Annex 2
CITIZENS' POLICY
FORUMS
Principles
People need to feel they are part of society
and have a voice in decision-making, which ever party is in government,
as Lord Scarman made clear in his report into the 1991 riots.
Our national political life is enriched by active citizens highlighting
problems, proposing solutions and challenging politicians. Government
needs to actively include the diversity of experience of civil
society and the voluntary sector when making and carrying out
policy. This process should be open to all sections of society,
not just the charmed circles of civil servants, think-tanks, lobbyists,
political advisers and their friends. The process of policy development
and scrutiny should be conducted through Parliament, rather than
consultation, commissions and working groups organised by Whitehall.
The UK cannot compete with rapidly growing economies
of developing countries by cutting labour costs or public services.
But we can improve our national productivity and well-being by
tackling deep seated social problems to release resources for
more creative purposes. Crime, anti-social behaviour, poverty
and mental illness cost this country vast sums each year. These
problems can be solved through social innovation by the public,
voluntary associations, professions and social enterprise, supported
by an effective system of public participation in policy development.
Key Facts
— Less than 2 per cent of Britons belong
to political parties, but 30 per cent are members of voluntary
organisations, about 14 million people. — Two thirds of
people volunteer informally, about 30 million people. Voluntary
associations actively involve greater diversity of people than
conventional politics. Every age group, community, culture and
interest takes part in civil society, often at a local level,
and are engaged in a huge variety of issues, from childcare and
to global warming.— Trust in politicians is low. Less than
20 per cent of people trust politicians to tell the truth (MORI)
and voter turn out in elections has fallen below 62 per cent in
both general elections this century (just 37 per cent among 18-24
year olds);
—
Parliament does not represent the diversity of Britain,
with just 20 per cent female members of the Houses of Commons
and Lords, and just 2.3 per cent of MPs from a non-white background.
—
When given the opportunity to use new media to communicate
with government, people use it. Over 4 million people signed petitions
on the Downing Street website within its first year.
Problems
Our national political system does not reflect
the diversity of talents, experience and opinion of our communities,
nor does it engage the public in policy development and political
debate. Policy development and debate about difficult political
problems often takes place outside parliament, among officials,
think tanks and pressure groups. People feel alienated from politics
and unable to have a say about the problems they experience or
contribute to their solution. Our parliamentary system also fails
to make the best use of new technologies and active methods of
public participation.
Solutions
In support of better government, social innovation
and public participation, I propose that Parliament should
— Set up a network of non-partisan public
policy forums, chaired by back-bench members of Parliament, to
give people from all sections of society a real say in the development,
scrutiny and implementation of policies using the internet, public
meetings and imaginative forms of public engagement;
— Conduct all processes of policy development,
public consultation and advice to government through Parliament,
not Whitehall, including a new form of elected second chamber;
— Create a new form of parliamentary chamber
to replace the House of Lords to involve all sections of civil
society through citizens' policy forums at local, regional and
national level, as well as online.
Citizens' Policy Forums
CIVIL RENEWAL
THROUGH HOUSE
OF LORDS
REFORM
Trust in politicians and participation in politics
is low. Voter turn out in elections fell to below 62 per cent
in both general elections this century and was just 37 per cent
among 18-24 year olds. Although many people are involved in a
wide range of issues through voluntary associations and pressure
groups, few see parliament as relevant to their concerns.
This is bad for society and bad for government. It
means that national debate and policy-making does not draw on
the diversity of experience and wisdom of the British public,
nor does it properly reflect their concerns.
Reform of the House of Lords is an opportunity to
renew democratic government at all levels of British society.
A new and very different house of parliament could involve people
in developing public policy through all kinds of democratic associations,
not just parties. Instead of being the last western country to
have an elected second chamber, Britain could be the first to
create a new kind of parliamentary process which enables citizens
to take a more active part in politics through the web, participatory
community meetings and the democratic associations of civil society.
