Manifesto for Democracy: Deepening DemocracyDemocracy is about empowering citizens to be involved in their political system and as such embedding the voices of everyday citizens into those systems is vital to democracy that works. Without it we risk not...Posted 30 Oct 2020
The Citizen’s Assembly of Scotland can help shape our post-Covid futureScotland’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 can we learn from the UK Climate Assembly?The UK’s first nationwide citizens’ assembly on climate change came to a close this week, with the launch of its final report setting out 50 recommendations on how the UK should reach net zero by...Posted 11 Sep 2020
Deepening democracy with Scotland’s Local Democracy BillDemocracy isn’t static, it is a process. It isn’t always simple or easy, and today it is being tested under the strain of a crisis of trust, one which affects political institutions, the public square...Posted 30 Mar 2020
Could the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland change how politics is done for good?A new way of doing democracy is being trialled in Scotland – and the ERS is at the heart of it. Since October, over 100 members of the Scottish public have been meeting regularly to...Posted 20 Mar 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
Scotland’s Citizens’ Assembly: What can it do to be a success?This piece is a guest post from Conor Black. Conor is a former student of the University of Glasgow who wrote his MRes dissertation on ‘Mini-Publics in the Deliberative System’. The first meeting of the...Posted 22 Oct 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 plansIt’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 ScotlandNext 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