Could a citizens’ assembly help set out a post-pandemic recovery plan for Wales? ERS Cymru has advocated for the use of deliberative democracy and citizens’ assemblies for many years. But it’s an idea that has renewed importance when it comes to the Covid pandemic. Posted 09 Jul 2020
People are rightly losing faith in politics, it’s time for democratic renewal A new report by the recently established Centre for the Future of Democracy at the University of Cambridge has found that dissatisfaction with democracy has reached an all-time global high. Westminster-style democracies (the UK, Australia,... Posted 31 Jan 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
Citizens’ assemblies can help us move beyond a broken Westminster model of politics This piece was originally published by The Scotsman. Talk of citizens’ assemblies is in the air. Former Conservative leadership contender, Rory Stewart has suggested holding one to break through the Brexit impasse. And on Monday,... Posted 20 Jun 2019
Ending the Politics of Division – How We Can Build a New Democracy Ten years on from the expenses scandal that rocked trust in our politics and nearly three years since this Brexit deadlock began, Britain’s broken political system remains largely unchanged. No one can deny it: the... Posted 25 May 2019
Local citizens’ assemblies could break our political deadlock – but the government have vetoed them Last summer, ministers announced genuinely exciting plans for piloting ‘deliberative democracy’ across the UK. The plan was to use a series of citizens’ assemblies to engage people with politics, to tackle complex and contested topics,... Posted 22 Mar 2019
What is a Citizens’ Assembly? Citizens’ Assemblies are often in the news, from the assemblies that led to the referendums on equal marriage and abortion in Ireland, to the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland and local council climate assemblies. While the... Posted 24 Jan 2019
The Irish abortion referendum: How a Citizens’ Assembly helped to break years of political deadlock In a historic referendum on Friday, the Irish electorate voted with a resounding Yes in favour of removing the Eighth Amendment (article 40.3.3) from the Constitution. Citizens were asked whether or not to replace the... Posted 29 May 2018