sustainable; that German leadership of the continent is going to become more pronounced; and that Greece, Italy and maybe one or two others are going to have decades of European-inflicted austerity. Another factor is Britain’s continued role as the awkward, distant partner in Europe; a country which sees the European project as something it was hoodwinked into by its political classes and establishment. And
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The Danger of a Westminster led Scottish Independence Vote
The Danger of a Westminster led Scottish Independence Vote Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, November 12th 2011 Once upon a time referendums were seen as ‘unBritish’, as the sort of thing that continental Europe and dictatorships did. Now we seem to talk of little else. There has been as trust in politicians has declined, a rise in the use of referendums, with two UK wide polls, three Welsh, two Scots and two Northern Irish votes since the 1970s, along with a host of local votes. Politicians’ interest in direct democracy is driven by what they think the results will be.
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From the ‘How’ to the ‘Why’ of Scottish Independence
From the ‘How’ to the ‘Why’ of Scottish Independence Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, October 29th 2011 Scottish independence was once viewed as an eccentric, maverick subject, something not to be taken seriously or mentioned in polite society. Well no more. The unionist parties talk at the moment of nothing else, and even the self-obsessed London political class and media have noted that something is happening. After years of ignoring independence, now they want instant answers, detail and a vote – all on their terms. The ‘how’ of Scottish independence has become nearly universally accepted, and we have quickly moved
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