UK’s first National grassroots Citizens’ Assembly calls for “Immediate and total embargo on arms and trade to Israel”

Today marked the conclusion of the first sitting for the House of the People – a groundbreaking, grassroots, higToday marked the conclusion of the first sitting for the House of the People – a groundbreaking, grassroots, high-tech body to represent the UK public. It is the first of its kind, as a national democratic body with participants selected by sortition (an open lottery with demographic weighting) that deliberates and develops proposals written by free and open People’s Assemblies held across the UK.

The outcome is a People’s Charter, which has 5 top priorities for political action. The full report will be released in due course. Here are the headlines:

1. Tax wealth by removing tax loopholes and closing tax havens
2. Slash political corruption by banning lobbying, gifting, and second jobs in politics
3. Establish a Future Generations Act which priorities people and nature over GDP
4. Implement an immediate embargo on all arms, trade and support for Israel and other countries which violate international law
5. Grant councils power to repurchase disused homes and protect renters’ rights

It is being proposed that a national Citizens’ Assembly, like the House of the People and with power of legislation, should replace the House of Lords as an antidote to failing democracy in the UK. There is to be a second sitting of the House of the People in 2026.

Rayal, a musician from East London, was one of the participants. He said:

“For me, the House of the People is a beginning. It’s the start of something much greater. It’s almost like an answer to a dream for me, if I’m honest.”

A full report with the 5 priorities and all other agreed proposals will be released by Assemble, the grassroots democracy organisation who organised the event. The 5 priorities in full are:

1. Tax wealth by removing tax loopholes and closing tax havens: ending pension tax subsidies; charging the equivalent of NI on investment as income over £5,000 a year; apply VAT to banking services.
2. Strengthen and enforce anti-corruption laws; prohibit lobbying, gifting and second jobs in politics.
3. A Future Generation Act – Implement a first principle act that ensures all government policy prioritises well-being, sustainability, and nature over GDP for all current and future generations.
4. Immediate total embargo on arms, trade and support for all countries that are in violation of international law, with immediate priority to be given to Israel.
5. Long term decommodification of housing, ensuring renters rights; councils repurchasing disused housing/empty homes/holiday homes to repurpose and build green council housing; enshrining structural laws without loopholes; and implementing rent increase caps.

All of the final proposals will be included in the full report. Some of these key proposals include:

• A legal constitution which provides the people of Britain & Northern Ireland with the power to decide when to start or join a war.
• Arrest, trial and sentence for those complicit in genocide abroad and in the UK.

• Guaranteed basic income for all.
• Remove the principle of free movement of capital through introducing capital controls.
• End fuel poverty through a universal free quota of green energy after which the cost of energy progressively increases.

• Urgently enact strict AI regulation.
• Democratise the honours system.

From Sunday 20th to Tuesday 22nd July, House of the People participants reviewed and discussed the outcomes of 75 Local Assemblies held over the past year, which have engaged 3,000 people in 35 neighbourhoods. It made extensive use of Dembrane’s Echo, a cutting-edge LLM listening technology that records conversations before processing and summarising them into actionable insights. [2]

As well as Dembrane’s AI software, voting software Menti was used to action the final rounds of voting to deliver the 5 key issues of the People’s Charter.

Bertie Coyle, 30, is a spokesperson for the House of the People. He said today:

“Using AI software to easily sort out participation and agreement among a big number of people proves this model can be scaled and implemented everywhere. This is faster, fairer, un-fecked democracy. The UK Public clearly knows better than Lords, lobbyists, and career politicians.”

A large coalition of groups is already coming together to take action in October in support of the People’s Charter, at the Rush for Trust. This includes dissenting Lords, major trade unions and key organisations in the climate movement.

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Notes to Editors

[1] Assemble is part of the Umbrella movement which includes Just Stop Oil and Youth Demand. The group endorsed 26 independent candidates in the general election, including Shockat Adam and Andrew Feinstein.

The group is building a alternative home for the voice of the country, by inviting members of the public from all backgrounds and places to carefully consider the evidence and reach decisions on the biggest issues of our time, including the UK’s approach to the climate crisis, genocide, and poverty.