Progressive economics thinktank CLES and the Manchester Urban Institute invite you to a discussion with Claudia Chwalisz, author of The People’s Verdict, and Neil McInroy, chief executive of CLES.

Trust in government and politicians is in short supply. People claim to be tired of ‘experts’ and the art of offering simple solutions to complex problems is tipping the scale away from nuanced answers. Within this context, governments nonetheless need to make difficult decisions.

Claudia’s book is a study of 50 long-form deliberative processes, where randomly selected citizens have played key roles in decisions such as Canada’s national mental health action plan, Melbourne’s 10-year $5 billion budget, Victoria’s obesity strategy and Ontario’s housing legislation, among others. She makes the case that adding informed citizen voices to the heart of public decision-making leads to more effective policies.

6pm Arrival and sign-in
6.15pm Introduction: Liz Richardson, Reader in Politics at the University of Manchester
6.20pm In Conversation: Claudia Chwalisz and Neil McInroy, Q&A with the audience
8.00pm Drinks Reception

Tickets are free and you should register here.