The debate about House of Lords reform addresses
the wrong questions. Instead of arguing about how to fill the
red benches at Westminster, we should ask: what kind of parliament
do we need to improve democratic governance of the Britain?
The purpose of a second chamber must be decided
before we even begin to consider its membership and method of
appointment.
There is a real danger that impatience for reform
of the Upper House creates an elected version of the House of
Lords which lacks capacity to deal with the complex issues facing
government today and fails to reflect the concerns and diversity
of British society. At worst, the two parties that monopolise
the Commons will use their power to create an elected Senate that
merely provides job opportunities for favoured friends and failed
candidates from national or European elections. Current proposals
for an elected Senate will do little to strengthen democracy,
creating a second chamber that is exclusive, remote and unrepresentative
of the diversity of Britain today.
What we need is a fresh approach to parliamentary
democracy that improves government by enabling people to shape
the policies and decisions that affect their lives between elections.
Less than 2 per cent of Britons belong to political
parties, while 31 per cent are members of voluntary organisations,[24]
about 14 million people. Two thirds of people volunteer informally,
about 30 million people.[25]
Voluntary associations actively involve greater diversity of people
than conventional politics. Every age group, community, culture
and interest takes part in some aspect of civil society, often
at a very local level. They are engaged in a huge variety of issues,
from childcare and to global warming. Most are very practical,
doing things for each other or advocating solutions to shared
problems. They are what Robert Putnam and others call social capital,
the "dense network of reciprocal social relations" which
gives civic virtue its power.[26]
By tapping into these networks of civil society, our Parliament
and government will be much more effective.
FIVE FAILURES
This proposal seeks to overcome the stalemate
in House of Lords reform by addressing five failures in our current
political system:
1. The failure to connect—the gap
between the public and politicians as shown by the fall in voter
turnout, membership of political parties, and the lack of trust
in politicians generally;
2. The failure to involve and the low level
of participation in formal politics;
3. The failure to represent: with less than
18 per cent women and 2 per cent ethnic minorities, Parliament
is utterly unrepresentative of Britain, while governments are
elected by less than a quarter of the electorate.
4. The failure to look after the long term:
short time horizons of a five year electoral cycle make it difficult
for the Commons to address long term issues like climate change;
5. The failure to join up across government
departments and different layers of government (local, regional,
national, European, global).
We need a fresh approach to parliament which
creates opportunities for the millions engaged in civil society
to have a direct and active part in the political process. Strengthening
the connections between democratic civil society and parliament
would transform politics and give ordinary people a greater say
in policies which affect their lives.
THE PURPOSE
OF PARLIAMENT
Parliament should be more than the source of
government power and legitimacy. It should be a national forum
for debate about issues facing the nation, where the priorities,
policies and direction of government are shaped. Dominance of
the Commons by the executive, and the understandable demands of
party discipline, mean that most important debates take place
outside parliament, among small networks of policy activists and
media commentators. The public is a source of opinion, not participation.
No wonder that politics is treated as a spectator sport, rather
than something people do.
The Government's principles for House of Lords reform
are that it should be:
— A revising and deliberative assembly—not
seeking to usurp the role of the House of Commons as the pre-eminent
chamber.
— Composed of a membership appropriate
to its revising and deliberative functions, and not duplicate
or clone the Commons.
— Political in approach—but not dominated
by any one political party.
— Representative of independent expertise
and of the broader community in the UK—but not disrupt the
relationship between elected members of the Commons and their
constituents.
These aims reflect an understandable anxiety
that a directly elected second chamber could undermine the legitimacy
of a government based on a majority in the House of Commons, paralysing
decision-making by differences between two elected houses of parliament.
This anxiety overshadows concerns about the erosion of public
confidence in politics and the flaws in our political system.
By taking a completely different approach to
the way in which the second chamber of parliament works, including
the way in which its voting members are elected,
For the sake of democracy and better government,
these principles should be extended to ensure that a new house
of parliament:
— represents the diversity of interests
and opinion in Britain
— improves policy-making and decision-making
by government
— strengthens democracy as a core principle
of our society.
