How do we avoid the Bunker Mentality with the Scots Public Sector?
How do we avoid the Bunker Mentality with the Scots Public Sector? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, September 11th 2010 We face an unprecedented crisis of the public sector, in Scotland and the UK, one which is financial, cultural and touches the question of the sustainability of public spending and the economy. Public sector ‘cuts’ and ‘reform’ are coming north of the border, but this leaves a whole host of questions, about the nature and scale of ‘the cuts’ and the kind of ‘reform’ we are away to witness. This could be a once in a generation moment which passes into
Continue Reading How do we avoid the Bunker Mentality with the Scots Public Sector?
They Might Be Giants: The Old Firm’s Great Escape to England
They Might Be Giants: The Old Firm’s Great Escape to England Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, September 4th 2010 Scottish football sells newspapers, fills the airwaves and carries a resonance way beyond the football field. It contributes economic benefits, social capital, the occasional feel good factor, and raises Scotland’s profile and reputation globally. Scotland per head is the third most fanatical football nation in Europe after Iceland and Cyprus. It is also since the advent of the European Champions League the joint most uncompetitive senior football league anywhere in the continent – along with the Ukraine. The two nations – Scotland
Continue Reading They Might Be Giants: The Old Firm’s Great Escape to England
The Age of Radicalism after ‘the Left’
The Age of Radicalism after ‘the Left’ Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, August 26th 2010 Scotland sees itself as a centre-left country. We haven’t voted for the Tories since the 1950s, didn’t like Mrs Thatcher and her ism, and are supposedly more comfortable with collectivism than individualism. The Scottish left has a rich and proud history - standing against exploitation and discrimination, for social justice and democracy, and filled with struggles, battles and personalities. There have been negatives; the lack of original thinkers and ideas, alongside a profound insularity and conservatism (for all the professed internationalism). Such negatives are often put
The Scottish Potential of ‘the Big Society’
The Scottish Potential of ‘the Big Society’ Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, August 13th 2010 The prevalent reaction of many people I know in Scotland to David Cameron’s idea of ‘the Big Society’ is to pour scorn on to it, and dismiss it as window dressing for the forthcoming cuts. This has a similarity to the haughty dismissal of ‘the Con Dem Nation’ prevalent in centre-left chattering circles. Whatever you think of the coalition, there is a smugness, self-satisfaction and unattractive sense of certainty in this mindset. Politics often involves the knee-jerk, tribalism and the instant dismissal of opponents, but there
Continue Reading The Scottish Potential of ‘the Big Society’
The New Religion of ‘The Spirit Level’
The New Religion of ‘The Spirit Level’ Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, July 30th 2010 Sometimes books for good or bad define ages. Will Hutton’s ‘The State We’re In’ captured the hopes many people had before New Labour were elected. George Orwell’s ‘1984’ tapped fears of the Cold War and totalitarianism. And in the midst of the bubble, Malcolm Gladwell’s lightweight ‘The Tipping Point’ told people change was easy, simple and all about stories. ‘The Spirit Level’ by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett has reached these levels, but is a serious book by two epidemiologists. Its central thesis is that inequality
The British Crisis of Confidence
The British Crisis of Confidence Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, July 23rd 2010 Maybe it has escaped the notice of most Scots – worried about future public spending or the absence of summer weather for very long – but a deep malaise is festering at the heart of Britain. It can be seen in the BP Gulf of Mexico disaster, the al-Megrahi case, and life generally post-crash, pre-cuts. It touches and magnifies what can be viewed as almost an existential crisis of the nature and purpose of Britain, amounting to a British crisis of confidence, after the hyperbole, self-importance and triumphialism
What Would a ‘Good Man’ in Scotland Look Like?
What Would a ‘Good Man’ in Scotland Look Like? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, July 16th 2010 Scottish society historically and in contemporary times has long been shaped by men and masculine values. This is a society where for long it made sense to be a certain kind of man – tough, resilient, hard and seemingly powerful – whether it was working in a factory or shipyards or on a farm. Today, we have to acknowledge that we have serious problems with Scottish men – which can be charted statistically, but even more culturally and socially. Scottish men have poor health,
Continue Reading What Would a ‘Good Man’ in Scotland Look Like?
Westminster, Referendums and Whatever Happened to ‘Respect’?
Westminster, Referendums and Whatever Happened to ‘Respect’? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, July 9th 2010 The Scottish Parliament along with the Welsh and Northern Irish Assemblies will be beginning to think that they are unloved and uncared for by the Westminster Parliament. Plans to establish five year fixed term UK Parliaments meant that May 7th 2015 would be a day when voters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland voted in two sets of elections at the same time: devolved and UK contests. Now they have gone and done it again, proposing that the AV referendum is held on May 5th 2011
Continue Reading Westminster, Referendums and Whatever Happened to ‘Respect’?
The Second Moment of Devolution
The Second Moment of Devolution Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, June 28th 2010 Scottish politics are on the move: the Calman/fiscal autonomy debate, the implications of the Budget and forthcoming cuts, and Alex Salmond’s repositioning of the SNP on independence. Salmond has stated in an interview in ‘The Times’, ‘The centre of gravity in Scottish politics currently is clearly not independence. You must campaign for what is good for Scotland as well as campaigning for independence.’ This is seismic stuff in an age of epic change where old assumptions are going to be ripped up. Salmond has surveyed the political landscape
Labour’s Family Affair
Labour’s Family Affair Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, June 14th 2010 The five Labour candidates gathered yesterday in Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall before a packed audience of 400 party members. This proved to be a lively hustings with good humour, animated discussion and no rancour. If it had any faults it lacked any real disagreements, provided little detail, and pandered to what they thought a Scottish audience would want. Iain Gray opened the meeting declaring before anything had happened ‘that the hustings showed Labour was on the way back’. Then came the official story of Scottish Labour: the party had learnt
