Jim Murphy’s ‘Clause Four’ Moment and ‘Putting Scotland First’
Jim Murphy’s ‘Clause Four’ Moment and ‘Putting Scotland First’ Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, January 11th 2015 Jim Murphy has to do some simple things right now - as well as some difficult ones. He has to get noticed, cause a noise and get up certain people’s noses. Murphy faces some significant challenges. He has a short time span in which to make an impact on, and make a difference to, Labour’s electoral prospects for the May 7th UK general election - and how it is seen by the electorate. Both are tough asks. Who was the last Scottish Labour leader
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A Great Moment for Scotland and Equality: Now Let’s Get Serious About It
A Great Moment for Scotland and Equality: Now Let’s Get Serious About It Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, January 4th 2015 As the clocks this week marked Hogmanay, Scotland’s first ever same sex marriage ceremonies took place. Each of the couples had their own unique and personal histories and backstories. Many had lived through times less enlightened and more repressive where people often had to hide their love, feelings and identities from family, friends and work colleagues. On that momentous night, at the Bell and Felix bistro in Glasgow’s Southside I had the honour of being amongst those who saw Gerrie
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The Battle for Britain 2015
The Battle for Britain 2015 Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, December 28th 2014 Britain has had a tumultuous year. And 2015 will be as dramatic and difficult to predict. The UK general election will take place on Thursday May 7th. None of the three established Westminster parties are popular and nor are their leaders. Cameron’s poll ratings at least run ahead of Tory support, whereas Miliband and Clegg are massively unpopular with 22% and 13% satisfaction ratings respectively; and Miliband is more unpopular in Scotland than the Tory Prime Minister. At the last UK election in 2010, the Conservatives finished 20
What happened to the Spirit of 2014?
What happens to the Spirit of 2014? Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, December 21st 2014 It has been an action packed 2014. Scotland’s year has witnessed drama, theatre and spectacle: the Commonwealth Games, First World War anniversaries, the Ryder Cup, and of course, the Big Day in September - the independence referendum. Scotland voted to stay in the union for now, but changed in the process, became more self-confident and more sure in its capacity to self-govern itself. The UK political classes seemed less sure-footed by the day. The spirit of 2014 witnessed the greatest democratic expression of Scots ever seen
The Arrival of Jim Murphy and Scottish Labour’s Challenge
The Arrival of Jim Murphy and Scottish Labour’s Challenge Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, December 14th 2014 A once impregnable organisation is in trouble and lost its way. It yearns for a now distant golden age and has continual problems of leadership and falling ratings. The above is about Glasgow Rangers FC, but it could be equally true of Scottish Labour. Two pillars of the Scottish establishment now on hard times. Scottish Labour yesterday elected Jim Murphy as its seventh leader in fifteen years, and Kezia Dugdale as deputy leader. That degree of change is the mark of an institution where
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Mr. Smith Comes to Town
Mr. Smith Comes to Town Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, November 30th 2014 The Smith Commission arose out of last minute panic by the pro-union parties in the independence referendum as the polls swung against them in the last few days. This produced ‘the Vow’, Gordon Brown’s whirlwind tour, and the three Westminster party leaders rushing north. Such ill-concealed panic rarely produces good politics, and so it has proven with the Smith report. It isn’t all black and white. Smith represents simultaneously the best and worst of Scottish traditions. On the plus there is the no nonsense getting down to serious
The Challenge of Success for Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP
The Challenge of Success for Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, November 16th 2014 The SNP are in good spirits with new leader Nicola Sturgeon describing the party as having ‘the wind in its sails’. The party might have been on the losing side of the recent independence referendum, but is riding high in the polls for Westminster next year and the Scottish Parliament elections the following year, with party membership sitting now at 85,000 and rising. This is the party that Nicola Sturgeon inherits from Alex Salmond this weekend. ‘The country has changed, and changed utterly’ claimed
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Does Scottish Labour Really Want to Change?
Does Scottish Labour Really Want to Change? Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, November 2nd 2014 What is the point of Scottish Labour? Apart from providing good copy, entertainment and stories of endless political infighting and gossip. This is the question Labour’s three declared candidates need to answer: Jim Murphy, MP, and Sarah Boyack and Neil Findlay, both MSPs. And after the resignation of Johann Lamont and Anas Sarwar as leader and deputy, the party now faces the challenge of electing an entire new leadership team. Will the party wake up and smell the scent of decay which surrounds it? It
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