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We do not trust our Government to make the bold, swift and long-term changes necessary to achieve these changes and we do not intend to hand further power to our politicians. Instead, we demand the creation of a People’s Assembly* to oversee the changes, as we rise from the wreckage, creating a democracy fit for purpose.

Our current political systems are not capable of delivering the necessary solutions to the climate and ecological crisis. While voting is important, this crisis demands more from us than ‘yes’ or ‘no’. How should a nation quickly move away from fossil fuels? Where should wildlife sanctuaries be reintroduced and how? Such large, long-term questions demand deliberation and input from all of us. Well-funded, widely publicized people’s assemblies with clear routes to action will answer these questions.

People’s assemblies are randomly selected from the population (i.e. sortition). Demographic quotas ensure assembly members are representative of the population in terms of key characteristics such as gender, age, ethnicity, education level and geography. This means they will likely represent and reflect the interests of the entire population.

They also have a structured learning phase wherein members hear from experts and stakeholders. People’s assemblies are usually focused on informing political policy and are particularly useful on issues that may be too controversial or long-term for politicians to deal with successfully by themselves. It is a formal process that takes months to plan, and the assembly itself can last from a few months to over a year.

* With awareness of how the label of “citizen” has been and still is used in the United States to create privileged classes of “citizens” and criminalized classes of “non-citizens,” XR Philly uses the term “People’s Assembly” instead of  “Citizens’ Assembly.” Other XR chapters may use the term Citizens’ Assembly, particularly in locations such as the UK and Canada where Citizens’ Assemblies have already been implemented.