There’s another way of doing Brexit
A battle broke out in Parliament last week, as MPs across the House successfully pushed for a meaningful vote on the final Brexit deal. It was an attempt to make our departure from the EU more democratic. And it came as diplomats gave the green light for starting Phase Two of the negotiations – those […]
Continue readingCitizens’ Assembly on Brexit: full report launched today
Over two weekends in September 2017, the Citizens’ Assembly on Brexit brought together 50 randomly selected citizens to consider and make recommendations on the form of Brexit that they wanted the UK to pursue. Today, just two days before the European Council is expected to give the green light to starting negotiations on the future […]
Continue readingPolitical Insight – Citizens’ assemblies: a better way of doing democracy?
There is widespread disquiet over the quality of debate surrounding Brexit – both during last year’s referendum and since. But is there a better alternative? Alan Renwick reflects on lessons he learned from directing the recent Citizens’ Assembly on Brexit for Political Insight. Read full article
Continue readingCitizens’ Assembly on Brexit: results and initial reflections
The Citizens’ Assembly on Brexit reached its climax yesterday. After two weekends of intense deliberation, the members voted on a range of options for the form they want Brexit to take in relation to trade and immigration. Their conclusions will surprise some, and they deserve detailed attention from politicians and commentators. Assembly Director Alan Renwick summarises these […]
Continue readingCitizens’ Assembly on Brexit: reflections on the first weekend
The Citizens’ Assembly on Brexit has just completed its first weekend of deliberations. As an earlier post explained, the Assembly is a gathering of people from across the UK who have been randomly selected to reflect the make-up of the electorate. They are meeting over two weekends to learn about options for the form Brexit should take – focusing […]
Continue reading
Where do the public fit into Brexit?
From Labour announcing that they will back single market membership, at least for a transition period, to the Conservatives setting out key negotiating positions, we are beginning to get a picture of what post-Brexit Britain might look like. The only question is: where do the public fit into this? After every announcement we’ve seen talk, […]
Continue readingA citizens’ assembly could help settle the big Brexit questions
Dr Alan Renwick Against all expectations, Brexit barely featured in the general election campaign. Instead we had (understandably) big rows over social care, health, education and security. While these are all vital debates, it means the details of how we leave the EU are now being left in the hands of senior party figures, having […]
Continue reading
