Demotix/ Michael Debets. All rights reserved.In October and November, two citizens’ assemblies will be taking place in Sheffield and Southampton. Organised by a coalition of academics and civil society organisations under the banner Democracy Matters, Assembly North and Assembly South represent significant interventions in contemporary British politics.
First, the assemblies will be dealing with a fundamental constitutional question: how should we be governed? The main focus of the assemblies will be devolution and decentralisation of power to English regions. The Devolution Deals that are current government policy are piecemeal reforms. And as the term ‘Deal’ suggests, they are stitched together by local and national elites: citizens have had no say in how they should be governed. Following the much publicised Devolution Deal for Greater Manchester, a Deal for Sheffield has been announced recently by government. A similar Deal for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight is under consideration. But what do citizens in these areas make of the decisions being made in their name? What forms of regional power would be supported by the people who live locally?
