Articles by Tom Gallagher

Tom Gallagher is Emeritus Professor of Politics at Bradford University and is researching a book on why Britain’s ability to avoid the internal conflicts which have marked continental Europe is disappearing.

Richard Hoggart: A public intellectual for progress

It is easy to pigeon-hole Richard Hoggart as an avant-garde radical eager to tear down the fabric of conventional society. But Hoggart was deeply opposed to the levelling creed of cultural relativism and had more about him than might appear
by Tom Gallagher - 14 April 2014
Scotland’s Big Brother State just got bigger

The SNP desires a politically obedient business sector that will see itself as a cog in a state-driven economy. That could only be bad for an independent Scotland
by Tom Gallagher - 8 April 2014
Cameron must sack his Union-busting minister

(UPDATED: As Number 10 dithers, rumours now focus on Philip Hammond, Defence Secretary.) An anonymous minister has said Scotland would in fact keep the pound if it went independent, which is rubbish. There is already much speculation that the minister is Vince Cable. Whoever it is, Cameron must sack them or lose all credibility in Scotland
by Tom Gallagher - 29 March 2014
Aristocrats not economics please, we’re Scots

The latest polling on delusions about a currency union with England et al could be an indication that the Scotland of common sense, restraint and a level of education widely distributed across society has finally entered into history
by Tom Gallagher - 28 March 2014
Scottish independence brawl exposes deep divisions

The romantic Celtic rhetoric of separation from the hated Sassenach (English) cuts little ice in much of rural Scotland. Independence is far more contradictory and divisive than most people, including Scots, realise
by Tom Gallagher - 19 March 2014
Scotland’s big referendum winners

The SNP remains well ahead in the polls and therefore will be in charge during the rancorous period that is sure to persist after 2014. Will ordinary Scots rein in the party as it flirts with authoritarianism?
by Tom Gallagher - 6 March 2014
Scottish independence and the cult of Alex Salmond

What Salmond is increasingly presiding over is a cult. The SNP is an immature and flimsy party peddling immature and ill thought-out plans for independence
by Tom Gallagher - 28 February 2014
Scots to world: So we’re irrational. Get used to it!

Nationalist group-think is advancing on all sides in Scotland which tragically may rule out a rational debate about the future between now and 18 September
by Tom Gallagher - 21 February 2014
Alex Salmond's attempt to Balkanise Britain

The SNP has run away from serious argument. Prof. Tom Gallagher gives a Glasgow kiss to Alex Salmond's pathetic attempts to Balkanise Britain, without even engaging the Scottish people, who would suffer the most
by Tom Gallagher - 14 February 2014
Floods that endanger the Union?

Climate, natural disaster and the way leaders respond to them can have enormous political ramifications. If Cameron is seen to mess up over the floods, you can bet your wellington boots that Scottish nationalists will be ready to pounce
by Tom Gallagher - 12 February 2014
Time to leave: British Labour grandee informs countryfolk

It is increasingly likely that by 2015 Britain will have a left-wing government with an undiminished appetite for people-harming experiments that are imposed in an arbitrary way. The flooding of Somerset is just the beginning
by Tom Gallagher - 3 February 2014
Disorientated Scots confused on independence

Though a "No" vote still looks highly likely, the polls show preferences for independence are all over the place, partly because a docile Scottish media is scared of getting on the wrong side of the SNP by telling the truth
by Tom Gallagher - 27 January 2014
The Brussels Emperor's telling award for failure

It is entirely fitting that EU Commission President Barroso is now the recipient of a prize invoking one of the greatest European centralizers of all time, Emperor Charles V
by Tom Gallagher - 18 January 2014
Why Westminster separatists won't fight Alex Salmond

It may be that the current English ruling classes find it impossible to hate Salmond and move against him because some of their leading lights, politicians and journalists included, are themselves separatists at heart
by Tom Gallagher - 4 January 2014
SNP blues: Journey from Britain, but to where?

The SNP in the 1970s and 1980s was like UKIP today, struggling to turn a party of dedicated but chippy individualists into a force ready for office. It still has so many unanswered questions on independence
by Tom Gallagher - 24 September 2013