House of the People to hear from expert panel at inaugural meeting

It’s been revealed that the House of the People, held in Central London 20-22 July, will have a panel of world-leading experts to offer guidance and advice to the delegates as they create the democratic National Charter. They will be taking part in discussions on Monday 21 July.

House of the People: an expert panel to offer insight

The panel includes 10 experts from institutions including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Greenpeace, University College London, Green New Deal Group, Al-Shabaka, University of Kent, St. Mary’s University, Centre for the Study of Democracy, and the Tax Justice Network.

They have been selected in response to the primary issues that were raised in the Local Assemblies which are feeding into the House of the People. Key issues include climate breakdown, corruption, democracy, genocide in Gaza, finance, tax, economy, and conservation.

The panel, and their speciality topics are listed below:

Richard Betts MBE – Climate Crisis

Richard is Head of Climate Impacts Research at the Met Office Hadley Centre and Chair in Climate Impacts at the University of Exeter. He has worked as a climate scientist for 30 years, publishing over 100 peer-reviewed papers. He is a Lead Author with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and led the Technical Report for the UK’s 3rd National Climate Change Risk Assessment.

Sarah Chayes – Anti-Corruption

Sarah Chayes is the author of Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security. Her work explores how severe corruption can help prompt such crises as terrorism, revolutions and their violent aftermaths, and environmental degradation.

Graham Smith – Democracy

Graham is Professor of Politics at the Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD) at Westminster University. He is the founder of of the Knowledge Network on Climate Assemblies (KNOCA). Publications include: ‘Democracy in a Pandemic: Participation in Response to Crisis’, ‘Can Democracy Safeguard the Future?’, and ‘We Need To Talk About Climate: How Citizens’ Assemblies Can Help Us Solve the Climate Crisis’.

Dr. Daniela Nadj – Human Rights

Daniela is a senior lecturer in Law and Human Rights. Her research is in the area of international criminal law, human rights, and gender. In 2018, she published ‘International Criminal Law and Sexual Violence against Women: The Interpretation of Gender in the Contemporary International Criminal Trial’.

Steve Keen – Economics

Steve is an Honorary Professor and Distinguished Research Fellow at UCL, as well as author of the popular book Debunking Economics. He was one of the few economists to predict the Financial Crisis of 2008.

Richard Murphy – Taxation

Richard co-founded the Tax Justice Network, the Fair Tax Mark and Finance for the Future. He founded and directs Tax Research UK. He co-created the Green New Deal and remains an active member of the Green New Deal Group. He is the founder-director of the Corporate Accountability Network.

Hazem Jamjoun – Palestine

Hazem is a historian, writer, translator and member of the Palestinian policy network, Al Shabaka. He recently translated ‘The Revolution of 1936–1939 in Palestine’ and has given talks at institutes including LSE.

Leigh Evans – Palestine

Leigh is a paramedic from Swansea and activist who has worked as a nurse in Gaza. He recently took part in the Global March to Gaza, where an inspiring video clip of him dialoguing with border guards in Cairo went viral.

Dr Doug Parr – Climate Crisis

Dr Douglas Parr is Chief Scientist and Policy Director at Greenpeace UK. Currently working on climate change policy in the power, heat and transport sectors, he has previously worked on a number of issues including GM crops, chemicals policy, green refrigeration, marine conservation and bioenergy. He obtained a D.Phil in Atmospheric Chemistry from Oxford University in 1991.

Charlie Gardener – Conservation

Charlie is lecturer and researcher in conservation science at the University of Kent. He has undertaken conservation work in Charlie has also worked in conservation and natural resource management in Mauritius, Kenya, Ghana, England and Scotland. He’s written for the Guardian, the Conversation, the Ecologist, and Mongabay, as well as appearing on TV and radio broadcasts.

Down to the public

This panel of experts will not be making any final decisions, as that is entirely down to the 100 members of the public who have been selected to take part in the inaugural House of the People. Half have been selected by lottery, and half have been nominated by their communities.

Members of the public and the press are invited to attend on any of the days to witness and report on the groundbreaking democratic process. The event is being organised by Assemble.

The event will be the first of its kind, as a grassroots national People’s Assembly that serves to unite local Assemblies held across the UK. It is being held in a historical venue in Central London.

Those interested in attending on any of the days (20 – 22 July) should email contact(at)timetoassemble.org with name and affiliations (if any) to register and receive venue details. Registrations are limited.

A public-led institution like a House of the People will produce fairer, more effective, and more democratic outcomes than the existing parliamentary system, which is not fit for purpose.

The recent election saw the lowest turnout and vote count for two decades, yet produced a prime minister with the strongest majority. Polls show that most British people are in favour of replacing the House of Lords, with a permanent rolling citizens’ assembly as the favourite alternative.

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