Do we really want a Socially Just Scotland?
Do we really want a Socially Just Scotland? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, February 25th 2012 We all like to think that one of the most proud Scottish traditions is our commitment to social justice, caring about and acting to aid those in disadvantage and poverty. If the ongoing debate about Scotland’s constitutional status is to be meaningful and relevant beyond the political classes, one powerful argument is that it should put at its centre the promotion of social justice. Poverty fell over the Labour decade of growth; from 1998-99 to 2008-9 Scots poverty rates fell by more than in
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Stop the World, Scotland wants to get on!
Stop the World, Scotland wants to get on! Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, February 18th 2012 Scotland has been all over the world news these last few weeks: the independence debate, David Cameron’s high profile intervention, and of course the saga of Glasgow Rangers FC. What has been missing from the Scottish debate is an engagement with the wider environment beyond Scotland, both in relation to the UK and internationally. In times it almost seems as if the debate is being undertaken, irrespective of opinion, in a vacuum. The prevalent Scottish debate amongst politicians, commentators and seasoned observers is to
What do ‘Fred the Shred’ and David Murray Tell Us About Scotland?
What Do 'Fred the Shred' and David Murray Tell Us About Scotland? Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, February 17th 2012 This is not another article on football. The Rangers crisis has filled the airwaves and media this week. For the second time this year Scotland has gone international and viral, spreading across the globe connecting the diaspora and other interested parties. Many people ask how this came to pass with Rangers. All kinds of reasons and conspiracies are proposed: pro-Rangers bias, anti-Celtic opinion, Protestantism/anti-Catholicism, and the carve up of ‘the Old Firm’ duopoly. We need to lift our heads from
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The Long Revolution: Scottish Self-Government and the Case for the Union
The Long Revolution: Scottish Self-Government and the Case for the Union Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, February 17th 2012 David Cameron came north to Scotland speaking with the authority of Prime Minister of the UK and the status of leading a party with one MP out of 59 Westminster representatives. He delivered an important speech and intervention and met with First Minister Alex Salmond; this can be seen as part of the long campaign and positioning of each man and side seeing himself as a long distance runner, pacing themselves, sizing up and trying to get the better of their
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So who will speak for a better Scotland?
So who will speak out for a better Scotland? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, February 4th 2012 Human beings have a need to associate, to feel they belong and to be part of wider groupings. We all recognise this, but we also know some of the limits: the power and negativity of being in a gang, tribe or group, of including and excluding. In my life many things have defined how I see myself and how I interpret the world: various values, philosophies, labels and outlooks, from politics to culture to of course, football. I used to define myself
The Battle for Britain: A Note for Independistas and Anti-Independistas
The Battle for Britain: A Note for Independistas and Anti-Independistas Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, January 25th 2012 January 25th 2012, Burns Night, will be remembered as a historic, watershed day for Scotland and the UK. Alex Salmond announced to the Scottish Parliament his government’s proposed question for the autumn 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, ‘Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?’ This was he said ‘short, straightforward and clear’ (1). The Scottish Government consultation paper, ‘Your Scotland, Your Referendum’ (2) is a cogent, thoughtful document, offering the vision of a modern, progressive Scotland at ease with
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The Story of a Northern Rebellion and how it could remake Britain
The Story of a Northern Rebellion and how it could remake Britain Gerry Hassan New Statesman, January 16th 2012 The Westminster parties have a northern problem but they do not know what it is or what to do. Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party and First Minister, stands all-conquering, a nationalist hero to some; a one-man band of “El-Presidente Salmond” to others. The SNP’s “big tent” politic, social democratic and pro-business, leaves the opposition with little terrain to mark out; redolent of Tony Blair and New Labour at their peak in 1997. How has this happened in
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When ‘Two Tribes’ Go To War: Why Independence Needs to Understand the Union Case
When ‘Two Tribes’ Go To War: Why Independence Needs to Understand the Union Case Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, January 14th 2012 This week Scotland exploded onto the UK and international stage. The constitutional debate and independence have become the talk of Westminster and across the world. Pro-union forces have been caricaturing the independence camp as ‘separatists’ with even the British Government paper published this week having contained within its title the phrase: ‘whether Scotland should leave the United Kingdom’. Independence supporters like to think they are above this. Yet they have a tendency to think the union is
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The Possible Scotlands of the Future
The Possible Scotlands of the Future Gerry Hassan The Guardian Comment, January 13th 2012 The Scottish independence story has become one of the UK’s hottest stories, forcing Westminster and London politicians and correspondents to gen up quickly about Scotland and Scottish politics as they try to make sense of what is going on. Scottish independence and self-government are not about an old-fashioned nationalist movement drawing from reactionary ideas, but a profoundly modern, pro-European, centre-left politics. The debate of independence versus the union has already seen battlelines drawn, David Cameron and Alex Salmond engage in the first of what will
The Scotland that Opposed Thatcher
The Scotland that Opposed Thatcher Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, January 7th 2012 History calls for reflection; leaders’ standings rise and fall and then rise again, and a sense of perspective eventually emerges which tells a fuller picture. Harold Wilson’s stock rose in the 1980s as Labour lost election after election, while some observers tried to make the case for Ted Heath’s apparently doomed premiership; in time some will even attempt to make the case for Tony Blair. This political stock taking moment has now come for Margaret Thatcher, aided by the release of the film ‘The Iron Lady’ with
