The British State

Keir Starmer, Labour and the Limits of Gordon Brown’s Britain Gerry Hassan Sunday National, 3 October 2021 The state of Labour matters in UK politics - and to Scotland. Can it mount a serious challenge to Boris Johnson’s Tories, or does UK politics faces the bleak prospect of perpetual Tory Governments? Thus, the mood of Labour at its recent conference and after has consequences. The party gathering at Brighton was filled with drama, controversy - and heckling. In his lengthy keynote speech Starmer covered subjects including Scotland, the SNP, and the case for the union – citing Gordon Brown and

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A Very British Coup: And can this revolution be made to last? Gerry Hassan Sunday National, March 29th 2020 Coronavirus is affecting everyone. Across the world people are becoming ill and some are dying, with many self-isolating if they are symptomatic - or as a precaution to keep safe, reduce risk and remain well. And as in the UK, many millions of people are now required to stay at home. Britain and the world are changing. On Thursday at 8.00pm across the UK people emerged from their front doors and showed their appreciation of the NHS and carers. More than

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Alex Salmond, Conspiracies and 21^st century disruptions Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, March 25th 2020 This does seem to be a moment and crisis when everything you once thought was solid has been upturned. With the Conservative Westminster Government seemingly embracing radical Corbynism – guaranteeing wages and jobs, talking of nationalising railways and more, along with massive changes to public life and behaviour – welcome to our very strange Lilliputian world. This induces in me a strange brew of different feelings. One is apprehension. Another is empathy, sympathy and solidarity with those suffering the most and for those people who have

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The Problem with Britain and Why It Can’t Be Tidily Put Back Together Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, August 14th 2016 Britain throughout its history has had a reputation for stability and security. This after all was one of the main clarion calls in the indyref and, more recently, the Brexit vote, but this has always been a bit of a myth and is now increasingly fictitious. In the European referendum and its aftermath, much of the discussion that occurred repeatedly - supposedly about the country, its challenges and future - wasn’t actually about the UK, but instead about England. This

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Debating with ‘The Economist’ its Scottish Independence Coverage An Exchange between Gerry Hassan and Jeremy Cliffe June 11th 2015 June 10^th 2015 17.00 Dear Gerry, Thank you for your letter of May 14th (1). Zanny has asked me to reply on her behalf. On our use of "secession", "secessionist" and "separatist", I refer you to my email of March 24th. On "partition" and "dismemberment", I repeat the points made in that earlier message. Those terms are descriptive and accurate. We use them in other contexts where - unlike that of the United Kingdom - we support the separation in question.

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A Letter to the Editor of ‘The Economist’ on Scotland and Scottish Independence Gerry Hassan June 4th 2015 Dear Zanny, I am a long-term reader and admirer of ‘The Economist’. Even when I disagree with the magazine’s position I know that I can trust it to aid myself learning and becoming more knowledgeable on an issue. This is true across the globe, and subject matters, with one consistent exception: the subject of Scottish independence. I am not talking about ‘The Economist’s’ anti-independence stance, which you are perfectly entitled to take. Nor would I wish to dwell on the appropriateness

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An Exchange with ‘the Economist’ on Scottish Independence Gerry Hassan April 2nd 2015 ‘The Economist’ has a problem with Scottish independence from its infamous ‘Skintland’ front cover to its editorial view and general language it chooses to use. In the last three years, it has consistently used a pejorative language to describe the Scottish independence case, moving me to write pointing this out. They did not publish my letter, but felt moved to reply attempting to rebuff my points. (more…)

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Message to the Messengers Part Two: Where next after the indy referendum? Gerry Hassan Scottish Left Project, December 12th 2014 The winds of change are without doubt blowing through Scotland. There is the decline of traditional power and institutions, the hollowing out and, in places, implosion of some of the key anchor points of public life and a fundamental shift in authority in many areas. This is Scotland’s ‘long revolution’ – which the indyref was a product of and which then was a catalyst of further change. It is partly understandable that in the immediate aftermath of the referendum,

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Scotland: On the Eve of a Historic Choice Gerry Hassan, Caledonian Dreaming: The Quest for a Different Scotland, Luath Press £11.99 Reviewed by Joe Lafferty On the eve of a historic referendum on Scottish independence in September 2014, Gerry Hassan’s Caledonian Dreaming is a landmark book. He articulates, with incisive political and historical analysis, the landscape of what has taken the UK and Scotland to where they are today. And at the same time, this is a profoundly human book. Hassan is no stranger to serious and heavyweight political analysis with a number of books under his belt from The

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The Strange Death of Liberal England Continued Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, July 30th 2014 Liberal England is in a state of confusion. There is the challenge of the Scottish independence referendum, the continued right wing drift of UK politics, and the slow detachment of the UK from the European Union. All of the above cause apoplexy and dismay to the thinking elements of the English left. One response to this from people such as Labour MP John Cruddas and Billy Bragg is to try to re-ignite the English radical imagination and challenge the increasingly English nationalist overtones of Nigel

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