What is…a citizens' assembly?

Last year, we looked at Citizens’ Assemblies (read that article here), this What is...? follows up the release of the research the article referred to. University College London Constitution Unit recently released the results of their three year research into public attitudes to democracy in the UK and their findings highlighted the level of dissatisfaction with the state of democracy in the UK. In general, project participants wanted:

politics and politicians to be honest, representative and serve the public interest;
voters to be in charge, not ‘strongman’ politicians;
a strong parliament representing all views, scrutinising proposals and holding power to account;
the rule of law and vital rights and liberties protected;
an impartial civil service and independent, impartial media;
politicians to be more responsive to public opinion via petitions, referendums and citizens’ assemblies; and
better political education and access to reliable and trustworthy information.

The report noted that part of the lifeblood of democracy is authority responsiveness to public opinion and the system works better if people have confidence in it. The report finished by asking, ‘what should be done?’ The answers were not a surprise!

Politicians and those in public life should recognise that ethical standards matter! However to simply call for honesty is not enough - regulators should be strengthened and given greater independence.
Checks and balances are important - any interference with the impartiality of the civil service or limiting the ability of the courts to prevent abuses of power should be robustly challenged.
Re-engaging the public in democracy in the UK is badly needed. There are no ‘quick fixes’ but Citizens’ Assemblies are one possibility...

The commonly accepted version of a Citizens’ Assembly is a collection of citizens, randomly selected from the local population, learning about, deliberating on and making recommendations to elected officials in relation to local issues. The basic aim is to have a group of people, broadly representative of the gender, ethnicity and social class in the area. This Assembly is then given the time and resources necessary to discuss and reflect upon all arguments in order to reach a nuanced position on the issue
presented. This gives members of the public the opportunity to discuss local issues and solutions but also the chance to build an understanding of the trade-offs fundamental to bringing their recommendations to fruition.

Deeper thinking about how to shift the political discourse is needed, not only from politicians and the media but also the general public. Citizens’ Assembly South Tyneside - CAST - was launched because it was felt that the views of our community were ignored or bypassed by those in authority. Why not join us and together we can work towards community-driven, people-powered change?

What is…a citizens' assembly?

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