Greater Manchester has been the site of many democratic movements.

The Peterloo Massacre saw the state kill its own citizens because they had the guts to demand the electoral franchise include working class men The Chartists, whose presence was particularly strong in the North West, extended the struggle for suffrage that inspired Peterloo. Their demands were reasonable yet remain radical in our contemporary context. And the suffragists, then the suffragettes, with their tireless campaigns to extend suffrage to women, mobilised from across our city-region.

In Greater Manchester, something is brewing. A new way of doing things. People are coming together to demand change because we are sick of ordinary people’s voices being ignored. It’s a movement for real people power, a movement to give ordinary people a seat at the table. It is the movement for a permanent and powerful Citizens’ Assembly of Greater Manchester.

Citizens’ assemblies are deliberative decision-making bodies that work like juries. They bring together a representative group of ordinary people, selected by lottery to prevent self-selection by those with particular interests. Anyone in the local area can be selected, including non-citizens, people without fixed addresses and younger people. Participants are paid so everyone can participate equally. They then work together for over 30 hours to make decisions on a particular topic. Participants hear and watch testimony from experts with lived and learnt experience on the subject and then discuss potential solutions among themselves.

From Belfast to Paris to Fortaleza, decisions that affect ordinary people are made by ordinary people through these mechanisms. This is how we defend and rebuild our democracy: through deliberation.

Join Willie Sullivan, from the Electoral Reform Society, and Liv Ouwehand, from the Sortition Foundation, for a discussion about democratic reform, deliberative democracy and citizens’ assemblies.

Hosted by Manchester Lit & Phil.

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Willie Sullivan

Willie Sullivan is a campaigner and works for the Electoral Reform Society as the Senior Director. He is particularly interested in the question of power. Who has it, and how they got it and for what purpose, then how do we create and/or change the institutions of society to share power more fairly.

Liv Ouwehand

Liv is London-born but has made Manchester her adopted home. She lives here with her two loud cats and far too many books, and loves playing footie with mates on a Friday. Liv wants a world that serves the interests of the many over the few and builds proper democracy across all civic institutions. Join her to build a Greater Manchester Assembly.

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The talk includes a Q&A session and light refreshments can be purchased from the venue’s bar. Booking is essential.

Accessibility Information: The venue is wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet on the ground floor. Please contact us regarding any specific accessibility requirements you may have by emailing events@manlitphil.ac.uk