These additional principles will lead to an
entirely fresh approach to House of Lords reform.
The two houses of parliament should be seen
as a whole, one providing the basis for an elected executive,
the other providing a forum for systematic discussion of issues
facing the nation, each house playing a distinctive role in legislation.
The following proposal, developed more fully
in this paper, is just one possible model for how these principles
could be applied in practice.
CITIZENS POLICY
FORUMS
Citizens Policy Forums would be created bottom-up,
using new methods of public participation and the internet to
put Parliament at the centre of national debate and decision-making.
They would take the process of policy development and public consultation
away from unelected advisory groups, officials and lobbyists,
and bring it into Parliament through a network of Forums covering
broad policy areas such community safety, education, environment,
families, health, global issues, rural affairs, poverty reduction
and youth.
Citizens Policy Forums would work through a mixture
of open public meetings, online forums and a standing body of
about 100 members representing different interests (stakeholders),
including users, consumers, staff, researchers, community groups
and elected representatives from other tiers of government. Members
would be elected through democratic associations of civil society
and neighbourhood forums, supervised by the Electoral Commission
to ensure probity. Each Forum could have a network of local and
regional meetings, together with an online forum. Forums would
be overseen by an all-party Parliamentary Commission and run by
a new department of the House of Commons Service rather than the
Crown.
A national Citizens Chamber would be at the
centre of the network, with about 780 part-time members ("people's
peers") directly elected on the basis of Britain's 12 European
constituencies. Candidates would be nominated by democratic associations
of civil society and stand on the basis of policy areas rather
than party ticket. Members of the Citizens Chamber could serve
for a single 12 year term, with a sixth standing down every year.
Elections could be held every year in May or June, with an annual
"awareness week" and Democracy Decision Day focusing
on different areas of policy over a six year cycle.
Citizens Policy Forums would have a broader
range of functions than the House of Lords, with statutory rights
to report directly to the House of Commons, conduct investigations
and present petitions, as well as the following tasks:
a) suggest or clarify priorities;
b) promote dialogue round important issues;
c) assist in policy research and development;
d) organise public consultation on proposals
by the Government or House of Commons;
e) pre-legislative scrutiny of bills before
they are presented to the Commons;
f) scrutinise and revise legislation by
the Commons;
g) contribute to consensus building, where
appropriate;
h) advise and assist on policy implementation;
i) monitor implementation;
j) review and evaluate the impact of legislation.
This paper presents detailed proposals to show
how Citizens Policy Forums could deepen parliamentary democracy
to cope with the challenges of the 21st century.
HOW CITIZENS
FORUMS CAN
REFRESH DEMOCRATIC
GOVERNMENT
Citizens Policy Forums will improve democratic
government in ten ways:
1. Improve representation: Many legitimate interests
are not represented in Parliament—less than a fifth of MPs
are women, less than a fiftieth are ethnic minorities and fewer
than 2 per cent of Britons belong to any political party, while
over 30 per cent belong to voluntary organisations and over 60
per cent volunteer informally. Citizens Policy Forums will involve
a more diverse and representative cross section of the public
through a new form of second chamber.
2. Increase participation in politics: Voter
turnout, political affiliation and party membership have all fallen
significantly, making our political system vulnerable to extremist
populist politics. Citizens Policy Forums will increase active
participation in Parliament by more people through many different
routes than is available at present.
3. Increase transparency: Governments need
to devote a lot of effort on policy research and development,
involving civil servants and unelected advisory groups. This means
that lobbyists, think tanks and the media usually have more influence
than the electorate, bypassing Parliament and democratic politics.
Citizens Policy Forums will bring policy research and development
into Parliament at an earlier stage.
4. Improve policy making: Governments spend
hundreds of millions of pounds on public consultation, giving
interest groups and the public some say in policy development.
Citizens Policy Forums will make this process more open and coherent,
involving a much wider range of experience and expertise a more
powerful voice in this process.
