Scottish politics

A Watershed Moment for Scottish Labour, Scotland and the UK Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, March 8th 2015 Scottish Labour’s predicament and condition is centre stage in British politics. It has become one of the major factors which will determine the fate of the next UK election and government. Jim Murphy’s leadership, with its constant announcements and hyper-activity,  whilst not having created the fundamental problems the party faces, seems to offer no real solution so far. Underneath all this Scottish Labour does not understand the position it finds itself in and how to get out of it. Fundamentally the party does

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Power to the People not the Political Class Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, March 1st 2015 The airwaves this week have been filled with the sound of politicians crashing and burning. Malcolm Rifkind and Jack Straw were caught in yet another ‘cash for access’ scandal, while on the next day, English Green leader Natalie Bennett found it impossible to offer the most basic costings of her party’s housing policies. These instances - and the reactions of politicians and public to them - raise questions about what kind of politicians voters want to represent them. And what kind of politics. Once upon

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Can Ruth Davidson persuade us to listen to the Scottish Tories? Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, February 22nd 2015 Two of Scotland’s established parties had a good independence referendum: the SNP who are now prospering in the polls and the Scottish Tories who have been gathering this weekend in Edinburgh. For once the Tories have something to cheer about. In Ruth Davidson the party have a personable, likeable leader who is comfortable and growing into the job. Her Conservative video released this week was another talking point – modern, relevant, human, showing her with her parents - and her partner, Jen.

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Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP and the Age of Anti-Austerity Politics Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, February 15th 2015 It has been a week filled with economic news and controversies. There was the imploding crisis of HSBC’s secret Swiss bank accounts and tax avoidance; the on-going Greek-German Governments European stand-off which threatens the future of the entire euro zone; while Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, is getting people ready for a year of flat or even falling prices. At the same time after years of public spending constraints and cuts, across large parts of Europe there is a

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Scottish Labour and how the World As We Know It Turned Upside Down Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, February 8th 2015 The Scotland we have known has been turned upside down. Once Scottish politics followed certain, predictable lines. Scottish Labour had become the dominant party of the land. It sent 40-50 MPs to Westminster, ran most of local government, and in huge swathes of Scotland no real opposition existed. All empires come to an end. And so it has proven with Scottish Labour. The party which was on the winning side of the independence referendum now finds itself facing electoral Armageddon

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The Myth of ‘Glasgow Man’ Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, February 1^st 2015 ‘Glasgow man’ is expected to be a critical factor in the forthcoming general election contest in Scotland. He, or it, is central to Jim Murphy’s attempt to save Scottish Labour and win back 200,000 Labour supporters who voted Yes in the referendum. It is also pivotal to the SNP’s attempt to breakthrough in traditional Labour seats. Glasgow man is shorthand for a certain political demographic - the equivalent of ‘Basildon man’ who supposedly won it for Thatcher, and of ‘Mondeo man’ who contributed to Blair’s three election

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How do we have a Genuine People’s Democracy? Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, January 25^th 2015 It was UK Democracy Day last week - 800 years since Magna Carta. And on the same day of the announcement that the Chilcot inquiry on the Iraq war would not be published until after the May general election - hardly an advert for British democracy. Then it was the debate about the on-off TV election debates. Was Cameron or Miliband more chicken? Will the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Greens finally get their place on the UK platform? There was also the publication

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Scotland and the UK after the Oil Bubble Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, January 18^th 2015 Ever since its discovery, North Sea oil has played an important part in Scottish and British political and economic calculations. In recent months, the falling oil price has challenged many assumptions. These include the SNP’s version of independence and the lack of long termism in the UK Government, while producing shockwaves to the Scottish economy and wider UK and global consequences. Most immediately, there is the threat to jobs and livelihoods. The North Sea oil and gas sector directly employs 450,000 people and makes a

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Jim Murphy’s ‘Clause Four’ Moment and ‘Putting Scotland First’ Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, January 11^th 2015 Jim Murphy has to do some simple things right now - as well as some difficult ones. He has to get noticed, cause a noise and get up certain people’s noses. Murphy faces some significant challenges. He has a short time span in which to make an impact on, and make a difference to, Labour’s electoral prospects for the May 7^th UK general election - and how it is seen by the electorate. Both are tough asks. Who was the last Scottish Labour leader

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A Great Moment for Scotland and Equality: Now Let’s Get Serious About It Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, January 4^th 2015 As the clocks this week marked Hogmanay, Scotland’s first ever same sex marriage ceremonies took place. Each of the couples had their own unique and personal histories and backstories. Many had lived through times less enlightened and more repressive where people often had to hide their love, feelings and identities from family, friends and work colleagues. On that momentous night, at the Bell and Felix bistro in Glasgow’s Southside I had the honour of being amongst those who saw Gerrie

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