A House of Citizens for the Scottish Parliament

Stephen Richard — Sat, 31 Jul 2021 18:51:21 +0000

Primary Author or Creator

Common Weal

Stephen Richard Sat, 07/31/2021 - 19:51

Alternative Published Date

2020

Category

Scottish government

Type of Resource

Policy Paper

Fast Facts

The recent Citizens Assembly on the future of Scotland has painted a considered and compelling picture of what an improved democracy in Scotland could look like, including a proposal, supported by 83.5% if its members, to complement the elected Scottish Parliament with a permanent citizens’ assembly (with regular rotation of membership), i.e., to establish a House of Citizens in the Scottish Parliament. Such a House of Citizens could place Scotland at the forefront of democratic innovation and make it a global leader in citizen empowerment and engagement; we strongly recommend this proposal be adopted by all political parties to increase the level of trust in our political institutions and decision-making.

More details

The instigation of one of the world’s first House of Citizens in a parliamentary] setting would be a momentous decision and put Scotland at the forefront of democratic innovation and citizen empowerment and engagement. It will, by necessity, be an immense learning experience and governments around the world would all turn to Scotland to observe the outcome. Such a House of Citizens is feasible, popular, and indeed an urgent necessity. It would increase public trust in legislative decisions and boost the confidence of MSPs that their bills and laws have broad, well-justified public support.

It would counter the perceived capture of the political process by elites and other vested interests by putting everyday people’s voices directly into the legislative process. It would, indeed, be more than simply the inclusion of people’s views into the legislative process. What these deliberating members of Society will deliver is more than mere public opinion: they will increase the legitimacy of the Scottish Parliament by producing informed public judgements.

Resource Address (URL)

https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/sortitionfoundation/pages/685/attachments…

Keywords

Scottish Parliament

Second Chamber

Citizens Assemblies

Language English