Go Brown To A Fourth Term: The Strange Story of Labour’s Comeback
Go Brown To A Fourth Term: The Strange Story of Labour’s Comeback Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 27th 2010 As the Scottish Labour Party meets today in Glasgow, the party now finds itself in the surprising situation of an open, competitive election with everything to play for. Labour has been through a lot these last few years: recession, a banking crisis, three attempted coups against the leader, cash for honours, the expenses crisis, and that’s without mentioning Iraq and Afghanistan. Labour is short of members, resources and monies, and yet it is still standing. Is Gordon Brown really ‘the Comeback
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The Auld Enemies Still?
The Auld Enemies Still? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 19th 2010 The Scotland-England relationship is one of the defining ways many Scots view the world. It ranges from football and rugby rivalry to history, politics, culture and identity. At the weekend Scots rugby fans booed English players at Murrayfield, while we have grown accustomed to Scots football crowds booing the playing of ‘God Save the Queen’ for England at Hampden. And then there is the ‘Anyone But England’ phenomenon. Why should Scotland define so much of its identity and sense of itself via what we think of England? This gives
The Land of Wild West Labour: The Steven Purcell and Strathclyde Passenger Scandals in Context
The Land of Wild West Labour: The Steven Purcell and Strathclyde Passenger Scandals in Context Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 11th 2010 Glasgow as a city has always been a bit on an enigma from ‘second city of the Empire’ to ‘second city of shopping’. Its politics have been shaped by the allure of ‘Red Clydeside’, while driven by the reality of a city of pragmatism, deals and doing business. As long ago as 1953, ‘The Times’ said in an editorial, ‘Nowadays, the ‘Red Clyde’ is no more than pink’, and that has been the prevailing motto of the last
From Munich and Suez to the Iraq War
From Munich and Suez to the Iraq War Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, March 5th 2010 Gordon Brown’s role in the Iraq war will come under focus today when he gives evidence to the Chilcot inquiry. The Iraq war is the point where Tony Blair lost his political touch, and became ‘Bliar’ in the eyes of many voters. Despite four previous inquiries into the war, none of them as comprehensive as this, a sense of anger, frustration and lack of trust now pervades how the public view politicians and the conflict. Much of this anger is addressed personally at Tony Blair,
Goodbye to New Labour and What Comes After It?
Goodbye to New Labour and What Comes After It? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, February 26th 2010 It has been a momentous few days in British politics, dominated by Andrew Rawnsley’s allegations of bullying by Gordon Brown, whose style of politics and behaviour was further put under the spotlight by Alistair Darling’s remarks that ‘the forces of hell’ had been unleashed upon him by No. 10. At the same time an equally significant, if not more important political development went completely unnoticed in the firestorm of the last few days: the demise of New Labour. Last Saturday, the Labour Party gathered
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A Hung Parliament Could Be Good for Our Broken Democracy
A Hung Parliament Could Be Good for Our Broken Democracy Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, February 19th 2010 A Conservative Government has for a long time been seen as the inevitable outcome of the next election. David Cameron was viewed as a Prime Minister in waiting, and the Labour Party, unpopular, led by a disliked leader, and seen as having lost the will to live. Now all of this is beginning to change. The prospect of a hung Parliament, where no one party has an overall majority is now being seriously considered. The Conservatives have proven less than sure-footed, while Labour
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The SNP Come Back Down to Earth: Nicola Sturgeon and How We Do Our Politics
The SNP Comes Back Down to Earth: Nicola Sturgeon and How We Do Our Politics Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, February 12th 2010 The Nicola Sturgeon saga has to be seen on at least three levels. Firstly and obviously it is about Nicola Sturgeon’s judgement, but it also throws revealing light on how the SNP Government is faring, and how we represent, reflect and enact our politics. Nicola Sturgeon is a thoroughly competent, talented, streetwise politician and minister. Her writing of a letter of support for Abdul Rauf, a constituent of hers, before he was sentenced for £80,000 of benefit fraud,
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The Nation of Imagination: The Slow Birth of Creative Scotland
The Nation of Imagination: The Slow Birth of Creative Scotland Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, January 28th 2010 Tomorrow a long run Scottish soap opera reaches a new stage. I am not talking about BBC’s ‘River City’, but the appointment of the chief executive of Creative Scotland, the new quango bringing together the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen. It has been a long and painful birth. Creative Scotland was like many things not originally an SNP idea, instead stemming from Scottish Labour with its genesis a concept coming from UK New Labour thinking. Many pinpoint long gone Culture Minister Mike
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The Return of the Tartan Tory Bogeyman
The Return of the Tartan Tory Bogeyman Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, January 22nd 2010 Annabel Goldie, leader of the Scottish Tories has taken the brave step of acknowledging that the Tories have a problem in Scotland. She has stated that if the Tories win a UK election this year, but win few Scots MPs this is no reason for the return of the ‘no mandate’ argument. This is the reality the Scots Tories face: the only part of Britain immune to the Cameron bounce, and a place where the Tories have consistently flatlined since 1997. Goldie argues that the ‘no
Glasgow: A Tale of Two Cities
Glasgow: A Tale of Two Cities Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, January 15th 2010 Glasgow has for long been a city of paradoxes - a place of pride alongside one of disconnection, a culture of supposed radicalism and at the same time conservatism, and of disputation and rebellion alongside acquiescence to authority. One prominent UK politician who has first hand experience of this is Vincent Cable, who stood for Labour in Glasgow Hillhead at the 1970 election and was a city councillor from 1971-74 in what turned out to be the last days of the Corporation. Cable’s recent memoir, ‘Free Radical’
