Posts Tagged ‘Conservative Party’
The Scotland that Opposed Thatcher
Gerry Hassan
The Scotsman, January 7th 2012
History calls for reflection; leaders’ standings rise and fall and then rise again, and a sense of perspective eventually emerges which tells a fuller picture.
Harold Wilson’s stock rose in the 1980s as Labour lost election after election, while some observers tried to make the case for Ted Heath’s apparently doomed premiership; in time some will even attempt to make the case for Tony Blair.
This political stock taking moment has now come for Margaret Thatcher, aided by the release of the film ‘The Iron Lady’ with Meryl Streep in the title role, along with the recent controversy over whether or not she should be honoured with a state funeral (which would make her the first former PM since Winston Churchill; Gladstone, Palmerston and the Duke of Wellington previously having this honour).
One place in the world so far immune to the Thatcher reappraisal is unsurprisingly Scotland. Thatcher may have won three successive elections, changed Britain and reshaped our politics, but she never won a popular vote in Scotland, and rather than being a vote magnet here, she drove away popular support. Read the rest of this entry »
The ‘Three Scotlands’ and How to Win an Independence Referendum
Gerry Hassan
Bella Caledonia, January 4th 2012
Scottish politics post-the election and the return of a majority SNP Government have existed in a seeming state of limbo, a kind of political phoney war.
The SNP have won a landslide victory but have yet to produce a serious strategy for winning independence; the unionist parties in Scotland have all been reduced to an existential crisis about defining their purpose and point; while David Cameron’s government (if it ever thinks about Scotland) is of the view that the break up of the United Kingdom isn’t a serious threat and those pesky Nats will soon be put in their place.
This is a strange display of emotions and assumptions by every party which seems to downplay the historic situation that we are in. This is a combination of immediate short-term politics (SNP victory), with the long-term evolution of Scottish politics and fundamental crisis of the British state to make far-reaching change, and Scottish independence, distinctly possible.
The ‘Three Scotlands’ of Modern Times
There are three distinct Scottish futures on offer. The first is from the SNP Scottish Government which proposes an independent Scotland. The strategy, tactics and detail on this might be surprisingly vague, but the direction and intent is clear. Read the rest of this entry »
How to Play Political Poker: The High Stakes of the Independence Debate
Gerry Hassan
The Scotsman, December 31st 2011
The Scottish constitutional debate will increasingly be the main, if not the only, debate in our national politics over the next year.
It is going to be a debate which not only has a Scottish interest, but for obvious reasons, a UK audience, alongside a wider European and international relevance.
It is crucial for many reasons that we conduct this debate in the best way possible. International attention, including the world’s media, will be on us. We have to rise above the schoolyard yah-boo politics of unionist versus nationalist, and aid a debate which engages with some of the serious issues.
Alex Salmond’s dominance over his Scottish political rivals, combined with his Scottish political awards, will continue to be one of the constants of our politics. But this isn’t going to be enough and the SNP will have to face some tough strategic dilemmas. Read the rest of this entry »
Which England Will Dare to Speak in Britain and Europe?
Gerry Hassan
The Scotsman, November 19th 2011
The European crisis has already told us many things; that the eurozone in its current form is not sustainable; that German leadership of the continent is going to become more pronounced; and that Greece, Italy and maybe one or two others are going to have decades of European-inflicted austerity.
Another factor is Britain’s continued role as the awkward, distant partner in Europe; a country which sees the European project as something it was hoodwinked into by its political classes and establishment. And not allowed a European vote for nearly forty years.
What we don’t explore beyond glib definitions is what kind of Britain and British identity are we articulating? Is it, as some claim, still the ‘mother of Parliaments’, the time-honoured defender of liberty, free speech and minorities? Or is it a City dominated deregulation utopia, a bastion of Anglo-Saxon hunter-gatherer capitalism only held back by the Euro-sclerosis of Brussels bureaucrats?
Recently the opinion pollster YouGov has undertaken a UK survey on peoples’ different national identities and perceptions on Britain and the European Union. They found a direct relationship between national identity and Euroscepticism. If you choose an ‘English’ identity as 63% of respondents do you are more likely to have a Euro-sceptic opinion, whereas if you identify as ‘British’ (19%), ‘Scottish’ (8%) or ‘Welsh’ (5%) you are more likely to be pro-European. Read the rest of this entry »
Fear and Loathing and the Power of Class in Modern Britain
Gerry Hassan
The Scotsman, October 8th 2011
Britain has changed dramatically since 1945. In most accounts of post-war Britain from populisers such as Andrew Marr – the confident tale told is of the forward march of the classless society.
There were the 1950s and ‘you’ve never had it so good’ affluence, the 1960s protest and music, the 1980s individualism and consumerism, and then the noughties and the property and credit card booms.
This is the BBC-Ladybird Book guide to modern Britain heard in phrases such as ‘we are all becoming classless’ and ‘everyone now is middle class’ which were cited by politicians in the boom.
The difficult times of recession, anger at bankers and global pessimism, has undermined this view. Despite this, mainstream politics operates on the assumption that the great British post-war project, of consumption, rising living standards for most, and one jolly long party can be kick-started. Out there in the real world, there is a palpable sense of foreboding and feeling this is delusional, and that the days of endless economic growth, rising incomes and prosperity may be gone for good. Read the rest of this entry »
