When and how should the public decide?

There is now an expectation that the public should be consulted on constitutional change. However, traditional routes for gaining public legitimacy – such as referendums and elections – can result in binary choices, or unclear mandates.  So is there a greater role for deliberative democracy? Processes including citizens' assemblies, with informed discussions amongst a representative group of citizens, can offer many benefits to decision-makers, but getting them right is a challenge and getting them wrong can do more harm than good. When and how the public should be involved in constitutional decision making? How could options for deliberative democracy best be implemented? What are the challenges and benefits of this approach? Speakers: Sarah Allan, Director of Capacity Building and Standards at Involve Joanne Anderson, former Mayor of Liverpool Doreen Grove, Head of Open Government at the Scottish government Professor Alison L Young, Sir David Williams Professor of Public Law at the University of Cambridge This event was chaired by Dr Rebecca McKee, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government. This event was part of the IfG and Bennett Institute's joint conference on the Future of the UK Constitution.