The Tory Party has long has a contempt for the people. Until Boris Johnson they used to be better at hiding it
The Tory Party has long had a contempt for the people. Until Boris Johnson they used to be better at hiding it Gerry Hassan The National, 16 November 2021 The whiff of Tory sleaze, decay and arrogance is all around; Boris Johnson is clearly revealed as the chancer politician that everyone knew he was. But while the air is full of scandal much is passed off as caused by Johnson alone or by a few badly-behaved Tories, the problem is much deeper. British Toryism has always had a contempt for the people. Until Johnson they were rather good at hiding
The Keir Starmer-Brian Cox exchange tells us how Scottish independence needs to be reframed
The Keir Starmer-Brian Cox exchange tells us how Scottish independence needs to be reframed Gerry Hassan The National, 9 November 2021 The past week has been one of the worst in British public life for decades as the scale of corruption of the UK Government and the Tories has been further revealed. This should be a good time for Labour and Keir Starmer – the latter appearing on BBC’s Andrew Marr Show after a period in isolation due to COVID. Instead, Starmer gave an interview where his main takeaway was that the UK should shift focus from “Get Brexit Done”
As COP26 meets ‘It’s the Economy Stupid’ which needs to change
As COP 26 meets ‘It’s the Economy, Stupid’ which needs to change Gerry Hassan The National, 2 November 2021 The world’s media currently has one subject - will COP26 succeed in committing leading nations to act and change their ways on climate change. What is less talked about are economic assumptions and versions of the economy, who gains and who loses from it – not just in the UK and developed world but globally. Nearly thirty years ago Bill Clinton and the Democrats came up with “It’s the Economy, Stupid.” This not only prioritised economic growth but indicated that the
Continue Reading As COP26 meets ‘It’s the Economy Stupid’ which needs to change
The lessons and warning from New Labour
The lessons and warning from New Labour Gerry Hassan The National, 26 October 2021 The spectre of Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and New Labour may seem a long time ago given the mess the UK is in, but their period of dominance still casts a long shadow over British politics and offers lessons and warnings for the present. The new BBC five-part series: “Blair and Brown: The New Labour Revolution” is a major political documentary with all the main players - including Blair and Brown, Alastair Campbell and Peter Mandelson - present and correct. This is “big beast”, Westminster-focused, insider
BBC Scotland: Time to move beyond Defend or Demolish to Democratising
BBC Scotland: Time to move beyond Defend or Demolish to Democratising Gerry Hassan The National, 19 October 2021 BBC Scotland has long fascinated and agitated a large part of the country, independence supporters in particular. It is inarguable that the BBC’s shortcomings do more than irk one political constituency. Rather, BBC Scotland falls between several different stools trying not to alienate people, and in doing so fails to passionately serve any compelling version of Scotland. In recent days the death of veteran broadcaster Colin Bell has caused much retrospection on the state of BBC Scotland, specifically on how things
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The case for the union is not in a good way but that doesn’t mean independence can be complacent
The case for the union is not in a good way but that doesn’t mean independence can be complacent Gerry Hassan The National, 12 October 2021 The pro-union argument has been playing hard ball of late but underneath the posturing is a profound lack of substance and coherence. One minute the Downing Street union unit is promising this and that; the next it is disbanded; the next we have “muscular unionism” followed by “wheesht on independence” – to the backdrop of Boris Johnson’s bravado boosterism. Johnson’s speech minus the gags and unending optimism had little to say on Scotland. We
How to defeat the Tories and aid democracy
How to defeat the Tories and aid democracy Gerry Hassan The National, 5 October 2021 Tory problems mount by the day. There’s fuel and food shortages evoking the 1970s, a Brexit that seems only to be delivering problems and, in Boris Johnson, a PM who seems to know and care little about detail and the real lives of people. Despite all of this and more the Tories are still in the lead in the polls and the odds remain against Labour winning the next election outright. Labour has a mountain to climb to win the next election that could be
Labour’s problems are about much more than Keir Starmer
Labour’s problems are about much more than Keir Starmer Gerry Hassan The National, 28 September 2021 Labour meet in Brighton this week for another conference in opposition and in the wilderness, with clear evidence of being collectively bewildered and confused. Not only that but Keir Starmer’s leadership is openly being questioned across the party – not just from the Corbynite left but on the centre and right from where he has drawn most support until now. No one seems sure what Starmer stands for, or even if he has the real skills needed to be a leader. Yet
Continue Reading Labour’s problems are about much more than Keir Starmer
Seven years on independence has serious work to do to win
Seven years on independence has serious work to do to win Gerry Hassan The National, 21 September 2021 Last weekend was the seventh anniversary of Scotland’s big date with destiny on independence – and for some this is an understandable seven-year itch. Cue the demand from some that Scotland holds another indyref as soon as possible. The previous weekend at the Alba gathering Alex Salmond made the case for an indyref in the midst of the COVID pandemic on the grounds that the 2021 Scottish elections were held against the same backdrop (when legislation would have been required to postpone
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The Tory attack on the right to vote is a threat to democracy
The Tory attack on the right to vote is a threat to democracy Gerry Hassan The National, 14 September 2021 The Tory Elections Bill, debated last week in the Commons, sounds on the surface like an anodyne piece of legislation, tidying up arcane procedures on voter registration, identification and how we vote. However, it is a full-fronted attack on the fabric of what passes for democracy and the right to vote, reveals the thin nature of fundamental rights in the UK, and the brazen reality that the Tories regard such rights and ‘the British constitution’ as playthings that they can
Continue Reading The Tory attack on the right to vote is a threat to democracy
