The National

Why we need to get serious about sectarianism in modern Scotland Gerry Hassan The National, 7 September 2021 In 1999, within months of the Scottish Parliament’s establishment, composer James Macmillan delivered an address that had a major impact, ruffling feathers and beginning a long overdue debate. Entitled “Scotland’s Shame”, it spoke about our long disgraceful tradition of anti-Catholicism. He suggested that “we as a nation have to face up to the ignominy of our most prevalent if unspoken bigotry if we are to move together into the next millennium with a sense of common purpose.” This sparked soul-searching, the publication

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Afghanistan, “forever wars” and the reality of Empire State Britain Gerry Hassan The National, 31 August 2021 The news of the past couple of weeks has been filled with the humiliation of US and UK forces in Afghanistan alongside the humanitarian tragedy unfolding before our eyes; an upsetting wake-up call to those who have become normalised to the permanent war machine of the West and the 20 years of “forever war” in Afghanistan. Rather than reset their assumptions, the war elite have looked on aghast at the decision of US President Joe Biden to withdraw from Afghanistan – abiding to

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Where are the politics of hope in the SNP and independence? Gerry Hassan The National, 24 August 2021 Hope is fundamental to politics and political change, and indeed, human life. It has been central to the politics of the SNP when they have been successful but seems to have got lost in recent times and needs restating. It was pivotal to the way that the SNP won in 2007, to how they won a majority in 2011, and to the politics of the indyref Yes case in 2014. Yet at times since 2014, despite the dominance of the SNP electorally,

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The Scottish Greens are a political force for good Gerry Hassan The National, 17 August 2021 The Scottish Greens matter. They are the fourth most popular political party in Scotland, won eight seats in the recent elections, and have been in the Scottish Parliament since its inception. Not only that they were an important part of the independence debate, while challenging all the other parties on the environmental and climate crisis. In the Scottish Parliament, they have had influence, impact and brought about change. Since 2016 the SNP have governed without an overall majority (confirmed again in 2021) and the

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What are we talking about when we talk about Thatcherism? Gerry Hassan The National, August 10th 2021 Boris Johnson was at it last week. Upon visiting Scotland he was yet again causing mischief and being offensive, becoming the story in a way which did not do him any favours, nor the cause of the Tory Party and union, or indeed, the office of Prime Minister of the UK. This was, in this case, his remarks celebrating and making light of Thatcher’s closure of numerous coal mines in the 1980s – which resulted in a great big stushie across Scotland and

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Westminster, the SNP and independence: How SNP MPs can stand up for Scotland’s right to decide Gerry Hassan The National, August 3rd 2021 The recent Scottish Parliament elections of May 2021 are a mere three months old, yet for some people who grow easily impatient at the pace of our politics seem to have been already written off. At the same time our politics and society face numerous challenges: COVID-19, the escalating chaos of Brexit, the daily incompetence of Boris Johnson and his Tory Government, the scale of Scotland’s drug deaths, and more. Yet, in parts of the independence movement

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The Olympian dream has sadly turned sour and urgently needs a reset Gerry Hassan The National, July 28th 2021 The Summer Olympics are a global festival of the best of most professional sports, the only equivalent in scale and spectacle is the football World Cup – a sport which is marginal in the Olympics. The modern games began in Athens in 1896 and has taken place every four years since, with the exception of the interruptions caused by World War One and World War Two - until now. The Tokyo Games - the Games of the XXXII (32^nd) Olympiad –

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Despite the lessons of history the British establishment are talking about partition Gerry Hassan The National, June 15th 2021 Partition has been much referenced of late concerning the state of the UK. We have seen hyper-anti-independence supporters like George Galloway float the “partitioning” of Scotland in the event of independence. And we have seen numerous Tory MPs get hot under the collar when talking about the Northern Ireland protocol, declaring that this amounts to the dismemberment and “partitioning” of the UK. Something is clearly in the air and beyond lone political voices key figures in the British political establishment

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The Great Big Lie of the British Royal Family  Gerry Hassan The National, December 6th 2020 Feeling a bit blue as the nights grow colder and darker? Worried about all those avoidable COVID-19 deaths and the threat of a chaotic Brexit? Are you worried about Boris Johnson and his hapless government being in charge of anything - let alone a vaccine roll-out - as they shamelessly reward their corporate pals with billions of our monies with no due process and diligence? Never fear because such inauspicious circumstances are the perfect conditions for a royal tour. And not just that,

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The SNP, independence and the politics of solidarity Gerry Hassan The National, November 30th 2020 The SNP annual conference was, like all party gatherings at the moment, a strange affair conducted through virtual discussions connecting thousands of homes and living rooms. This gave it a decent social media footprint, but restricted what broadcasters had to cover and portray to the wider nation. This conference was the starting gun for the 2021 elections, with the major chance for any cut through being Nicola Sturgeon’s keynote address on St. Andrew’s Day. This was carried by most broadcasters - with the right-wing

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