State of Interindependence: A Vision for Scottish Self-Determination
State of InterIndependence: A Vision for Scottish Self-Determination Gerry Hassan May 24th 2012 Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in the future And time future contained in the past. T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets (1936) This week the Scottish independence debate reaches new levels with the launch of the ‘Yes Scotland’ pro-independence campaign, the emergence of the shape of the pro-union campaign, and the spectre of Tony Blair hovering threateningly over Scottish politics. Scottish independence has long been viewed by the British political classes as eccentric and unworldly. The Economist’s ‘Bagehot’ column made a revealing
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They Might Be Giants: Social Justice and the Forgotten Scotland
They Might Be Giants: Social Justice and the Forgotten Scotland Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 10th 2012 A new vogue has swept across the globe: concern about inequality. From the Davos World Economic Forum to Occupy Wall Street, from Barack Obama to David Cameron and Ed Miliband, there is an acute awareness of this issue, from talking about the superabundant wealth of the top 1% to the constant political chatter about ‘fairness’. The world is perilously unequal and growing more so. One billion people per day go hungry while another one billion are obese. GDP per capita of the
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Dear Johann or Ken: A Seven-Step Recovery Plan for Scottish Labour
Dear Johann or Ken: A Seven-Step Recovery Plan for Scottish Labour Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, December 17th 2011 Dear Johann (or, in the unlikely event, Ken), Congratulations on being elected Scottish Labour’s sixth leader in twelve years; that’s nearly as hot a seat as Hearts or Chelsea FC, those two tottering giants. Of course, I should be accurate, and acknowledge you as the first ‘official’ leader of all Scottish Labour; but I wouldn’t get too excited about presiding over your mighty empire now shrunken. Once the powerhouse of Scotland, Labour now holds Glasgow and North Lanarkshire at council
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The Search for an Alternative to Trad Labour: The Cul-de-sacs of Marxism Today and Tommy Sheridan
The Search for an Alternative to Trad Labour: The Cul-de-sacs of Marxism Today and Tommy Sheridan Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, December 16th 2011 Andrew Pearmain, The Politics of New Labour: A Gramscian Analysis, Lawrence and Wishart £15.99. Alan McCombes, Downfall: The Tommy Sheridan Story, Birlinn £9.99. Stories which explain British politics and in particular Labour politics capture a phenomenally narrow strip of the political landscape. The classic accounts and influential books on British Labour have been of this kind. Life in the distant provinces of Scotland, Wales and the North of England exists either in a small walk
Scottish Politics and the Politics of Change after Social Democracy
Scotland and the Politics of Change after Social Democracy Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, March 9th 2011 Scotland likes to see itself as a radical nation. An egalitarian country. A country of socialism and more latterly social democratic and progressive values. A nation which never voted for the Tories in large numbers in recent decades, didn’t like Mrs. Thatcher and didn’t buy into Thatcherism. A political community which has stood for timeless Scottish values of caring for the vulnerable, compassion and not buying into the certainties of the last few decades which have obsessed Westminster and Washington. It is a
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The Coming Scottish Revolution
The Coming Scottish Revolution Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, January 22nd 2011 The appeal of the familiar. Or so it seems. Apparently Scots are in their droves returning to Scottish Labour with the latest polls predicting the party could win an overall majority in next May’s election. There are only two governing parties in this contest: Labour or SNP – either on their own, or in alliance with others, but never each other. What kind of appeal are they going to offer to Scottish voters? Scottish Labour have learnt the trials of opposition after the wobble of Wendy Alexander’s leadership, going
