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SCOTTISH party leaders are being urged to embed people power into the country’s politics by creating a permanent citizens’ assembly.
More than 2,000 people have signed a petition calling for the creation of a “house of citizens,” which it is claimed could stand in stark contrast to the House of Lords at Westminster.
The SNP pledged in its election manifesto to hold an annual citizens’ assembly to look at “some of the more complex issues we face as a country.”
The citizens’ assembly established by the previous SNP government concluded that this kind of body should be made a permanent feature of Scottish politics, to scrutinise legislation and hold MSPs to account.
Michael Gettins, a mental health support worker who took part in the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland, welcomed SNP commitments but said the party must listen to assembly members.
He said: “We need a commitment from the politicians now to embed real people power into Scottish politics.”
Having endured 14 years of Tory austerity followed by Starmerite cuts, young voters are desperate for change — but Anas Sarwar’s refusal to differentiate from Westminster means Scottish Labour risks electoral catastrophe, writes LAUREN HARPER
