Writer commentator academic. Books Editor, Bella Caledonia; Co-founder Kirkcudbright Fringe Festival; Co-editor, 'Britain Needs Change: The Politics of Hope & Labour's Challenge', pub. Nov. 28 2024.https://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3mv3f37jdyc2sWho do Reform put up on their latest internal crisis? Jaymey McIvor, an ex-Tory councillor who left the party when accused of sending an unsolicited image of his ‘private parts’ & is now a Reform councillor. #BBC #PoliticsLive09 Sep 2026 11:00 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv3f37jdyc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3muzyd73wvs2oTim Montgomerie is meant to be a seasoned political observer. But it has taken him until now to realise that Nigel Farage is only interested in the views of Nigel Farage in Reform. That should have been obvious to him & saved him the bother of being a brief member of Farage's cult.08 Sep 2026 21:39 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3muzyd73wvs2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3muzwpgqtcc26Glastonbury has predictably broken the £400 barrier. When I went in the 1980s it was £17 in 1986; which is the equivalent of £64.66. This means Glastonbury has gone up 531% more than it should have in real terms. No wonder it is even more a narrow gathering of middle class types. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/sep/08/glastonbury-tickets-break-400-for-first-time-as-on-sale-date-is-announced08 Sep 2026 21:10 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3muzwpgqtcc26https://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3muznyphoo22lThe UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has done the right thing today in relation to Israel's illegal occupation, illegal settlements, settler terror and settler violence: all backed by the Israeli state. People criticising the UK Govt would prefer what: support for Israeli occupation & violence?08 Sep 2026 18:34 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3muznyphoo22lhttps://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3muzgphb5ws2uAnyone agreeing with Kemi Badenoch's stance on Israel/Palestine is really saying Israel can do NO WRONG. That there are no ethical or legal limits to its actions. Badenoch in a long essay offers NOT one word of criticism of Israel. And demands not one change of action from their government.08 Sep 2026 16:24 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3muzgphb5ws2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3muzehbh6uk2kIsrael has announced it is banning the UK MPs below as retaliation against the UK action on Israeli illegal settlements. Bizarre equivalence. But what an honour for the MPs & individuals below. The Greens get a full house of their parliamentary group08 Sep 2026 15:44 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3muzehbh6uk2khttps://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3muzbtakn3k2fCliff Richard is a national treasure. His part in rock & rock history from Move It in 1958 to Devil Woman in the 1970s is assured. But Cliff really needs to be a little more generous abt the Beatles (who he has always had a thing about) and confident abt his role in musical history.08 Sep 2026 14:57 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3muzbtakn3k2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3muzaswmcfc23The below take on the UK Govt's stance on Israel and Palestine is missing the significance of today. Ed Miliband is joining a growing international alliance in opposition to Israel's illegal occupation & systemic violence against Palestinians. We should be supporting this move; not sniping at it. [contains quote post or other embedded content]08 Sep 2026 14:38 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3muzaswmcfc23https://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3muytbbugck2yThe monster we thought we had killed awakens. And not just in Germany. From Patrick Chappatte, Swiss cartoonist.08 Sep 2026 10:36 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3muytbbugck2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3mux5ghmahs2sCouldn't George Foulkes address his many undoubted skills to a more relevant and real subject? Such as trying to breathe life into the increasingly fossilised and irrelevant Scottish Labour Party. Crazy thought I know! [contains quote post or other embedded content]07 Sep 2026 18:32 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3mux5ghmahs2shttps://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3muwxuklryc26Kirkcudbright Fringe Festival is now over: four days in our fourth year. We have got to do our proper evaluation but the vibe and numbers are good: 2,100 tickets sold: 8% up on last year; 75% up on our first year; and a record numbers of visitors to the town.07 Sep 2026 16:53 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3muwxuklryc26https://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3muwxuklryc26Kirkcudbright Fringe Festival is now over: four days in our fourth year. We