The Coming Scottish Revolution
The Coming Scottish Revolution Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, January 22nd 2011 The appeal of the familiar. Or so it seems. Apparently Scots are in their droves returning to Scottish Labour with the latest polls predicting the party could win an overall majority in next May’s election. There are only two governing parties in this contest: Labour or SNP – either on their own, or in alliance with others, but never each other. What kind of appeal are they going to offer to Scottish voters? Scottish Labour have learnt the trials of opposition after the wobble of Wendy Alexander’s leadership, going
The British Obsession with Parliamentary Sovereignty
The British Obsession with Parliamentary Sovereignty Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, January 15th 2011 The curse of the European issue has been slowly re-emerging for the Tory led government after a period of relative quiet and calm. Right-wing voices have stated that the European Union Bill with its Clause 18 defining parliamentary sovereignty is not clear and powerful enough to block the continued encroachment of Brussels into British public life. What then is this thing called parliamentary sovereignty, why are our political classes obsessed with it, and what does this tell us about the health of our democracy? Britain’s parliamentary sovereignty
Continue Reading The British Obsession with Parliamentary Sovereignty
Time for Next Step on SNP’s Journey
Time for Next Step on SNP’s Journey Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, January 14th 2011 Scotland has experienced an interesting experiment. Four years of the first ever SNP administration, the first ever Scottish Government committed to independence. Now is surely an appropriate time to assess how much this has changed the SNP and Scotland and what the prospects for future change are? This has been a decent administration, one that in many areas has had or attempted to articulate the right instincts on a range of economic, social and cultural matters. It has felt like Scotland’s Government, our national and international
Fear of a Red Planet: The World in 2050 Today!
Fear of a Red Planet: The World in 2050 Today! Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, January 8th 2011 The future is going to work out fine. Beyond the crash, uncertainties and ‘unknown unknowns’. We have it from no less an authority than HSBC and their ‘The World in 2050’. It is going to be alright for the world, for the West and Britain, which is despite all the problems and competition still going to be a Top Nation in 2050! Forty years on world economic output will have tripled, food and water scarcity will be avoided and Malthusian predictions proved wrong
Continue Reading Fear of a Red Planet: The World in 2050 Today!
Psychologists of the World Unite: You Have Nothing to Lose But Your Guilt!
Psychologists of the World Unite: You Have Nothing to Lose But Your Guilt! Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, January 1st 2011 Once upon a time how we saw the world was filled with certainty: economics, class and collectives. Now we live in a more uncertain, fluid age shaped by individualism, change and seeing ourselves as consumers. Along with this shift has come a new mantra – one signed up to by both New Labour and the Cameroon Conservatives: the power of psychology. Psychology as the new zeitgeist has been a long time coming. One can go back to the rise of
Continue Reading Psychologists of the World Unite: You Have Nothing to Lose But Your Guilt!
Ed Miliband and the Limits of the New Socialism
Ed Miliband and the Limits of the New Socialism Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, December 18th 2010 The Westminster chattering class view is that Ed Miliband has failed as Labour leader. He is seen as indecisive, lacking in political strategy and viewed as taking Labour back into its old comfort zones. Then there are the opinion polls. Labour may be cheered by the polls – and in most it is at or above 40% - but Miliband’s ratings – are so critics allege – the lowest for any new leader apart from Michael Foot, William Hague and Nick Clegg; Neil Kinnock,
Continue Reading Ed Miliband and the Limits of the New Socialism
The New Sound of the Streets
The New Sound of the Streets Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, December 11th 2010 Protest and rebellion are in the air. Those well-known songs of radical chic, ‘Revolution’ and ‘Power to the People’ have been regularly played on radio and TV; at the same time, red flags, anarchist slogans and student occupations have suddenly appeared on streets and university campuses. The first marked the 30th anniversary of John Lennon’s assassination, which happened this Wednesday past; the second saw the emergence of a mass student protest movement against tuition fees. Some of this may evoke John Lennon and 1968, but the more
That Sinking Feeling: England against the World
That Sinking Feeling: England against the World Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, December 4th 2010 The backlash has now begun in earnest about England not getting the World Cup in 2018. This tells us much about our southern neighbours, how they see themselves and the world, and are in turn seen. And about how the new global order of the 21st century is evolving. First things first. I had wanted England to win the right to host the World Cup because I recognise that England – like Scotland is a nation with deep footballing traditions. I also have impatience with knee
Continue Reading That Sinking Feeling: England against the World
The Beautiful Game No More
The Beautiful Game No More Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, November 27th 2010 I love Scotland. I love football. With all its imperfections and limitations I am fascinated by football in Scotland: its passions, history, traditions and why it matters so much. The emotional spasm which has gripped Scottish football would be comic, were it not so serious, revealing some of the sore wounds and faultlines of Scottish society. This whole affair, like ‘the tartan tax’ stushie shows part of Scotland loves getting things completely out of proportion. And an even larger section cannot engage in a
Imagine a Scotland Where Thatcherism Never Happened
Imagine a Scotland Where Thatcherism Never Happened Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, November 20th 2010 ‘It was twenty years ago today ….’ No, not the latest anniversary of the never-ending sixties nostalgia and the Beatles ‘Sgt. Pepper’ album. Instead, on Monday November 22nd it is the twentieth anniversary of the fall of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister. Mrs. Thatcher and Thatcherism have for so long cast a deep, dark shadow over our lives, that the twentieth anniversary of the fall and Tory regicide are an appropriate time to assess what her real impact was on Scotland. What would Scotland be
Continue Reading Imagine a Scotland Where Thatcherism Never Happened