5. Improve accountability: The government
employs over 530,000 civil servants, accountable to the public
through fewer than 646 MPs, of whom 98 are members of the government
and 355 support the governing party. Parliamentary scrutiny effectively
takes place through about 40 Committees of backbench MPs. Citizens
Policy Forums will provide many more points where government actions
and policies are scrutinized in public.
6. Better laws: A great deal of legislation
does not do what it is intended or is even counter-productive.
Citizens Policy Forums will bring more practical experience into
the legislative process to ensure that laws are more relevant
and workable.
7. Encourage community solutions: Millions
of people are actively involved in voluntary associations which
are creating practical solutions to problems, but they often experience
public institutions and policies as part of the problem. Citizens
Policy Forums will give people more direct and accessible ways
of sharing their solutions to social problems.
8. Strengthen democratic civil society:
Citizens Policy Forums will give a statutory voice to democratically
elected representatives of civil society, deepening and strengthening
democratic processes throughout society.
9. Build consensus and public support for
key policies: Many critical issues facing government, including
crime, health, productivity, social cohesion and climate change,
depend on people changing their behaviour and working together
in new ways. Citizens Policy Forums will engage with people through
civil society to ensure that key policies are more deeply rooted
and widely supported.
10. Join up government: Citizens Policy
Forums will bring elected representatives from other tiers of
government into the parliamentary process, giving school governors,
local councillors, MEPs and others a statutory voice in the legislative
process.
CONCLUSION
Citizens Policy Forums will enable many more
diverse interests to be represented in Parliament by creating
better ways for Parliamentarians to engage citizens between elections.
At its simplest, Policy Forums will create a regular and systematic
form of public consultation on policy, legislation and implementation,
through community meetings and the internet which reach people
on their own ground, in their own terms, through their own organisations.
At a deeper level, regional and national Citizens
Policy Forums round issues, as part of the Parliamentary process,
will improve dialogue between citizens and government. Regular,
systematic consideration of legislation by different interests
in public, rather than behind the veil of advisory bodies and
task groups, will create greater coherence in policy and delivery.
By identifying priorities, scrutinising legislation at an early
stage and evaluating its implementation and impact over time,
Citizens Policy Forums could bring about profound improvements
in the governance of Britain.
Forums will also have a positive influence on
civil society. Community meetings and the web will bring policy
development closer to the people. They will enable voluntary organisations
and pressure groups to show people more effective ways of influencing
policy between elections, thus releasing people's energy and ideas
to make things better. As a result, people will also learn the
challenges of government, the disciplines of debate and arts of
compromise which result in social innovation and improvement.
Citizens' Forums will give voluntary organisations a powerful
incentive to become more democratic and accountable in order to
be able to nominate members to regional and national Policy Forums
as a new second chamber of Parliament. They will enable community
organisations to build their capacity and skills, promoting public
participation and civic renewal.
Citizens Policy Forums will also have a positive
influence on the House of Commons and political parties. Transferring
public consultation from government to Parliament will strengthen
Parliament as the national forum for genuine policy development
and debate, not just a joisting place for government and opposition.
Debates in Policy Forums will be much less predictable than in
the House of Lords or Senate, so that governments have to think
even more carefully about their case and win people over on the
basis of argument and evidence, not party loyalty. Real politics
will come out from behind the veil of private meetings, think
tanks and lobbying, into the public arena. Above all, ordinary
people will be able to see and experience politics as something
that affects their lives, which they can influence through the
organisations of which they are part.
Citizens Policy Forums could renew and improve
the Governance of Britain from the bottom up.
28 August 2008
24 Citizens Audit of Britain, 2000, published in Citizenship
in Britain, Values, Participation and Democracy, by Charles Pattie,
Patrick Seyd and Paul Whiteley, Cambridge University Press, 2004 Back
25
2001 Home Office Citizenship Survey: people, families and communities,
Home Office Research Study 270, England and Wales figure of 27.8m
extrapolated to UK Back
26
Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone-Simon & Schuster, 2002 Back
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