A Better Nation

­­­As the battle of words over the future of Scotland as a democracy, nation and society continues, A Better Nation: The Challenges of Scottish Independence aims to go beyond the superficial divisions and media noise in order to address matters of real substance. Drawing on a range of original thinkers from a wide range of backgrounds, it tackles key issues about money, culture, equality, energy, borders, jobs, Europe and other ‘big questions’ head on.

A Better Nation illustrates the high stakes in this debate, as well as the opportunities it affords. Outlining political approaches which are respectful of different views, doubts and ambiguities, it asks what kind of society we want to create and how we want to govern ourselves. The nature of the British state and Scottish democracy, the need to tackle inequalities, the challenges of centre-left politics, the climate emergency and the pressing need for a wellbeing economy are put at the heart of the discussion about independence.

Contributors include:

Ciaran Martin, Roz Foyer, Paul Mason, Gavin Esler, Joyce McMillan, John Curtice, Dani Garavelli, David Clark, Tanja Bueltmann, Malcolm Chalmers, Kirsty Hughes, John Kay, Lisa Clark, Colin Kidd, Hannah Graham, Paul Sweeney and many others.

Reviews: 

Fluent and often imaginative essays… This book shows at last how solidly and securely the independence option has bedded down in Scotland's politics. NEAL ASCHERSON, academic and commentator

Anyone interested in the future of Scotland and indeed the future of the British State would do well to read this book. ELAINE C. SMITH, actor and campaigner

Ambitious thinking about Scotland's future combined with reasonable challenges to the present case for independence by an impressive array of commentators. LESLEY RIDDOCH, awarding-winning broadcaster and author

About the Editors:

GERRY HASSAN is a writer, thinker and commentator, and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Dundee. His primary focus is politics in the UK and Scotland, about which he has written numerous books, including in-depth studies of the Labour Party and SNP, and the creation and progress of the Scottish Parliament. 

He is author of the best-selling and acclaimed Caledonian Dreaming: The Quest for a Different Scotland, published by Luath Press in 2014; Scotland the Bold: How the Nation has Changing and Why There is No Going Back; and co-author of the definitive study of Scottish Labour, The Strange Death of Labour Scotland. He co-edited A Nation Changed?: The SNP and Scotland Ten Years On with Simon Barrow, published by Luath Press in 2017, which is the only study of the SNP’s ten years in office. He has also published the first-ever study of the Labour Party and Britishness: The People’s Flag and the Union Jack, in 2019.

Forthcoming publications include A Better Nation: The Challenges of Scottish Independence (with Simon barrow – Luath Press, 2022), which outlines approaches to the independence debate which are respectful of different views, doubts and ambiguities, asking what kind of society we want to create and how Scotland may want to govern herself. Gerry writes and appears in the media regularly, as well as speaking at events, discussions and conferences in Scotland, the UK and internationally.

SIMON BARROW is Director of the beliefs, ethics and politics think tank Ekklesia. From 2000 to 2005 he was assistant general secretary of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, the official ecumenical body. He has written and contributed to numerous books, recently editing Scotland 2021 (with Mike Small – Bella Caledonia/Ekklesia, 2016), A Nation Changed? The SNP and Scotland Ten Years On (with Gerry Hassan – Luath Press, 2017) and Scotland the Brave? Twenty Years of Change and the Future of the Nation (with Gerry Hassan – Luath Press, 2019).

Forthcoming publications include A Better Nation: The Challenges of Scottish Independence (with Gerry Hassan – Luath Press 2022). He is also co-founder and chair of the Scottish Football Supporters Association, and lives in Leith, having relocated to Scotland from England in 2010.