This special event will examine those weaknesses and consider possible ways of addressing them. Could the 2016 referendum have been designed differently to create a less polarised process? How could the grievances with current politics that the referendum result highlighted be tackled?

In particular, we will examine whether citizens’ assemblies – randomly selected groups of people who meet over several weekends to learn about, discuss, and make recommendations on selected issues – could make a difference. The strengths, and also the limitations, of this approach will be explored and possible paths forward proposed.

About Dr Alan Renwick

Dr Alan Renwick is Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit at University College London. He led the 2017 UK Citizens’ Assembly on Brexit and in 2019, with Michela Palese, published a major report on strengthening democracy, Doing Democracy Better: How Can Information and Discourse in Election and Referendum Campaigns in the UK Be Improved? Alan is now project lead for the Working Group on Unification Referendums on the Island of Ireland.

To register, please click here.