The UK as we know it can’t survive Brexit and Trump
The UK as we know it can't survive Brexit and Trump Gerry Hassan The Guardian, November 17th 2016 The United Kingdom’s sense of itself and place in the world is more in question now than it was before Donald Trump’s election. It was already facing the precarious process of Brexit that has destabilised the nature of fifty years plus of UK foreign policy and international alliances. All of this should be a moment for opposition but Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour are missing in action, focusing on internal battles, and letting the struggle with the Tories slip through their fingers. Whatever the
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Scotland the Bold: Making the Case for a Radical Scotland
Scotland the Bold: Making the Case for a Radical Scotland Gerry Hassan Sunday Herald, November 6th 2016 This weekend I attended a Donald Trump campaign rally in New Hampshire. It was a surreal experience - of a Presidential candidate who isn’t a professional politician, who has a limited conventional manifesto, and is running on what amounts to populist instinct and anger. Win or lose, this offer has resonated with a sizeable audience of dissatisfied people who are looking for change and who believe that Trump rather than Hillary Clinton best provides it. Last week I was at a Clinton-Elizabeth Warren
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The SNP has got us where we are, but the SNP on its own isn’t enough in the future
The SNP has got us where we are, but the SNP on its own isn’t enough in the future Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, October 12th 2016 The SNP have played a huge role in getting us to where we are today. They are central to where Scotland goes in the future - but they on their own are not enough. Without the SNP there is significant doubt that we would ever have got a Scottish Parliament. It is true that Labour legislated for it, but they were first brought back to devolution in the 1970s by the electoral threat of
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Theresa May, the End of Empire State Britain and the Death of Unionism
Theresa May, the End of Empire State Britain and the Death of Unionism Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, October 7th 2016 The Tory conference tried to sail on as if the sea wasn’t turbulent and choppy, with the ship heading for the rocks. Tory statecraft, élan, even class confidence, have all contributed to this along with the vindication of the long held faith and religious zeal of those of a Brexit disposition. Many have come late to the latter, while Theresa May has embraced this dogma with the zeal of the new found convert. You don’t have to look very far
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Flags and Stramashs in Scotland’s Summer of Independence
Flags and Stramashs in Scotland’s Summer of Independence Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, August 24th 2016 A couple of weeks ago I was involved in one of the many online conversations about politics that now characterise Scotland. Afterwards the animated chat in the pub turned to the previous day’s pro-independence march in Glasgow. Saltires had been there in plenty – and one person, perhaps more fully signed up to independence than the others, asked ‘Why is Scotland the only place in the world where people are told off for flying their flag?’ This was met by myself and others with incredulity,
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The Problem with Britain and Why It Can’t Be Tidily Put Back Together
The Problem with Britain and Why It Can’t Be Tidily Put Back Together Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, August 14th 2016 Britain throughout its history has had a reputation for stability and security. This after all was one of the main clarion calls in the indyref and, more recently, the Brexit vote, but this has always been a bit of a myth and is now increasingly fictitious. In the European referendum and its aftermath, much of the discussion that occurred repeatedly - supposedly about the country, its challenges and future - wasn’t actually about the UK, but instead about England. This
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Armageddon Days are Here Again: Ulsterification and the Potential of DIY Scotland
Armageddon Days are Here Again: Ulsterification and the Potential of DIY Scotland Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, May 11th 2016 Language, words and how people communicate matter. Yet, many would agree that much of the conduct of politics and politicians - and even public life in Scotland and the UK – falls short and leaves a lot to be desired. There is a lack of straight-talking and honesty, and over-use of worn out phrases and expressions, along with attempts to close off debates by caricaturing and stereotyping opponents and their arguments. This week David Cameron decided to invoke, in relation to
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‘Arise Now and Be a Nation Again’: The neverending story of Scotland’s history
‘Arise Now and Be a Nation Again’: The neverending story of Scotland’s history Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, March 23rd 2016 Tom Devine has been a huge intellectual influence in Scotland in recent decades, having made major and thoughtful contributions to many important historical and contemporary debates. His latest work, ‘Independence or Union: Scotland’s Past and Scotland’s Present’ is part a summary of his previous research, ‘The Scottish Nation’ and his work on Scotland’s Empire, seen through the prism of Scotland’s place and influence in the union. This descriptive, wide-ranging book covers not only over 300 years of Scottish history,
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The Last of the True Believers: Comrades of the World Unite!
The Last of the True Believers: Comrades of the World Unite! Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, February 17th 2016 The age of insecurity has turned out to be an age of rage and anger. Yet, so far, a near-decade of economic collapse, turmoil and corporate deception hasn’t led to a widespread revival in the fortunes of the left’s ideas and popularity. Instead, the picture is a very mixed, patchy one. There has been a rise in populism, xenophobia and identity politics: Trump and the US Republicans, UKIP and the French Front National, and the much more sinister hard-right examples in Poland
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Scotland isn’t really this Divided Nation. The Importance of Detail, Dissent and Deeds
Scotland isn’t really this Divided Nation. The Importance of Detail, Dissent and Deeds Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, January 3rd 2016 One of the recurring stories of Scotland in the referendum and after has been to say that politics and debate have become bitterly polarised and divided. This sense of a divided Scotland links into history: that once upon a time we couldn’t surmount our own differences: Highland/Lowland, West/East, Glasgow/Edinburgh, Protestant/Catholic. This had a feeling of powerlessness – pathologising differences to the extent they became disabling. These were identities found everywhere in the developed world but in Scotland we were
