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5 Lessons from the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland

Trudie Kee, Unlock Democracy

Scotland has found itself in a difficult position in recent years. Despite the battle for more devolved powers, Scots increasingly feel they have no say in how their country is governed. In the 2016 referendum on membership of the EU, 62% of Scottish voters then chose to Remain, compared with 48% in England. This threw MSPs and Scottish MPs into a 4-year long struggle to get their voice heard in Westminster, and  culminated in Holyrood, the Scottish Parliament, voting 92 to 29 to reject the Withdrawal Agreement Bill. 

Scotland, as with the other devolved nations, has been largely ignored by the UK Government throughout the Brexit negotiations. While Brexit is not the only cause of some Scot’s conflicting feelings about Scotland’s membership of the UK, it has highlighted the limits that Westminster imposes on the devolved nations. 

It is in this context that, in June 2019, the Scottish Government made its first steps to set up a new Citizens’ Assembly for Scotland as a “genuine attempt to reach consensus on the issues that we face[1]. This forms part of a wider strategic plan for exploring constitutional and governance change for Scotland. 

We have been watching this process closely and comparing it to other initiatives. With promising outcomes and important lessons to be learned, some of which are set out here.

1. Build consensus through a values-led process

The very first question participants of the Assembly are asked is “What kind of country are we seeking to build?”[2]. This encourages participating citizens to set out what Scotland looks like to them, and create a vision of how it should look in the future. In subsequent questions citizens are asked to identify and offer their suggestions on how to overcome the challenges Scotland has today, and plan for the future. Exploring these fundamental ideas can build consensus that goes beyond political views and background. 

2. Empower participants to set the agenda

Working off the key questions and principles of the Assembly, participants were asked on Weekend 2 to produce a series of statements that answer: “The kind of Scotland we are seeking to build will…”. These answers are then passed along to the next table of participants, and 10 ideas are selected by each table. These are then checked for duplicates by facilitators and passed around tables again for review. A refined list of statements is then produced from this review for all tables to prioritise. From this, a number of ‘Top Statements’ emerge (in this case 22), which are discussed and again prioritised, with participants scoring each suggestion from 1 to 20. This sets the issues for further discussion in the weekends to come. 

This is different from Citizens’ Assemblies where the government or government bodies set and limit the agenda. For example, with the UK’s Climate Assembly, only a very specific question is discussed - “How can the UK reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050?” - which has been set by parliamentary Select Committees[3]. By contrast, the Assembly in Scotland is putting a broad question about Scotland’s future to participants, giving them a greater amount of freedom to set the direction of the conversation. 

3. Diverse participation means diverse viewpoints

Having participants from diverse backgrounds is a standard feature of Citizens’ Assemblies. But if you’re new to the concept, then we need to talk about how we are chosen to take part. The Assembly is made up of a representative sample which reflects the adult population of Scotland using socio-demographic variables and political views. This ensures a diverse range of views are represented over the course of the Assembly. It also aims to get participants to find a common ground beyond their own views, by exploring the principles that unify the country.

4. Transparency: good for accountability, good for accessibility

One of the core principles of the Assembly is transparency. The weekends are live-streamed and every piece of evidence - oral and written - is collated online and accessible at any time by anyone. Each session has clear outputs, and research material is made available that surveys the mood of participants going into the session with questions like “How much do you agree with the decision to focus on this statement this weekend?” and “Do you feel you have the information required to answer the question yourself?”[4]. This ensures the effectiveness of the Assembly is being considered after each session, and will help to make each subsequent Assembly more effective than the last - and make the case for more Assemblies in the future.

5. Removing financial barriers adds social and political value to the process

To encourage sustained participation and make it financially viable for those on lower incomes, a “gift” of £200 is offered each weekend to pay for time spent deliberating. This associates both a financial value and a human value with the discussions and outputs: paying participants encourages Holyrood to take the process and recommendations seriously, ensuring that taxpayers’ money is not wasted; paying participants places a societal value on the Assembly, recognising the civic duty they are playing by giving up their time to take part. Not only are participants paid for their time, but all accomodation, food, any financial support for care responsibilities, and extra costs for accessibility, are covered.

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NOTES

[1] https://news.gov.scot/news/citizens-assembly-of-scotland

[2] https://www.citizensassembly.scot/how-it-works/the-basics

[3] https://www.climateassembly.uk/about/

[4] https://www.citizensassembly.scot/sites/default/files/inline-files/Overall%20Research%20-%208%20-%20Reporting%20-%20Weekend%203%20-%20Data%20Briefing%20-%20Final.pdf