The Scottish Press, Generation Gridlock and Living with Crony Capitalism
The Scottish Press, Generation Gridlock and Living with Crony Capitalism Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, March 21st 2013 The Scottish media and press are not exactly in a healthy state; facing pressures and constrictions from every angle, from the expectations and demands of an independence referendum, to disappearing audiences and revenues. This is the backdrop to Leveson, the Scottish ‘expert’ response (the McCluskey report), and the debate so far. Twenty years ago, the atmosphere was completely different, filled with the air of self-congratulation and smugness of everything being labeled ‘Scottish’ and the press defined by ‘Real Scots Read the
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The UKIP Policy Nigel Farage Doesn’t Want to Talk About
The UKIP Policy Nigel Farage Doesn’t Want to Talk About Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, March 8th 2013 UKIP are suddenly everywhere in the aftermath of their second place and 28% in the Eastleigh by-election. Nigel Farage, their irascible leader, is even more omnipotent with even more appearances on BBC ‘Question Time’ to look forward too. North of the border UKIP have always had a perception, identity and popularity problem. They are widely seen as an English nationalist party, one whose idea of Britain is narrowly centred on a time when the two terms could be used interchangeably. It is a
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The Missing Ingredient in Scottish Labour: Leadership
The Missing Ingredient in Scottish Labour: Leadership Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, September 17th 2011 The Scottish Labour Party might be in a terrible place at the moment, but it believes that it is slowly beginning to dig itself out of the mess it is in. It has started to address the inadequacies of its structures through the Jim Murphy-Sarah Boyack review – which seems so far more cautious, than transformative. Politics isn’t just about structure, but more tangible issues such as culture, purpose and the issue of leadership. Labour politicians touched on this during and after the election when
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The New Market Man of History and the McCliche View of Scotland
The New Market Man of History and the McCliche View of Scotland Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, April 7th 2011 The Scottish Parliament elections are if not in full swing, then reaching a certain tempo. This week has seen the launch of the Tory, Lib Dem and Labour manifestos, next week the SNP, and even the notorious Londoncentric media and political classes have twigged that there something is going in Scotland which they don’t like or understand. Andrew Neil is a talented broadcaster and ‘The Daily Politics’ and ‘This Week’ both good TV and must watches for the Westminster classes.
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Devolution, Unionism and Independence: Nick Pearce Replies
Devolution, Unionism and Independence: Nick Pearce Replies Nick Pearce Open Democracy, February 16th 2011 Dear Gerry, Once again, thanks for your reply. I found it very stimulating. Here are some points by way of response: 1. A small clarification: by “unionist project” I simply meant that, in fact and law, Scotland’s Parliament remains within the United Kingdom, and was designed as devolution of power within the union. The devolution project is unionist, therefore, even if its parents had a range of perspectives, including nationalist ones. 2. I think if you want to claim that the “primary account of devolution” was
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A Scottish and British Conversation: A Reply to Nick Pearce
A Scottish and British Conversation: A Reply to Nick Pearce Gerry Hassan Open Democracy. February 16th 2011 Dear Nick, Many thanks for your thoughtful response. 1. Devolution was not just a ‘unionist project’. That is much too simple – just as it was never a Labour project on its own. The midwives of the Scottish Parliament are many: a Labour story, a nationalist (or accurately a Nationalist and nationalist) story, and the account of what for better words we can call ‘civic Scotland’. Its parentage and its point is a pluralist, contested one. 2. The primary account of devolution became
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Nick Pearce Responds on Scotland, Labour and Devolution
Nick Pearce Responds on Scotland, Labour and Devolution Nick Pearce Open Democracy, February 15th 2011 Gerry Hassan has written an insightful critique of a blog I posted last week following a trip to Edinburgh. He generously credits the IPPR with being unique amongst think-tanks in taking an interest in the world beyond Westminster through our series of publications, Devolution in Practice, and the creation of IPPR North. But he takes me to task for some of my observations and conclusions on Scottish politics. I defer to Gerry’s greater knowledge and experience of these issues; mine is a view informed
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Whatever happened to Scotland’s Salon Society?
Whatever happened to Scotland’s Salon Society? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, February 5th 2011 One of the early hopes of the Scottish Parliament and the era of ‘new politics’ was that Scotland would awaken to a new age of engagement which would produce a more informed, inclusive politics. A lot of this was wish-fulfilment; certainly much of the talk of ‘new politics’ and an emboldened civil society was just that. Yet at the same time this feeling tapped a sense that Scotland could sustain a kind of salon society – a modern day harking back to the Enlightenment vision of Edinburgh.
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Back to the Future, Or Not: The Strange Rise of Scottish Labour
Back to the Future, Or Not: The Strange Rise of Scottish Labour Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, January 19th 2011 Scottish politics is away to change and not change – with according to the most recent TNS-BMRC poll – Scotland getting itself into a frenzy of excitement at the anticipation of Iain Gray’s Scottish Labour returning to office (1). The figures are worth highlighting: Labour is polling 49% of the constituency vote and 47% of the regional vote: enough to see it get an impressive 69 seats in the 129 seat Parliament and thus an overall majority. What is going on
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