have got to do our proper evaluation but the vibe and numbers are good: 2,100 tickets sold: 8% up on last year; 75% up on our first year; and a record numbers of visitors to the town.07 Sep 2026 16:53 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3muwxuklryc26https://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3muwksvsj2s2vToday Andy Burnham has been Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for 50 days surpassing 49 days of the ENTIRE Liz Truss Premiership which began four years ago yesterday & which cost the UK massively financially & damaged the UK's reputation with financial markets.07 Sep 2026 12:59 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3muwksvsj2s2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3muuv77tiu22lThis year's Kirkcudbright Fringe concludes with a landmark event commemorating the women persecuted as witches in Scotland. With the forces for social enlightenment Claire Mitchell KC and Zoe Venditozzi alongside Andrea Thompson of D&G Life, DJ McDowall, Ros Ollin and the High Priestess.06 Sep 2026 21:00 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3muuv77tiu22lhttps://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3muudg3a3uk2uA stellar Sunday of cultural conversations in Kirkcudbright Fringe. Gary Lewis, Steve Brown and Tabi Mudaliar talk about local cultural challenges; followed by Skids frontman Richard Jobson and storyteller Jessica Fox address creativity and the power of independence - of mind, spirit and practice.06 Sep 2026 15:42 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3muudg3a3uk2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3mushhsd5c22xA powerful evening of compelling hard rock from the Skids. Great songs, riffs and stories from Richard Jobson reflecting on past and present, growing up in Fife, their halcyon days on Top of the Pops, and writing and playing with Stuart Adamson. A memorable, moving from genuine rock legends.05 Sep 2026 21:49 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3mushhsd5c22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3mus3co4zds2dAnother Kirkcudbright Fringe stellar event with journalist Peter Oborne talking abt his book: Complicit: Britain's Role in the Destruction of Gaza. He was damning of the cowardice of successive UK governments falling to criticise Israel's occupation and champion Palestinian self-government.05 Sep 2026 18:11 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3mus3co4zds2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3murxzwwaps23Kirkcudbright Fringe Festival Day Three and one of many highlights was Andrew Lownie, author of 'Entitled': a forensic account of the behaviour of the ex-Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. And what it has shown about the late Queen, the Royal Family & beyond this the British establishment.05 Sep 2026 17:13 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3murxzwwaps23https://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3mupyyrc4fs2sKirkcudbright Fringe comes to the end of its second day with a plethora of comedy. One star was Mhairi Black, ex-MP, who brought her subversive wit, humour and humanity to the surreal experience of being a MP in the twilight world of the Palace of Westminster. Daring, fun & filled with insights.04 Sep 2026 22:25 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3mupyyrc4fs2shttps://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3muoknyf3qk2zStrange that the legacy of the 1980s is this holy grail that the British right get furious about any criticism. Illustrative that Thatcherism is an act of blind faith. And while they go on abt people going on abt the past: the right love demonising the 1970s & 1945 Attlee Govt & post-war settlement.04 Sep 2026 08:35 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3muoknyf3qk2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3muoiruzo622pKirkcudbright Fringe Festival kicked off a successful first day with a host of packed events. We had the brilliant writer and poet Len Pennie talk about her life, family, writing, reflections as well as do a few readings.04 Sep 2026 08:02 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3muoiruzo622phttps://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3munmdijtec25Britain's privileged right-wing voices forever hark back to the evils of 1970s Britain. Drawing on a well-worn list of cliches & myths abt 'the three day week', the IMF & the winter of discontent' which means nothing to anyone under 60. Have the right become a prisoner of their own myths?03 Sep 2026 23:33 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3munmdijtec25https://bsky.app/profile/gerryhassan.bsky.social/post/3mump2vfup22dKirkcudbright Fringe Festival is away in a few hours to kick off four days of non-stop events and happenings. Now in our fourth year and getting more varied, diverse and ambitious; today's Galloway News has a one page preview of some of our highlights.03 Sep 2026 14:49 +0000at://did:plc:zlcpq6jpbfbnsbk6axt4mucm/app.bsky.feed.post/3mump2vfup22d