Time to Put the Culture into Creative Scotland
Time to Put the Culture into Creative Scotland Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, February 7th 2018 Creative Scotland’s latest stramash has again brought arts funding, decision-making and the role of the organisation centrestage. It is a recurring problem. After the good news story before Christmas, of Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop announcing - against expectations - a real terms increase in the funding of Creative Scotland, all seemed for a brief period sweetness and light. Then came the announcement on 25 January for Regularly Funding Organisations (RFOs), who have a three-year funding cycle, of significant cuts in a host of success stories
Continue Reading Time to Put the Culture into Creative Scotland
Time to Wake Up and Ask Some Difficult Questions about the SNP and Independence
Time to Wake Up and Ask Some Difficult Questions abut the SNP and Independence Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, January 23rd 2018 ‘What Do You Do When A Society Lies to Itself?’ So said writer Umair Haque this week in the context of the constitutional standoff in Trump’s America. But it is true of most nations most of the time; certainly it is true of today’s UK - and also of modern Scotland. Scottish politics are currently in what can only be described as a phoney war - a becalmed period of inertia and inactivity in-between the storms that buffet politics.
Continue Reading Time to Wake Up and Ask Some Difficult Questions about the SNP and Independence
Brexit is turning Britain upside down – and Scotland has a chance to say No
Brexit is turning Britain upside down – and Scotland has a chance to say No Gerry Hassan The Guardian Comment, January 15th 2018 Brexit has turned British politics and Britain itself upside down. But to the UK Government and Westminster political classes it is business as usual on the home front as far as Brexit and everything else is concerned. Not for them that Brexit is nearly entirely an English revolt (with Welsh acquiescence), or that Scotland and Northern Ireland are being dragged along against majority sentiment in their territories. Today the Scottish Government published its latest paper on Brexit,
Continue Reading Brexit is turning Britain upside down – and Scotland has a chance to say No
The World in 2018: Trump, Brexit, Britain and the Scottish Debate
The World in 2018: Trump, Brexit, Britain and the Scottish Debate Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, January 10th 2018 The New Year is always a time for reflection. I spent the Christmas and New Year break in the United States, providing an opportunity for reflection and a different take on the world. Two and a half weeks in an American urban setting, even in one of the wealthiest and most creative clusters in the country around Boston and Cambridge, showcases what works and what doesn’t. Conspicuous wealth sits side-by-side crumbling infrastructure and poverty personified by the MBTA train system that looks
Continue Reading The World in 2018: Trump, Brexit, Britain and the Scottish Debate
My Favourite Books of 2017
MY FAVOURITE BOOKS OF 2017 December 15th 2017 Here is a selection of my books of the year. By its nature, this is subjective - made up of books I have read, enjoyed and been impressed by, and isn’t thus an attempt to comprehensively cover every subject. While the vast majority of books listed were published this year, there are a few from late 2016, and a couple published before then. Scotland: My Favourite Books of the Year James Robertson, Michael Marra: Arrest This Moment, Big Sky Press This is a beautifully produced book on a precious talent -
Is Scotland really a social democratic country?
Is Scotland really a social democratic country? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, October 18th 2017 At last week’s SNP conference in the middle of her keynote speech, Nicola Sturgeon asked: ‘What kind of country do we want to be?’ She wasn’t expecting an answer, and seemed surprised when a member of the party faithful shouted out ‘an independent one.’ Behind Sturgeon’s non-question is the belief in Scottish difference, the efficacy of our values, and the link of both of these to the idea of Scotland as a social democratic country. Thus, around the conference chatter and commentary, Lesley Riddoch on Sky
Continue Reading Is Scotland really a social democratic country?
Scottish Independence in the Age of Dirsruption: Big Questions for the SNP, Labour and Tories
Scottish Independence in the Age of Disruption: Big Questions for the SNP, Labour and Tories Gerry Hassan LSE Politics Blog, October 9th 2017 Scottish politics are in a strange place at the moment - not one of calm, but of transition with the future uncertain. After several years of high-octane politics, and the twin peaks of disruption of the 2014 indyref and 2016 Brexit vote, all of Scotland’s main political parties have some adjusting to do. The SNP, ten years in office, are still trying to digest the reverse of the 2017 UK election; the Tories how to continue their
Catalonia and Scotland are very different: The complex struggle for self-determination
Catalonia and Scotland are very different: The complex struggle for self-determination Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, October 4th 2017 There are many reasons to be thankful for living in Scotland. This came home to roost in the last week with the Catalan referendum, the experience of the Iraqi Kurds voting on independence, and even, more dramatically, the tragic events in the US when Las Vegas witnessed yet another mass killing and carnage. Scotland is a prosperous and peaceful country. Unlike Catalonia we were able to have an independence referendum – which everyone agreed to, participated in, and accepted who won and
Labour could be the future but is feeling a bit too self-satisfied with itself
Labour could be the future but is feeling a bit too self-satisfied with itself Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, September 26th 2017 This week the Labour Party Conference gathered in Brighton. It hasn’t been in such good spirits for many a year - with the highest membership of any party in Europe, and the biggest increase in its vote in a UK general election since 1945. The spirit in many respects is a little too upbeat. Corbyn’s Labour did not actually win the June election, despite Theresa May’s campaign being the most inept by a major party in living memory.
Continue Reading Labour could be the future but is feeling a bit too self-satisfied with itself
Where have all the leaders gone?
Where have all the leaders gone? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, September 20th 2017 We have a problem with leaders - specifically, a dearth of them in Scotland, the UK and most of the Western world. There is a crisis of authority, trust and legitimacy with, for some, populism, trusting instincts and voicing your inner rage all that is left. Who do we trust to speak to us, to listen and understand our problems? To offer a guide that points in a direction and takes us there at a speed and consistency that respects anxieties and doubts, and the need to
