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 Bill Democracy 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 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
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 Punch and Judy show: How to get a more cooperative politics There is an uncomfortable fact for those who oppose moves to a fairer voting system: all the chaos we have seen in Westminster over the past few years has been under the ‘strong and stable’... Posted 30 May 2019