Weapon number one is 'confidentiality' and in times of war its understandable and when constituents 'smell a rat' again it might work but leaving people out of decision making never really works.
That famous quote attributed to Winston Churchill "democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others" is as flawed as is the attribution. Elected representative governance has failed its constituency enough times to justify a fundamental rethink.
Governance comes in many confections from autocracy to anarchy and each has its good and bad outcomes. In the 21st C the 'need' for elected representative governance diminishes by the day as communication technologies afford quicker, more effective and more responsive decision making.
COVID-19 has upped the anti and albeit that there has been some stumbling, and surely more of that to come, information, welcomed and unwelcomed, it getting to people and places power hungry individuals and idealogical networks more quickly and more effectively. What a politician said/promised/did a year ago, 10 years ago or more can, and has, come back to haunt them now. It is the same for bureaucrats with the wisest making sure that they do not 'make the news', and if they do they're very careful about the context.
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Nobody offers a CV anymore when applying for a job because people who employ people can discover all the phoney stuff online. If there is nothing to see that also sounds alarm bells. So transparency of a kind exists and histories are more discoverable than ever. So only those with something to hide, try to hide their misdemeanours.
Against this emerging backdrop, local governance needs to do a Post COVID-19 Reset taking on board all that has been learned, and all that is now possible, that increasingly enabling forms of ' direct/pure democracy' models for governance generally and local governance in particular.
Direct cum pure democracy enables people decide on policy initiatives directly. The earliest known direct democracy is the Athenian democracy in the 5th century BC, albeit that it was not inclusive given that it excluded women, slaves and non-Athenians.
Self-interest and preservation are baked into our political system. There’s not much incentive for the officials – elected or salaried – to go out on a limb and propose novel solutions to the most pressing problems. The status quo keeps them employed and simple majorities ensure we don’t stray too far away from the 'hand that feeds them'.
Citizen's Assemblies are not popular with local governance's elected representatives or the 'powerful operatives' because they sap their authority and tend to expose dysfunctionalism, cronyism and more overt examples of 'civic corruption'.
Nevertheless, with large number of people carrying 'SMARTphones' and with more and more people enabled to access information technologies, representational democracy is less and less able to meet the needs an aspirations of 21st C communities in a direct way.
Imagine a real-time technology driven democratic process – similar to town hall meetings – where everyone is invited to participate when the issues are most poignant. Leaders facilitate decisions instead of exerting their influence and the solutions are as diverse as the population that serves them up.
Debate is transparent and contributes to knowledge growth. There are no headstrong people who stubbornly lobby for their point of view despite diminishing favour. And once a quorum is reached, everyone aligns around the decision and moves with speed as a cohesive group.
Just imagine that and Tasmania could reduce the number of expensive, self-serving and ineffectual council to a 'single commission' held accountable by as many regional and/or 'catchment' assemblies delivering 21st C transparent and accountable local governance with access to 21st C technologies.
Australia has ample exemplars of Citizen's Assemblies/Juries but the UK exemplars below lay out the process very clearly and provide a precedence less sullied by 'local prejudices'.
What the climate assembly is
The climate assembly will bring together a representative group of the Brighton & Hove population to shape how we combat climate change over the next decade.
The climate assembly will be designed and facilitated by an organisation that's independent of us. They'll be experienced in delivering deliberative engagement processes like citizens' assemblies.
When it will take place
Following advice from the UK government in managing Coronavirus (COVID-19) and to protect the health and wellbeing of all the participants, we've decided to hold the climate assembly online in the autumn of 2020.
The climate assembly will take place over 5 sessions on:
- Tuesday 22 September, 6.30pm to 8.30pm
- Tuesday 6 October, 6pm to 9pm
- Saturday 10 October, 10am to 1pm
- Thursday 5 November, 6pm to 9pm
- Saturday 7 November, 10am to 1pm
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the shaping of the climate assembly so far and for your support during this difficult time.
How it works
Brighton & Hove’s climate assembly will bring together a randomly selected group of people to learn about climate issues, discuss them with one another, and make recommendations about what should happen and how things should change.
Around 50 residents will be selected at random to be members of the climate assembly.
The recruitment process will reflect the local population and involve residents from across the whole of Brighton & Hove.
Ipsos MORI will design, establish and deliver the climate assembly. They're working in partnership with the Sortition Foundation to recruit a broadly representative selection of residents.
The Sortition Foundation has expertise in ensuring that a cross-section of the population is represented on citizen assemblies.
Recruiting for the climate assembly
An invitation to be a member of the climate assembly has been sent to a randomised selection of 10,600 residents in and around Brighton & Hove.
If you receive an invitation, please respond by 23 August.
Those that accept will give their demographic details, and then a set of people that matches the wider profile of the city will be randomly selected, to ensure the final members (around 50) represent the diversity of the city and are from across the geographical area.
Climate assembly members will be provided with all the information they will need to take part.
The initial mailout and following correspondence will include carefully designed and visually appealing materials explaining the assembly. People will be able to sign up through the easiest way for them – either by phone or online. There is also a freephone number for residents who are approached so that they can talk to someone about the assembly before registering.
Residents selected to take part will receive £250 to compensate them for their time.
You don’t need any prior knowledge to take part as a member of the climate assembly, all that's required is a willingness to listen to the information and share opinions.
What it will be about
Transport will be the first subject considered by the climate assembly as it is one of the city’s biggest sources of carbon emissions. Over the 5 sessions the climate assembly members will hear evidence, deliberate and develop recommendations for actions the council and wider city can take to become carbon neutral by 2030.
The sessions will include presentations and workshops. The residents on the assembly will have the opportunity to hear from engaging expert speakers and discuss the issues involved with facilitators, who will make sure everyone has their voice heard.
Climate assembly advisory board
An independent advisory board of 15 volunteer experts and activists will support the climate assembly. Together with the council they will ensure there is a diverse selection of speakers to present information to the assembly. These will include policy experts, campaigners and local stakeholders.
The council will have the final decision on suggestions and recommendations made by the advisory board.
Getting involved with the work of the climate assembly
Everyone will have the opportunity to contribute views, suggestions and actions on how to make the city carbon neutral by 2030 even if they are not on the assembly or giving evidence to it.
You can send an email to carbon2030@brighton-hove.gov.uk or write to Carbon2030, Hove Town Hall, Room 166, Norton Road, Hove, BN3 3BQ.
Recommendations from the climate assembly will be used as part of wider public conversations, consultations and engagement on city strategies such as the Local Transport Plan.
The report from the Climate Assembly will be presented to the council in early 2021. It will be used to inform our carbon neutral programme and our approach on how to make transport work for everyone in the city, reduce carbon emissions and address the climate emergency.
More information
Ipsos MORI recently conducted a citizens’ assembly on climate change in Oxford.
The UK government’s Climate Assembly UK met in Spring 2020.
Greater Cambridge Citizens’ Assembly discussed transport last autumn.
Camden Council held a citizens’ assembly on the climate crisis last year.
For the latest news:
- Sign up to the Your Brighton & Hove newsletter
- Check out the climate change information on our website
- Follow us on Twitter and Facebook
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Climate Assembly UK
Find out more about the government's Climate Assembly UK.
Oxford climate assembly
Find out more about Ipsos MORI's citizens' assembly on climate change in Oxford.
Greater Cambridge climate assembly
Find out about the discussion Greater Cambridge Citizens' Assembly had about transport in 2019.
Camden climate assembly
Find out about Camden Council's citizens' assembly on climate change, that took place in 2019.
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