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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Ian Davidson, the Labour-SNP Divide and the Language of Violence
Ian Davidson, the Labour-SNP Divide and the Language of Violence Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, October 28th 2011 Does the recent Ian Davidson-Eilidh Whiteford controversy matter? Is it a storm in a political teacup? Or does it reflect something wider and more sinister in our culture? First, there are the alleged words of Ian Davidson, Labour MP for Glasgow South West, about giving a woman, Eilidh Whiteford, SNP Banff and Buchan MP, ‘a doing’, meaning threatening actual physical violence and abuse. This does sound like the sort of thing that Davidson could say; he has form with using aggressive, hard,
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The Twilight of the British State: Alex Salmond, Scottish Independence and the European Question
The Twilight of the British State: Alex Salmond, Scottish Independence and the European Question Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, October 28th 2011 This is a fascinating and fast moving period of politics, at a global, European, British and Scottish level, challenging many of the most deep-seated and unexamined assumptions held across the political spectrum. In the last week we have seen the euphoric SNP conference at Inverness showing a party on the crest of a wave which seems to think that the future is within its grasp. Then we have at Westminster the return of the popular bogeyman – Eurosceptism
A Post-Nationalist Politics for the Nationalist Movement
A Post-Nationalist Politics for the Nationalist Movement Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, October 22nd 2011 The SNP gathering at Inverness is an historic occasion for the party with a discernable feeling that this is their moment and that nearly anything, including independence, is possible. International dignitaries, corporates and lots of hangers on are evidence of the SNP’s importance. Even the UK media in one of their episodic fits have noticed Scotland and the SNP with various correspondents scuttling north and dusting down their clichés. Inverness catches the SNP in transition. They have mastered the art of government and even more
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It’s Time for a Radical SNP Vision for Scotland
It’s Time for a Radical SNP Vision for Scotland Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, September 3rd 2011 It was a strange summer. A few months ago the SNP won a landslide victory which challenged many of the assumptions about Scotland and Scottish politics. The SNP Government had then, and still has, enormous goodwill and support behind it. Immediately after the election, the SNP got embroiled in the spat over the Supreme Court, an important issue, but one where its tone and language was all wrong. Then came the mess of the Sectarian Bill, tackling one of Scotland’s biggest issues in
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