After Keir Starmer’s chief of staff suggested Labour could make use of citizens’ assemblies to decide on contentious issues, Sonia brings together Louise Caldwell, who took part in the Irish citizens’ assembly on abortion, and Joe Twyman of Deltapoll, who has helped run such assemblies in the past
This morning it was revealed in The Times that Sue Gray, Keir Starmer’s Chief of Staff and former leading Civil Servant, is considering the use of Citizens’ Assemblies. Gray made the comments by referring to their successful use in Ireland to break deadlocks on divisive issues and political impasses.
So, what is a Citizens’ Assembly and how would they improve our democracy?
Citizens’ Assemblies are not a new concept and have actually been used in and around the UK for some time, including two, on brexit and regional devolution, which were supported by us here at the ERS. Citizens’ Assemblies are usually made up of a representative group of people, put together like a jury, with a clear task to achieve by the end of it. The most well-known Citizens’ Assemblies were set up under the ‘Irish Convention on the Constitution’ between 2012 and 2014. They considered eight proposals which included allowing same-sex marriage and removing blasphemy as an offence under the Irish constitution.
A Citizens’ Assembly will have a set time limit to consider the proposals or plans, which will include hearing and learning of evidence from experts during the ‘deliberation stage’. In this stage, they have the opportunity to debate all sides of the argument and will reach more nuanced and informed positions on an issue as a result. The conclusion of the Citizens’ Assembly will usually be to advise the Government on the direction that the general public would like them to take when deciding policy on whatever issue is concerned. Their conclusions are usually not binding on the Government of the day but are a way for politicians to really listen to the general public’s opinions and concerns.