The Scotsman

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

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What is the story of Scotland’s biggest city and who will tell it? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, April 14th 2012 The forthcoming local elections are reduced in most of their coverage to their impact on UK and Scottish politics. Most attention is focused on the tragi-comedy and pantomime of Boris versus Ken, with even the plethora of local referendums on Mayors across some of England’s cities concerned with what happens to this or that Labour MP. The only other place that gets a serious look in is the battle for Glasgow, between Labour and SNP for control of

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The Missing Million Scots: What Do You Do When Democracy Fails You? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, April 7th 2012 A causal observer might think that the Scottish political classes love consultations and going through the motions of public engagement and dialogue. This is evidenced in the simultaneous UK and Scottish Government consultations on the independence question; something we have seen before with the ‘national conversation’ and the Calman Commission. While politicians and their supporters invoke the public, no one seems to take cognisance of who is missing from this debate, who they are, why and what we might do

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The Continued Legacy of Britain’s South Atlantic Adventure Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 31st 2012 The 30^th anniversary of the beginning of the Falklands war is next week, a conflict that matters to this day. Like many at the time, I had to first find the South Atlantic islands on a map, then put them into my leftist anti-Thatcherite view of the world, and then observe the mood of a Britain I barely recognised. The Falklands war raised so many questions then and now. Was this a war of principle or pride? What did this say about Britain’s self-image

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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

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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

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The Fourth Most Unequal Country in the Developed World Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 17th 2012 One of the most important influences shaping the coming debate on the future of Scotland will be the nature of Britain. While various anti-independence campaigners interrogate every aspect of the Scottish Government’s case, they overall fail to deal with the reality of modern day Britain. The actions and reputation of the British government matter, along with the condition of the state, society, economy and culture. We have travelled a long way from the 1970s when John P. Mackintosh summarised the Scottish Nationalist case

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They Might Be Giants: Social Justice and the Forgotten Scotland Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 10th 2012 A new vogue has swept across the globe: concern about inequality. From the Davos World Economic Forum to Occupy Wall Street, from Barack Obama to David Cameron and Ed Miliband, there is an acute awareness of this issue, from talking about the superabundant wealth of the top 1% to the constant political chatter about ‘fairness’. The world is perilously unequal and growing more so. One billion people per day go hungry while another one billion are obese. GDP per capita of the

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Go East Young Man and Woman: The Changing Face of Scotland Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 3rd 2012 Scotland’s population is changing, its mix and its make up, and who and where we are, with huge consequences for the future. General Register Office for Scotland population predictions estimate a Scotland of 5.8 million people in 2035, the highest ever figure for the nation; a rise of 10.2% overall in numbers, made up of 8.9% through migration and 1.3% in natural change. The population will have more people of pensioner age (up 26.2%) and more young people aged 0-15 years

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Do we really want a Socially Just Scotland? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, February 25th 2012 We all like to think that one of the most proud Scottish traditions is our commitment to social justice, caring about and acting to aid those in disadvantage and poverty. If the ongoing debate about Scotland’s constitutional status is to be meaningful and relevant beyond the political classes, one powerful argument is that it should put at its centre the promotion of social justice. Poverty fell over the Labour decade of growth; from 1998-99 to 2008-9 Scots poverty rates fell by more than in

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