Poll reveals politicians’ attitudes toward initiatives like citizens’ juries

Most UK politicians are open to working alongside initiatives such as citizens’ juries and panels, new first-of-its-kind polling of elected members suggests. But many politicians have concerns about how these models interact with their roles and the work of UK legislatures, according to the research by Carnegie UK.

A poll of over 200 politicians conducted by Savanta for Carnegie UK reveals that 77% of MSs; 73% of MSPs; 72% of MLAs; and 64% of MPs either have or would consider working with a deliberative initiative like a citizens’ assembly.

However significant minorities of each type of politician said that deliberative democratic methods could duplicate the work of elected representatives, with almost half (45%) of the MPs surveyed raising this concern.

Furthermore, the research identifies that many politicians do not believe institutions such as the UK Government, the Houses of Parliament, or devolved parliaments have the capacity to adopt and act on the findings and recommendations of a deliberative democratic process. Across jurisdictions, resource and procedure were the most-commonly noted barriers.

Across most survey questions, politicians in devolved institutions were more supportive of increased citizen involvement in comparison to MPs who had more reservations.

Sarah Davidson, chief executive of Carnegie UK, said: “Trust in UK politics and democracy is in trouble, according to our annual wellbeing index. One means to reverse this trend could be the roll-out of more deliberative approaches like citizens’ panels.

“But this groundbreaking poll of politicians reveals a range of attitudes towards these initiatives. A big share of our lawmakers worry that such processes could duplicate their work. And lots of elected members don’t understand how these approaches would interact with existing political and governmental systems.”

Politicians are split about whether deliberative methods can help resolve entrenched problems in society, according to the paper. Around a third each of MSPs (36%) and MPs (28%) agree that deliberative democracy would help resolve entrenched problems within society, but similar proportions (30% MSPs and 33% MPs) disagree. Carnegie’s research comes after the UK Government announced plans to establish a so-called ‘People’s Panel’ to inform its plans for a digital ID system. In addition, Westminster’s Home Affairs Select Committee is hosting “citizen-assembly style” events on immigration.

Sarah Davidson said: “We’re seeing governments and parliaments across the UK experiment with involving the public in their deliberations. Decision-makers should use these moments not just to address the big issues of the day, but also to learn how such approaches can best work alongside existing political institutions and processes.”

Contact

Stuart Mackinnon: [email protected]/07934 296831