On 11th August 2024, Assemble held the launch event for the House of the People – a genuinely democratic institution that’s built to solve society’s major crises by replacing the House of Lords. Hundreds of attendees deliberated on the outcomes of 30 Assemblies that have ocurred across the UK in the past six months, crunching them into 5 clear demands that will be released on the 23rd of September. [1]
Members of the public, politicians, campaigners, and journalists are invited to a press conference held at the Emmeline Pankhurst statue outside the House of Lords at 12 midday on 23rd September. Spokespersons for Assemble and other campaigns will reveal the 5 clear demands, details of this unprecedented democratic mandate, and comment on how this will impact governance.
The House of the People launch event, held at the Grade-II listed Heritage & Arts Centre in London, saw hundreds of attendees hear talks and take part in Assemblies. Speaking at the event was independent Redbridge councillor Shannel Johnson, Birmingham University Professor Kammel Hawwash, and Yaz Ashmawi of Assemble.
Over the past 4 months, Assemble has been supporting and funding local people across the UK to hold Assemblies – big meetups with neighbours – to discuss and deliberate on how the country should be run. All the outputs of these democratic Assemblies have been recorded in detail. After analysing these outputs, they were collated into a set of 15 broad topics that came up again and again in Assemblies from Devon to Merseyside. [2]
Shannel Johnson, an independent councillor from Leyton who ran in the General Election as an Assemble-endorsed candidate was one of those speaking at the event. She said today:
“The House of the People is an opportunity for us to have a say. In politics at the moment there’s so many people who are disenfranchised… Having something like the House of the People means we bring decisions back to the communities, back to the grassroots, and we have our say.
For me this is so important because it gives people a voice who may not have had one before. It gives the disenfranchised a chance to come to the table, to present their ideas, and be heard. It’s not a case of just being placated, it’s a case of having the opportunity to come forward, be heard, and take that forward. I’m hoping the House of the People can continue to provide more spaces and places for people to actively change their lives.”
Attendees of the House of the People launch event were tasked with deliberating and voting to reduce these 15 topics into five concrete demands of the UK Government. They used deliberative democracy to produce five key demands – the first ever of their kind.
Assemble is fundraising to host an official House of the People event in 2025, which will see participants that proportionately represent the UK’s demographics travel from all over the UK and spend several days deliberating on issues that will be raised in local Assemblies between now and then. They will be paid for their time and informed by subject matter experts to create another 5 policy proposals.
A public-led institution like a House of the People will produce fairer, more effective, and more democratic outcomes than the existing parliamentary system, which is not fit for purpose. The recent election saw the lowest turnout and vote count for two decades, yet produced a prime minister with the strongest majority. Polls show that 90% of the public are in favour of transforming the House of Lords. [3]
Sign the petition to replace the House of Lords with a House of the People.
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Notes to Editors
[1] https://timetoassemble.org/assemble-to-host-house-of-the-people-launch-event-in-london-on-11th-august/
[2] https://timetoassemble.org/assemble-candidate-shockat-adam-wins-leicester-south-election-amid-independent-landslide/
[3] https://www.sortitionfoundation.org/house_of_citizens_tops_public_poll_to_replace_the_house_of_lords
At last something for us people. Thanks for the contact. All the best.