Dreaming of a Different Scotand: Alt Independence and Alt Unionism
Dreaming of a Different Scotland: Alt Independence and Alt Unionism Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, February 26th 2013 Social justice is everywhere north of the border. It has always been about, but now it has become more explicit, as the debate on Scotland’s independence referendum hots up, the Westminster Government’s welfare plans show their character and the Tory intent at inhumane social engineering, while the market fundamentalist project of the last three decades proposes at the moment of crisis and doubt, to go into over-drive. The last week has seen Anas Sarwar, Deputy Leader of Scottish Labour give an important
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Scotland as an Idea and Place of Substance
Scotland as an Idea and Place of Substance Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, December 29th 2012 It has been a tumultuous year, across Europe, the world, and in its own way for Scotland. It was the year that the independence referendum was agreed, of the collapse and rebirth of Rangers FC, and the continued decline of the British establishment and public trust in it. At the year’s end, the Radical Independence Conference brought together a new generation of twentysomething activists, Creative Scotland parted company with much of the arts world (and lost as a result two of its senior figures), and
Manifesto for a Culture of Self-Determination
Manifesto for a Culture of Self-Determination Gerry Hassan National Collective/Open Democracy, December 5th 2012 Introduction: Scottish Politics and Language In the last few weeks people have become increasingly aware, and to some extent concerned, about the rising prevalence of a culture of abuse, insult and invective in Scottish politics around and associated with the independence referendum. There is a longer story to this, of the failure and dogma of Labour unionism, of the SNP’s adoption of command and control politics, and of an embryonic self-government movement unable so far to find full form and voice. At the same time
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The Problem with the ‘No’ Men
The Problem with the ‘No’ Men Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, November 17th 2012 The debate on the future of Scotland’s constitutional status has many legitimate views: pro-union, pro-independence, and the middling Scotland sitting uneasily in-between. In the last two weeks, the tenor of part of the debate has begun to change. Alistair Darling, head of the ‘No’ camp, in the John P. Mackintosh lecture, one of Scottish Labour’s few post-war cerebral figures, has talked of independence as ‘the road to serfdom’. Darling stated that ‘an independent Scotland would rejoin the UK’ and continued, with a mindset of simplistic separatism, predicting
Time to Wake Up to the Realities of Fantasy Island Britain
Time to Wake Up to the Realities of Fantasy Island Britain Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, September 13th 2012 The ‘phoney war’ of the referendum long debate seems like it is slowly coming to an end with Nicola Sturgeon’s appointment as SNP campaign head. In so doing, it has illustrated the paucity of much of what has passed for discussion so far. There are significant omissions and avoidances on the Nationalist side - the presentation of independence as continuity, a new state of affairs where everything can be different and the same, and where we can still be British and
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The Perils of Content Free Campaign Scotland
The Perils of Content Free Campaign Scotland Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, June 16th 2012 The times they are a changing all over the world from Greece and Spain to the USA and China. There is unrest, voices of protest rising and authorities reacting with confusion as they cling to the wreckage of failed economic orthodoxy. At the same time the battle of Scotland unfolds; one which isn’t life or death or black and white thankfully. But to some it seems that way. The official independence campaign saw John Swinney this week declare his support for a ‘highly integrated UK financial
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How to make and understand the Case for the Union
How to make and understand the Case for the Union Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, May 19th 2012 This week has seen important developments in the pro-union campaign. First, we are not meant to call it that; the organisers have indicated that the word ‘union’ won’t play any part in the title of the campaign. Second, they have revealed that they will have lots of money, resources, and celebrities. There have also been reflective pieces by Colin Kidd and Bill Jamieson in this paper which have added to public deliberations, the former in particular making a nuanced historical argument for
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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 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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