Britain’s Political Classes are living in a Fantasyland
Britain’s Political Classes are living in a Fantasyland Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, April 19th 2015 What is this election about? To Westminster politicians it seems centred on the claims and counter-claims of monies: public spending, the deficit and debt. Take Labour, Tories and Lib Dems. The Tories are openly committed to £30 billion of cuts in the next Parliament. The SNP and many left-wingers say the same of Labour who flatly deny this. There is ambiguity on whether Labour are pro or anti-cuts. Jim Murphy has said that Labour would not need to make ‘further cuts to achieve our spending
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Scotland isn’t Mad, but Animated and Engaged
Scotland isn’t Mad, but Animated and Engaged Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, April 12th 2015 The election has definitely taken off this week. There were the two Scottish leader debates. The Tories getting personal with Ed Miliband. Labour daring to talk about tax. Scotland is in a different place. Some once thoughtful pro-union commentators have scratched their heads and come to the conclusion – ‘Scotland has gone mad’ and talked of ‘the madness of Scottish politics’. It is never good to start citing ‘madness’ and nearly always reflects back on who said it. The fact that pro-union commentators think this
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Are the Days of Scottish Labour Over?
Are the Days of Scottish Labour Over? Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, April 8th 2015 The official general election campaign kicked off last week. But in reality it has been running since the turn of the year, with all parties and observers knowing in advance that polling day would be May 7th. Scotland has witnessed a palpable air of perma-campaigning for the last two or three years with the experience of the referendum. But there has been an air of excitement and expectation for some about the coming general election, since the aftermath of the indyref, and when the first polls
Scotland, the Clash of Two Nationalisms and ‘the Children of the Echo’
Scotland, the Clash of Two Nationalisms and ‘the Children of the Echo’ Gerry Hassan New Statesman, April 7th 2015 Scotland has always had a reputation for tempestuous disagreements – for fighting and flyting. Power, passion, tribalism and men staying in pubs for long hours drinking and insulting each other are long-standing notions. Last Saturday I went to Glasgow Citizen’s Theatre to see David Hare’s ‘The Absence of War’ set in the run-up to Neil Kinnock’s ill-fated campaign in the 1992 general election. Watching it in the turmoil of the current election campaign, and on the day of the ‘Daily
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The disunited Kingdom and the confusion in Britain’s political elites
The disunited Kingdom and the confusion in Britain's political elites Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, April 5th 2015 Scotland is still making the news. The tartan tsunami that is the SNP surge shows little to no sign of abating as election day approaches. Beyond Scotland’s shores the UK and international media are making frequent references to the debate north of the border. Strangely some of this coverage – mostly in London based outlets – is even more ill-informed and inaccurate than was seen during the indyref. This is itself no mean feat. Then most neutral and pro-union opinion thought No would win.
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Where are the Politics of Hope and the Britain of the Future?
Where are the Politics of Hope and the Country of the Future? Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, April 5th 2015 British politics are in a state of flux. Many of the assumptions which defined it no longer hold. This can be seen in the Westminster political class obsession talking about process: coalitions, deals and post-election arrangements. The age of majority government is gone for now. The two ‘big’ parties Labour and Tory are struggling with this world. That’s the logic behind the Labour slogan ‘vote SNP, get Cameron’ and the Tory message ‘vote UKIP, get Ed Miliband’. This is a mixture
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British Politics Hung Out To Dry
British Politics Hung Out To Dry Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, March 29th 2015 A House of Commons where no one party gains an overall majority looks an increasingly likely outcome of the May election. This has happened before, most recently in 2010, but also in February 1974; similarly, in the late 1970s and post-1992 Labour and Tory administrations respectively elected with majorities, lost them, and had to govern without them. The outcome of the May election and the parliamentary landscape looks likely to resemble the dog days of the Callaghan and Major governments, rather than 2010 when the Tories and
Time for a Future Scotland of Head and Heart: A Challenge to Independence and the Union
Time for a Future Scotland of Head and Heart: A Challenge to Independence and the Union Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, March 22nd 2015 Scotland for many at the moment feels an exciting place. But for others there is a sense of dismay and confusion. The latter is particularly evident in pro-union opinion. This week, ‘The Times’ commentator Magnus Linklater agreed with William McIlvanney’s recent revision of L.P. Hartley’s ‘the past is a foreign country’, referencing Scotland - ‘when you get to my age the present is a foreign country’. Linklater agreed. He noted falling oil prices, the economic balance
The tartan tsunami and how it will change Scotland and the UK for good
The tartan tsunami and how It will change Scotland and the UK for good Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, March 20th 2015 The UK general election campaign is upon us – struggling to make sense of the state of the country and how its institutions and politics are seen. Underneath all the political rhetoric and exchange we are about to witness is tangible anxiety and unsureness about who ‘we’ are and the very existence, or not, of a ‘we’ in terms of connection, culture and collective memories - which can be found equally on both left and right. Scotland has
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Is David Cameron the Biggest Threat to the Union?
Is David Cameron the Biggest Threat to the Union? Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, March 15th 2015 Scotland has become one of the main issues in the forthcoming UK election. It is not only that Jim Murphy and Ed Miliband feel anxious about the number of Labour seats they will hold in Scotland and the extent of the SNP juggernaut. What is also true is how Scotland is playing out in Conservative strategy and how David Cameron is using it to hurt Labour in two ways. First, he is aiming to hurt them in England and take votes from them with
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