Scottish politics

A Man of Principle and the End of an Era of Liberal Radicalism Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, June 7th 2015 Politics and public life in Britain caught its breath this week with the tragic death of Charles Kennedy. MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber for the past 32 years; leader of the Lib Dems from 1999-2006; the youngest MP elected to the Commons in 1983 at the age of 23 - none of these do justice to the talents, principles and wit of Kennedy. He got, as many people have said, many big things right. He was the most successful

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A Letter to the Editor of ‘The Economist’ on Scotland and Scottish Independence Gerry Hassan June 4th 2015 Dear Zanny, I am a long-term reader and admirer of ‘The Economist’. Even when I disagree with the magazine’s position I know that I can trust it to aid myself learning and becoming more knowledgeable on an issue. This is true across the globe, and subject matters, with one consistent exception: the subject of Scottish independence. I am not talking about ‘The Economist’s’ anti-independence stance, which you are perfectly entitled to take. Nor would I wish to dwell on the appropriateness

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The Battle of Europe beckons. It will change Britain and Scotland whatever the result Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, May 31st 2015 Forty years ago next week, Britain entered a new era. On June 5^th 1975 Britain held its first nationwide referendum on whether to stay or leave, what was then called, the European Economic Community (EEC). The UK voted emphatically 67.2% to 32.8% to stay; Scotland voted 58.4% to 41.6% in favour. This debate changed Britain in ways that continue to have ramifications. It began the constitutional practice of using referendums for big issues. The first had actually been two

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Are we really a nation of equality and fairness? Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, May 24th 2015 Scotland is one of the hot subjects of the moment. This is true even in places that usually ignore us - such as Westminster. One take from the centre-left Compass pressure group is that Scotland is the progressive future they would like to see across the UK. Another from disgruntled Labourites wants to get even with the SNP for taking so many parliamentary colleagues from them. It feels good to be talked about. But actually these voices aren’t really interested in Scotland. Instead, they

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What do we do about the British constitution? Gerry Hassan The Conversation, May 22nd 2015 There can be little doubt that Britain is on the move. This can be seen in the aftermath of the Scottish independence referendum and forthcoming European Union vote. This is a time of flux and uncertainty. While for some such as the SNP and critics of the British status quo this is a positive, for many elites and experts this produces anxieties and worries. No more is this is so than with benign liberal opinion – which believes that for every problem there should be

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Is there a Future for the Scottish Labour Party? Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, May 17th 2015 Should he stay or should he go? That is the question Scottish Labour have been asking themselves since a week past Thursday. It is, however, the wrong question. Leave aside whether it has come up with the answer for now, with a damaged Jim Murphy staying at the helm for a month, at least. Murphy isn’t the problem for Scottish Labour. He has only been leader for just five months. Granted, in that time he has done little to make it look like he

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Scotland’s Peaceful Revolution and the End of the Old Britain Gerry Hassan The Hindu, May 16th 2015 Britain feels and looks very different now from only a week ago. The general election threw up many surprises - the re-election of a majority Conservative Government, the scale of the Scottish National Party (SNP) landslide, and Scotland and England pointing in completely opposite political directions. The SNP won 56 of Scotland’s 59 constituencies, reducing the dominant Labour Party north of the border from 41 seats at the previous election to a single seat. A whole host of luminaries lost their seats including

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A Tale of Two Nations. And Two Leaders Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, May 10th 2015 We awoke on Friday morning to a very different world. A nearly completely yellow Scotland. A bluer England. And a patchwork Wales. The first majority Tory Government elected since 1992 whilst Scotland passed in one night from Labour dominance to an even more impressive SNP strength. These and more things weren’t meant to happen. David Cameron’s re-election as Prime Minister with a majority has taken many people by surprise. No UK Government sitting for a full term has seen its vote rise since Anthony

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Scotland embarks on a New Era Gerry Hassan Irish Times, May 9th 2015 Scotland has had landmark Westminster elections before. There was 1997 when Scotland voted out every Tory MP. Then in October 1974 there was the first ever Scottish-wide Nationalist surge; in 1955 there was the high tide of Tory Unionism when they won over half the votes and seats; and in 1922 Labour broke through for the first time and ‘Red Clydeside’ went to Westminster. This is one of those moments - and more. History has been made by the collective expression of the Scottish people. Records have

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A Cut Out and Keep Guide to Understanding the 2015 General Election in Scotland Gerry Hassan May 5th 2015 This has been an election campaign like no other in living memory in Scotland. While Westminster commentators have regularly stated that this is the ‘most boring’ and ‘risk free’ election they can ever remember, north of the border nothing like this has ever been seen before. Scotland is on the cusp of huge political change which could see Scottish Labour’s Westminster political establishment vanquished, and a new political dispensation and map of the country created, which will not only have

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