Who gets the pen?

Jessica Reed (London oD): Now that you British are talking about writing down your constitution (and this applies also to the constitution or constitutional treaty of the E.U) one crucial question is sure to give headaches to those at the top: who should write it? Should it be a body of elected politicians? Outstanding jurists? And how should the British public be actively involved? Pam Giddy of the Power Inquiry has said here in OK that she does not want another “bogus conversation”. She did not say that her organisation has a record of holding events which have indeed involved British citizens in political decision making. I witnessed one of these, the recent European Citizens Consultations, which took place in York last March (and which we live-blogged!). Ollie Henman, co-coordinator of the event, later wrote about the deliberative process, and how engaging everyday citizens does work. He also has experience in Brazil. There is much more practical knowledge about legitimate citizens participation, from Canada to Brussels, than you'd know of by reading the London media. Much of it helped by Jim Fishkin of the Center for Deliberative Democracy in Stanford, California. My message to  OK readers is: don't think you are alone!