Scottish Labour Party

Is there any hope for Scottish Labour? And does it matter to the rest of us? Gerry Hassan Sunday National, June 2nd 2019 Scottish Labour once carried all before it. They were admired by some, feared by others. They couldn’t be ignored, were taken seriously and mattered. Today the party is not only struggling to be taken seriously by anyone, but has to fight for attention, battling to avoid the ignominy of being seen as irrelevant by most voters. Many will say ‘hell mend them, they deserve their fate’ but the collapse of this once powerful party has consequences well

Continue Reading Is there any hope for Scottish Labour? And does it matter to the rest of us?

The coming of age of the Scottish Parliament … but has power shifted to the people? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, May 8th 2019 Twenty years ago last Monday Scotland went to the polls in the first democratic elections to the Scottish Parliament. This coming Sunday marks the anniversary of the first session of that Parliament which Winnie Ewing famously opened with the words: ‘The Scottish Parliament, which adjourned on March 25^th 1707, is hereby reconvened.’ The new Parliament was elected with much goodwill, hope and energy, following the decisive 1997 devolution referendum. Polls showed that large majorities expected the Parliament

Continue Reading The coming of age of the Scottish Parliament … but has power shifted to the people?

Where is Radical Scotland and does it really exist? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, December 12th 2018 As the United Kingdom seemingly collapses and its political class shows unprecedented incompetence, where stands Scotland? Where is that much talked about sentiment that we are radical, different, and more left-wing than the rest of the UK? For some all that matters in the above is difference and the elixir of sovereignty; ‘Take Back Control’ and don’t worry about detail and all the other stuff until we are on the other side of independence. This is rather reminiscent of the version of Brexit as

Continue Reading Where is Radical Scotland and does it really exist?

It was twenty years ago: Scotland, our Parliament and the limits of Devolution Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, November 14th 2018 Twenty years ago Scotland began the devolution era when the Scotland Act 1998, which established the framework for the Scottish Parliament, achieved Royal Assent on 19 November 1998 – the final parliamentary debate having taken place two days before in the House of Lords. Much has happened in the intervening twenty years. The Scottish Parliament was set up with a Scottish Executive, which morphed into the Scottish Government. Donald Dewar became the first of five First Ministers, and died tragically

Continue Reading It was twenty years ago: Scotland, our Parliament and the limits of Devolution

Glasgow Govan: The Seat that Rocked and Made Modern Scotland Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, November 7th 2018 Thirty years ago Scotland was a very different place. Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, the poll tax was yet to be implemented, and there was no Scottish Parliament. Then along came the Govan by-election – a seat that produced a political sensation and set of shockwaves that reverberated throughout Scottish and UK politics with an impact years after the event. Exactly thirty years ago this weekend – on 10 November 1988 – Jim Sillars, ex-Labour MP, left-winger and powerful orator, won the

Continue Reading Glasgow Govan: The Seat that Rocked and Made Modern Scotland

A Warning from the Past: What happened to Scottish Labour could happen to the SNP Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, February 14th 2018 What goes up must come down is a truism worth remembering in relation to politics - as well as to economics and every kind of asset or property bubble. There once was a political party in Scotland which saw itself as the embodiment of the radical tradition, in touch with voters, and embodying social justice. It became more and more complacent, self-congratulatory, and out of touch – eventually morphing into the Scottish establishment. That party was the Scottish

Continue Reading A Warning from the Past: What happened to Scottish Labour could happen to the SNP

Gordon Brown: The Ghost in the Machine Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, November 14th 2017 Gordon Brown, like him or loath him, was a titan of a figure in British politics for close on two decades. Along now comes Brown’s attempt at putting his case and a call for understanding and redemption in his autobiography - ‘My Life, Our Times’. It comes with much baggage for all who will read and encounter it, including from the author himself who goes through the pretense that he had to be reluctantly dragged into writing it, explaining himself: ‘For me, being conspicuously demonstrative is

Continue Reading Gordon Brown: The Ghost in the Machine

The Long Suicide of Scottish and British Labour Hurts Us All Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, March 1st 2017 Political parties rise and fall. They have no permanent right to a lease on the terrain they occupy and the voters they appeal to. Scottish politics has seen the decline of many once powerful forces - the Liberals, Tories, and now the Labour Party. This weekend, and since, has witnessed what can only be described as the last vestiges of the long painful suicide of the Scottish Labour Party. Moreover, this coincided with the on-going pains and problems of the Corbyn Labour

Continue Reading The Long Suicide of Scottish and British Labour Hurts Us All

Where is the Jeremy Corbyn Labour Party revolution going to end? Gerry Hassan Scotttish Review, September 29th 2016 Jeremy Corbyn and Labour have some major positives going for them. He has been re-elected Labour leader with a huge majority in an election in which over half a million people voted. On the wave of a surge of excitement and engagement, Labour’s membership has risen to 650,000 - over four times that of the Tories, and representing the largest political party in all Europe. On top of that Jeremy Corbyn is clearly a different kind of politician. He is untainted by

Continue Reading Where is the Jeremy Corbyn Labour Party revolution going to end?

The Myth of the Great Leader: Gordon Brown, Jimmy Reid and Alex Salmond Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, September 1st 2016 The times they-are-a-changing. There is a tangible feeling in the air of discontent, anger and bewilderment. People feel let down and cheated by the multiple powers that be. It isn’t surprising then that there is a palpable sense of national nostalgia depicted on TV – remakes fill the screens (Are You Being Served?, Porridge), while period dramas (Downton Abbey) or endless documentaries on World War Two and the Nazis are hugely popular. The left aren’t immune to this either –

Continue Reading The Myth of the Great Leader: Gordon Brown, Jimmy Reid and Alex Salmond