Graham Smith, Professor of Politics and Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD), joined Ed Miliband and Geoff Lloyd on the Reasons to be Cheerful podcast to discuss citizens’ assemblies and their role in repairing our democracy.
In the podcast, Professor Smith discusses the role of citizens’ assemblies in deliberative democracy and how bringing people from different backgrounds and different social perspectives allows for more innovative and thoughtful solutions to political issues. He also argues that there is concern over the legitimacy of the assembly, and that as a result, these bodies should be empowered within the political work they are undertaking.
Professor Smith said: “I think the most important point about these bodies is their sheer diversity. You’re bringing people from such different social backgrounds and social perspectives, they are just the most amazing political spaces when you bring such diversity together. Exploring how citizens’ assemblies which bring together randomly selected groups of the public to deliberate on an issue can help to achieve that.”
Addressing the concern over citizens’ assemblies, he added: “Their value is bringing public wisdom into politics. I can see the argument both ways about whether these bodies should be empowered… but if we don’t empower them, we need to think carefully about how we ensure politicians take those recommendations seriously.”
Listen to the full podcast on Cheerful podcast.
