Only real local democracy can rebuild our communities The last twelve months have changed the way many of us think about our everyday lives. The lockdowns necessitated by the pandemic have made the world feel smaller and turned many people’s minds to a... Posted 09 Apr 2021
Local communities must be the foundation on which we build Scotland’s recovery The pandemic has given us a fresh insight into what we already knew about Scotland’s communities; people will sacrifice their time and resources to aid their neighbours. But that sense of community cannot be taken... Posted 26 Mar 2021
Holyrood must take forward the Citizens’ Assembly’s calls to revamp Scottish democracy Politicians must move Scottish democracy forward by putting citizens at the centre, the ERS and 17 other leading organisations and campaigners say. Posted 18 Feb 2021
Scotland’s ground-breaking Citizens’ Assembly has wrapped up. What’s next? Scotland’s first Citizens’ Assembly, a deliberative body made up of 100 citizens reflecting the country’s demographics, concluded in January and published its visions for the future of Scotland. Citizens’ Assemblies which aim to create ‘mini-publics’... Posted 09 Feb 2021
The Citizen’s Assembly of Scotland can help shape our post-Covid future Scotland’s first Citizens’ Assembly met last week for the first time since March. Like many social events and workplaces, the deliberative body, made up of 100 citizens reflecting Scotland’s demographics, has moved online after being... Posted 23 Sep 2020
What happens at the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland? On Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th October, The Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland kicked off at the Grosvenor Hotel in Edinburgh, with one hundred people from across the country meeting for the first time. The Assembly... Posted 25 Nov 2019
The Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland: What can be learnt from elsewhere? How do you ensure the recently-announced Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland is open and transparent while protecting the participants from hostility and excess lobbying? How do you ensure it is independent of government – but also that it... Posted 17 Jul 2019
Support grows for new way of doing democracy, as hundreds discuss Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland plans It’s clear that there is a growing appetite for a new kind of democracy, after hundreds gathered on Monday evening to debate plans for a Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland. At a sold-out panel Q&A hosted... Posted 10 Jul 2019
Four pitfalls and opportunities for the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland Next Monday, the firing gun will be started on the Scottish Government’s plans for a ‘Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland’. Hundreds will gather to discuss what this might look like, what it might involve, and how... Posted 05 Jul 2019