Andrew Willshire

In defence of citizens’ assemblies for Brexit

Anthropologists have speculated that one of the roles of the shaman in hunter-gatherer societies was to preserve group unity. When members of the tribe were about to set out on a hunt, they would consult the shaman who would tell them where to go by ‘consulting the ancestors’ or reading runes or whatever. The crucial element was that it didn’t matter whether the shaman was right or wrong – the group trusted the decision and were able to set off with a unity of purpose, unencumbered by rifts within the group. From a survival point of view, this makes sense because regardless of the quality of advice, the most important element of a successful hunt was that the group was capable of working together effectively.

This is the light in which we should see Rory Stewart’s proposal for a Citizens’ Assembly to decide on the best course of action regarding Brexit.

The idea of a Citizens’Assembly (borrowed in part from the Ireland abortion debate) is that a representative sample of the public, perhaps numbering between 500 and 1,000, would be corralled for a month to work through the issues, receiving seminars from experts. Then, following this process, they would be capable of coming to a consensus.

Speaking to Matt Forde on Wednesday, Stewart justified this approach, highlighting the fact that most people in the country hadn’t read the Withdrawal Agreement and, even if they were willing to, they would find it very hard to comprehend due its references to other EU directives and European law. He further stated that there were few MPs in the House who really understood the agreement despite voting on it three times.

This means that public attitudes to the Withdrawal Agreement tend to be taken from politicians who they trust as being on their side, whether that politician is well informed or not.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in