What independence has to do to win
What independence has to do to win Gerry Hassan The National, 14 June 2022 The Scottish Government will make an important announcement on independence today; one long awaited by independence supporters. It has long been apparent that the 2014 offer needs not just updating but completely revising and that serious, substantive work needs to be done. Fundamental to this is not just the usual suspects mentioned – currency, borders, finance, EU membership – but the issue of how independence embodies and champions democracy. The independence offer is often portrayed by its supporters as personifying democracy in principle – Scotland’s right
What is missing from Scottish politics, the SNP and independence and can we rectify it?
What is missing from Scottish politics, the SNP and independence and can we rectify it? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, 16 February 2022 What are the main characteristics of Scottish politics? Fifteen years into SNP Government the party is still popular; the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has ratings any incumbent could only dream of having. Yet underneath this, things don’t quite seem right. There is a stillness across Scottish politics and public life. For a start there is no credible opposition to the SNP. The Tories under Douglas Ross just don’t cut it; while Labour under Anas Sarwar might have a
Singing for Scotland at Hampden, Murrayfield and Beyond
Singing for Scotland at Hampden, Murrayfield and Beyond Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, 9 February 2022 The songs that we sing individually and collectively in our hearts, homes and at public occasions tell us something - about who we are, our relationships with each other, and the society and nation we live in. There are numerous different layers to this. There are the songs we sing and hum along to on the radio or on streaming devices; the golden oldies that remind us of favourite or not so favourite past moments; and then there are the collective songs we sing together
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The Alex Salmond Scandal and its Aftermath
The Alex Salmond Scandal and its Aftermath Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, 9 September 2021 Break-Up: How Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon Went to War, David Clegg and Kieran Andrews, Biteback Publishing, £20. Scottish politics has been transfixed the past three years by the fallout between Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon – the defining figures of the SNP over the past twenty years. This has been a saga like no other - of serious allegations made against Salmond, two court cases and judgements, a parliamentary inquiry and independent review, all of which have created huge political waves and turbulence which have
The SNP, Salmond and Sturgeon and the limits of court politics
The SNP, Salmond and Sturgeon and the limits of court politics Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, August 5th 2020 The UK is in turbulence. The UK Government has failed us on matters of life and death. Scotland has felt very different, even if on some of the fundamentals of COVID19 it has not been actually that different. At the same time the SNP has soared in the polls, Nicola Sturgeon’s ratings have outshone everyone else and independence has moved into the majority. To some this looks like our future - a slow disentanglement from the UK state. Yet across the world,
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Where will the new ideas for Scotland’s public services come from?
Where will the new ideas for Scotland’s public services come from? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, June 19th 2019 Scotland seems to be at an uneasy, calm place at the moment. The storm clouds are gathering on the horizon yet still seem distant - from the threat of Brexit and even worse the car crash of a No Deal Brexit - to the expected arrival of Boris Johnson as Tory leader and UK PM, while alongside this the Scottish Government demands that the UK Government listens to it on Brexit, so far to no avail, and considers how to progress a
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The coming of age of the Scottish Parliament … but has power shifted to the people?
The coming of age of the Scottish Parliament … but has power shifted to the people? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, May 8th 2019 Twenty years ago last Monday Scotland went to the polls in the first democratic elections to the Scottish Parliament. This coming Sunday marks the anniversary of the first session of that Parliament which Winnie Ewing famously opened with the words: ‘The Scottish Parliament, which adjourned on March 25th 1707, is hereby reconvened.’ The new Parliament was elected with much goodwill, hope and energy, following the decisive 1997 devolution referendum. Polls showed that large majorities expected the Parliament
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Where is Radical Scotland and does it really exist?
Where is Radical Scotland and does it really exist? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, December 12th 2018 As the United Kingdom seemingly collapses and its political class shows unprecedented incompetence, where stands Scotland? Where is that much talked about sentiment that we are radical, different, and more left-wing than the rest of the UK? For some all that matters in the above is difference and the elixir of sovereignty; ‘Take Back Control’ and don’t worry about detail and all the other stuff until we are on the other side of independence. This is rather reminiscent of the version of Brexit as
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Independence has to be about more than an indyref. It is a state of mind
Independence has to be about more than an indyref. It is a state of mind Gerry Hassan Sunday Herald, May 13th 2018 Scotland and the UK feel in hiatus and stasis - awaiting the unfurling and unraveling of Brexit. Some people are marching. Last Saturday’s gathering was significant given the lack of SNP and Scottish Green support. It shows the energy, but also frustration and impatience, in parts of independence opinion. But it also shows the limits of such a politics. Any movement that marches under banners like ‘Tory Scum Out’, and with Tommy Sheridan on the platform, isn’t
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Sorry seems to be the hardest word in Scotland
Sorry seems to be the hardest word in Scotland Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, May 17th 2017 Power and privilege seldom likes to have to openly reflect on its place in front of others. Instead, power likes to present its position as a natural state of affairs – to just be, manifesting and imbuing a sense of its own importance. This is how power exerts and expresses itself, from the City of London to senior bankers and the forces of international capitalism. The same is true of Scotland and in recent years this has been aided by, in significant areas, power
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