Citizens’ assemblies: what are they and how can policy-makers use them?

Posted on March 25, 2024 by Constitution Unit

Citizens’ assemblies can help policy-makers in developing policy effectively, but their potential role is often misunderstood. Alan Renwick explains what they are, what they are for, how they have been used to date, and how they could be used in the future.

Background

Citizens’ assemblies have recently received significant attention in the UK. Advocates think they can enable more effective policy-making and help overcome public disaffection with politics. Critics worry that they could weaken the central role of elected representatives, or be biased towards particular outcomes. Making headway in this debate requires clear understanding of how such assemblies work and what role they can play.

What is a citizens’ assembly?

A citizens’ assembly is a body of people tasked (normally by policy-makers) with examining a specific issue and making recommendations. Such assemblies typically have 50–150 members, who are carefully selected, using lottery, to be as representative as possible of the wider population.

Assembly meetings generally take place at weekends. A duration of two to six weekends is typical, depending on the size of the topic being addressed, though some assemblies have taken longer.

Members discuss among themselves and hear from a balanced array of witnesses. Facilitators keep the discussions on topic and enable everyone to contribute. Members gradually build their ideas and then agree recommendations, which are presented in a report.

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Pre-election politics and the constitution

Posted on March 13, 2024 by The Constitution Unit

Today, the Unit published Monitor 86, providing analysis of constitutional events over the last four months. This post by Meg Russell and Alan Renwick also serves as the issue’s lead article. It outlines how the government and its opponents are increasingly acting with the general election in mind, and the impact that is having on the UK constitution. It covers a wide range of topics, including the defeat of the government’s Rwanda policy in the Supreme Court, the ensuing legislative battle to overturn that judgment, a furore involving the Speaker, changes to the electoral system ahead of the next general election, the health of the monarchy, a return to power-sharing in Northern Ireland, and challenges to the rule of law in Poland and Israel.

Constitutional politics – just like politics more broadly – is increasingly framed by the UK’s looming general election. That must take place within the next 10 months, but could be called within weeks. Each party is preparing its pitch to voters, and preparatory changes – some of them controversial – have been made to electoral law.

A Conservative priority is to ‘stop the boats’ that carry asylum seekers across the English Channel. The Supreme Court ruled in November that one of the policies through which ministers hope to advance that aim – sending some asylum seekers to Rwanda – was illegal, as asylum seekers there could be returned to home countries where they are in danger. The government responded to this judgment by upgrading its previous memorandum of understanding with the Rwandan government to a treaty and by introducing legislation that, if passed, will declare Rwanda to be a safe country, prevent courts from deciding to the contrary, and empower ministers to ignore injunctions granted by the European Court of Human Rights.

These moves seem motivated by a belief among ministers that seeing flights take off for Rwanda is essential for their party’s prospects at the ballot box. But, in attempting this, they risk placing electoral expediency ahead of the rule of law. The Rwanda bill is criticised for breaching the UK’s obligations under international law and for undermining the separation of powers between parliament and the judiciary. Both of these points are central to the British constitutional tradition.

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Eight key questions about citizens’ assemblies

Posted on March 1, 2024 by The Constitution Unit

The news that a Labour government might make use of citizens’ assemblies has sparked wide debate about the merits of such bodies. Much of the discussion has, however, been based on misunderstandings of how citizens’ assemblies really work. Alan Renwick here provides an essential guide.

1. What is a citizens’ assembly?

Let’s start with the basics. A citizens’ assembly is a body of people who are chosen by lottery to examine a specific policy issue. There are typically 50–150 members, and the selection process is designed so they are as representative as possible of the wider population.

Meetings generally take place at weekends (or evenings for local assemblies). Two to six weekends is typical, depending on the size of the issue, though some assemblies have taken longer.

Members discuss among themselves and hear from witnesses. Professional facilitators keep the discussions on topic and enable everyone to contribute. Members gradually build their ideas and then agree recommendations, which are presented in a report.

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What kind of democracy do people want, and how should policy-makers respond?

Posted on November 23, 2023 by The Constitution Unit

The Constitution Unit has published the final report from its three-year research project examining public attitudes to democracy in the UK. In this post, authors Alan Renwick, Meg Russell, and Ben Lauderdale summarise the report’s findings. The public care about democracy. They want high standards in public life, robust checks and balances, and better education and information about politics. The topics covered in this blog will be discussed in more detail at a webinar on Monday 27 November. Tickets are still available via the Unit’s website, and free of charge.

Public attitudes towards the democratic system matter. If people disengage, their views and interests go unrepresented. If they do not trust those in charge, that makes the careful trade-offs and compromises that are essential to effective policymaking harder.

Over the last three years, we have therefore conducted detailed research into the state of public attitudes towards the UK’s democratic system. The project – called Democracy in the UK after Brexit – has examined attitudes to the system as a whole and to its various components parts. In the wake of unusually intense debates about how the constitution ought to function – prompted by Brexit and a Prime Minister who appeared to reject many established constitutional norms – the project has explored what roles people think should be played by the central components of the system, including parliament, government, courts, and the public.

We have previously published three reports presenting the findings from different aspects of the research: two on large-scale surveys of public opinion, conducted by YouGov in 2021 and 2022; and the report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Democracy in the UK, which met in late 2021. Today we are publishing the project’s final report, which draws these findings together, adds substantial new analysis, and reflects on key lessons for policy-makers.

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Positioning for the next election

Posted on November 9, 2023 by The Constitution Unit

Today, the Unit published Monitor 85, providing analysis of constitutional events over the last four months. It covers a continuing crisis of parliamentary scrutiny and political standards, a string of avoidable by-elections, the continuing stalemate in Northern Ireland, SNP travails in Scotland, electoral reform in Wales, and a failed referendum campaign in Australia. This post, which also serves as this issue’s lead article, outlines how the government and its opponents are starting to draw the battle lines for the next general election against a background of constitutional change and challenges throughout the United Kingdom.

Rishi Sunak marked his first anniversary as Prime Minister on 25 October. The legacy of his predecessors continued to dog him over the summer. Boris Johnson’s resignation from parliament in June – covered in the last issue of Monitor – triggered a by-election in his constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip. The Conservative Party hung on there, but lost four other by-elections in safe seats, three of which were called due to reasons related to Johnson’s departure. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 inquiry revealed what many saw as chaos at the heart of government.

Sunak sought to reset his image in September, as a Prime Minister focused on making the right long-term decisions. He acknowledged that ‘people in our country are frustrated with our politics’, saying, ‘I know that they dislike Westminster game playing, the short termism, and the lack of accountability.’ He pledged ‘a wholly new kind of politics’ with ‘space for a better, more honest debate about how we secure the country’s long-term interest.’ Announcing a shift in net zero policy, he added, ‘in a democracy, we must also be able to scrutinise and debate those changes’.

These were virtuous sentiments, chiming strongly with much of what defenders of core democratic and constitutional principles have been pressing for in recent years. But aspects of the speech appeared to undermine them. Some dropped policies had never actually existed. Sunak’s call for accountability and scrutiny was delivered on the first day of a parliamentary recess, leaving MPs unable to question him on his plans for almost a month. The Commons Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, responded with a sharply worded rebuke.

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Tag Archives: Alan Renwick

Pre-election politics and the constitution

What kind of democracy do people want, and how should policy-makers respond?

Positioning for the next election

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