Landmark report shows UK citizens are ’deeply concerned’ about their democracy

Assembly - 'Members of the Citizens' Assembly on Zoom call' credit: UCL Constitution Unit  - 'Dissatisfied', 'frustrated' and 'let down' are words summing up how most people feel about the UK's democracy today, finds an in-depth report from UCL and the UK's leading public participation charity, Involve. The report presents the conclusions of the new Citizens' Assembly on Democracy in the UK , which was run by the UCL Constitution Unit to find out what people think about how the UK is governed and what they would like to change. The new report finds that the UK public expect high standards from individuals in public life, want power to be spread out from government to parliament and the courts, and believe the public should have a stronger voice, both through their representatives and directly. The Assembly also makes specific recommendations that relate directly to core elements of the government's agenda, including the effects of the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act, the Judicial Review and Courts Bill, and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. The Assembly's report follows on from a recent survey of nearly 6,500 people from the UCL Constitution Unit, which found that " being honest" and "owning up when they make mistakes" are the most valued traits in politicians. The Citizens' Assembly on Democracy in the UK, which ran for six weekends between 18 September and 12 December last year, comprised 67 members who were randomly selected to reflect the UK voting-age population in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, education, disability status, region, and political attitudes.