Scottish politics

The Battle for Britain and Daring to Believe We Can Do Better Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, January 11th 2014 In the last couple of weeks, two visions of Britain have been articulated. Both are clear, concise, utterly sure of themselves and the justice of their case, and both are equally partial. One is Tory MEP Daniel Hannan’s notion of a free floating, buccaneering, outward looking UK, which would slip its moorings with the European Union and reposition itself in new waters – mixing the English speaking world of the Anglosphere with re-establishing old connections with the Commonwealth and new ones

Continue Reading The Battle for Britain and Daring to Believe We Can Do Better

Why the Politics of Hope not Optimism are the Future Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, January 4th 2014 One of the great myths of modern life is the power of optimism. Optimism, so the argument goes, can get you far. It can make you a winner, change individual life circumstances, make people rich or help them battle out of poverty. In the world of politics and campaigning, optimism is seen by many as the key particularly in American Presidential elections – such as Ronald Reagan in 1984 (‘It’s morning again in America’), and Barack Obama in 2008 (‘Yes We Can’) 

Continue Reading Why the Politics of Hope not Optimism are the Future

Does Scotland Really Want to be the Land of Equality it tells itself it is? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, December 28th 2013 There  is a deeply rooted belief in Scotland that we as a society and community, prioritise and value the idea of equality. This is something found in modern politics, and also in history, tradition and myth. From Burns and ‘We’re a’ Jock Tamson’s Bairns’ to the Declaration of Arbroath as an expression of popular sovereignty, each year these are told and reaffirmed at Christmas and New Year. This is who we are - inclusive, less individualistic and more

Continue Reading Does Scotland Really Want to be the Land of Equality it tells itself it is?

Where is the United Kingdom going in relation to Europe and the world? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, December 21st 2013 The United Kingdom is on the move. Firstly, in how it sees itself in relation to Europe, and secondly, in how it understands and places itself in the world. Take Europe. There is now a rising Euro-scepticism which is very different and more thoughtful, compared to ‘the swivel-eyed loons’ of Tory leadership nightmares, or the retired Colonel Blimp image of Ukip’s unqualified anti-Europeanism. This more nuanced Euro-scepticism is seen in the ‘Fresh Start’ group of Tory parliamentarians, chaired by Andrea

Continue Reading Where is the United Kingdom going in relation to Europe and the world?

Why Scotland needs to stop living in the past Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, December 14th 2013 Who do we have such a powerful propensity to live much of our life backwards? This can be seen in the power of the past – from mythical wrongs and injustices, to symbolic, psychic triumphs and disasters – the latter ranging from the Darien scheme to Ally’s Tartan Army’s ill-fated expedition to Argentina. One defining moment of recent history which operates as a lodestar and hinge year politically is ‘the Year Zero’ of 1979. There are several versions of this. The most visible

Continue Reading Why Scotland needs to stop living in the past

The British economic model is bust. Can Scotland be different? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, November 30th 2013 Just over 18 months ago the much-respected journal, ‘The Economist’, turned its attention to Scotland and the independence debate with its famous ‘Skintland’ issue. Its front cover was deemed offensive by some for the names it gave to imagined towns and areas that emphasised the world of no hope on offer from independence -  ‘Grumpians’, ‘Loanlands’, ‘Glasgone’, ‘Edinborrow’ and many more. Inside the magazine’s editorial declared that Scots had to face their decision on independence ‘in the knowledge their country could end up

Continue Reading The British economic model is bust. Can Scotland be different?

A Different Scotland is Happening Gerry Hassan and James Mitchell Scottish Review, November 27th 2013 Many words will be written this week and in the years to come about the independence debate and the publication of the Scottish Government White Paper on independence launched yesterday in Glasgow by Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. All of this has come about after negotiations between the UK and Scottish Governments.  They agreed the question to be put to the Scottish people, about who could vote and the rules of the referendum.  The two Governments and campaign organisations associated with each side seek to

Continue Reading A Different Scotland is Happening

The crisis of Britain’s institutions is one of the labour movement too Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, November 23rd 2013 One of the defining characteristics of the Labour Party through the ages has been its moral dimension - its indignation at the inequities and injustices of a rotten, economically and socially divisive capitalist system. It has critiqued this via its early socialist, radical and religious roots  – more Methodist than Marx, more the Bible and ‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist’ than ‘Das Capital’. As politics and society have changed - the post-war consensus, Thatcher, New Labour - these strands have weakened but

Continue Reading The crisis of Britain’s institutions is one of the labour movement too

History in the Making: The Battle for Scotland’s Future Gerry Hassan National Collective, November 20th 2013 The campaign on Scottish independence has reached new levels - a battle of competing specialist documents – firstly, there has been an Institute for Fiscal Studies report, matched by a Scottish Government paper on the economic independence, and next week the much anticipated White Paper on Scottish independence. The latter is a milestone in the pro-independence debate. Whatever its content, style and persuasiveness things will never quite be the same again. A devolved administration in part of the UK lays out the case for

Continue Reading History in the Making: The Battle for Scotland’s Future

The Missing Voices of Public Life and How We Create a Different Scotland Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, November 9th 2013 To many of the tribes and partisans who inhabit our public life, all that matters is the contest and defeating their opponents. Democracy and politics in this mindset are in fine working order, beyond the difficulty of trying to get your own way! In reality, Scottish democracy barely exists in any meaningful sense. The 1707 settlement guaranteed the autonomy of ‘the holy trinity’ of Kirk, education and law, giving prominence to these institutional identities, which came to the fore as

Continue Reading The Missing Voices of Public Life and How We Create a Different Scotland