• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • blog
  • About
  • Book Publications
  • Other Reading
  • Social Wall
  • Back Pages
  • Contact Me

The British State

The Perils of Content Free Campaign Scotland

June 16, 2012
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

Continue Reading The Perils of Content Free Campaign Scotland

Britain and the Problem of Living in the Past

June 9, 2012
Britain and the Problem of Living in the Past Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, June 9th 2012 As Jubilee celebrations die down in the short period of calm before the Olympics, questions arise about what all this means, what Britain and Britishness is, and what the future might be for both. The familiar account states that Britain does pageantry well, putting on a show, the big occasion, seamlessly combining old and new, tradition and modernisation. But is this an adequate explanation? The British like anyone enjoy a party and having a good time but what we seem to have been

Continue Reading Britain and the Problem of Living in the Past

The Scotland of Sixty Years Ago and What It Says About Us Today

June 2, 2012
The Scotland of Sixty Years Ago and What It Says About Us Today Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, June 2nd 2012 The impending Diamond Jubilee unsurprisingly evokes questions about the current mood of Scotland and Britain. There are constant references to the past world of 1952, the Scotland and Britain of 60 years ago, but facts and figures do not fully convey what it was like to live back then. Perhaps going back to the archives of ‘The Scotsman’ for the month of May 1952 might help. On first impressions, so much has changed. The paper of 60 years is

Continue Reading The Scotland of Sixty Years Ago and What It Says About Us Today

State of Interindependence: A Vision for Scottish Self-Determination

May 24, 2012
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

Continue Reading State of Interindependence: A Vision for Scottish Self-Determination

How to make and understand the Case for the Union

May 19, 2012
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

Continue Reading How to make and understand the Case for the Union

The Problem of Living with Capital-ism

May 6, 2012
The Problems of Living with Capital-ism Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, May 5th 2012 London is ‘the world city’ of these isles, a place which attracts and pulls talents from across the UK and the world: on a par with New York, Paris and Tokyo. Yet the London love-in of our political classes, media and business elites is fast pushing things to breaking point. We have had to endure Boris v. Ken as if it were a national contest, and this week the militarisation of the London Olympics and Heathrow chaos have dominated the airwaves. As UK politics and society

Continue Reading The Problem of Living with Capital-ism

The Saga of ‘Team GB’ and the Country that doesn’t know its own Name

April 21, 2012
The Saga of ‘Team GB’ and the Country that doesn’t know its own Name Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, April 21st 2012 This week the clock counting down to the London Olympics passed the 100 days to go mark, while the Olympic authorities announced their rigorous social media and Twitter guidelines like a rerun of some Beijing 2008 police operation. The story of ‘Team GB’ the Olympic football project continues to offer more entertainment, bewilderment and anxiety with a ‘shortlist’ just announced of 80 players. Steven Fletcher, along with David Beckham is apparently included. Next week the draw takes place

Continue Reading The Saga of ‘Team GB’ and the Country that doesn’t know its own Name

The Price of Scottish Independence: Scotland and the UK according to the Free Marketeers

April 13, 2012
The Price of Scottish Independence: Scotland and the UK according to the Free Marketeers Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, April 13th 2012 It is a sign of the times, and of its importance as an issue, that the global player which is ‘The Economist’ has Scottish independence as its cover and main feature this week, declaring, ‘It’ll cost you: The price of Scottish independence’. Their cover, leader, main UK article and a secondary piece, tell something about ‘The Economist’s’ view of Scottish independence, the UK and the world, each of which I will examine. ‘The Economist’ takes a dim view

Continue Reading The Price of Scottish Independence: Scotland and the UK according to the Free Marketeers

A Global Scot of Ideas: The Influence of Tom Nairn

March 24, 2012
A Global Scot of Ideas: The Influence of Tom NaIrn Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 24th 2012 The United Kingdom this year will showcase itself to the world hoping that the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and London Olympic Games lift the domestic gloom, aid business and bring the tourists flocking. One man who has spent his life cutting through the national mystique, hyperbole and veneer of tradition is Tom Nairn who later this year turns 80. Nairn has over his rich intellectual life written on numerous aspects of British society; the nature of the union, the symbolism of the monarchy

Continue Reading A Global Scot of Ideas: The Influence of Tom Nairn

The Back to the Future UK Budget

March 22, 2012
The Back to the Future UK Budget Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 22nd 2012 George Osborne, rather like Gordon Brown, thinks of his Budgets, in acutely political terms and calculations. The top rate tax cut gives a boost to 328,000 people, whereas the stamp duty hikes could at most affect 4,000 people – 1% of those at the top getting tax cuts. And that is if they all decide to sell their houses. In November 2011 a mere 121 homes were sold worth £2 million or more, 98 of them in London. Osborne presented this as a measured, pragmatic

Continue Reading The Back to the Future UK Budget

< Older Entries
Newer Entries >

Primary Sidebar

categories

  • Blog
  • Events
  • Futures Thinking
  • International Conversations
  • Longer Essays
  • Short Essays
  • What Gerry's groovin' to
  • What Gerry's reading
FacebookTwitter

featured publication

Scotland Rising: The Case for Independence

Click here to buy Gerry’s latest book.

what Gerry’s groovin’ to

My Music Albums of the Year

January 2, 2025

what Gerry’s reading

Books of the Year: Politics, History, Culture and Ideas

December 26, 2024

tags

Scottish politics | Scottish Independence | Scottish Review | British politics | The Scotsman | Scottish Nationalists | Scottish Nationalism | Open Democracy | Nicola Sturgeon | Scottish Labour Party | Sunday National | Scottish society | The British State | Sunday Mail | Brexit | Boris Johnson | Scottish National Party | Social Democracy | British Labour Party | Conservative Party | Alex Salmond | Bella Caledonia | Jeremy Corbyn | Popular Culture | David Cameron | The National | Scottish Parliament | Scottish Media | British Conservatives | Labour Party | Scottish Independence Referendum | British Nationalism | Social Justice | British Society | Scottish Men | The Future of the Left | Scottish Unionism | 2021 Scottish Parliament elections | Scottish Culture | Scottish Devolution

Categories

Footer

about Gerry

Gerry Hassan is a writer, commentator and thinker about Scotland, the UK, politics and ideas.

More >

recent

  • The Road from 2014 is Over: A New Road Map is needed for Scotland and Independence
  • Why does the story of the Beatles and Lennon and McCartney still matter?
  • Not doing the Labour thing is what Labour do

search

FacebookTwitter

Terms of Use | Privacy Statement
Copyright © Gerry Hassan - writing, research, policy and ideas. All Rights Reserved.
Illustration and website design by Infinite Eye