Let citizens’ assemblies break the political deadlock on issues like assisted dying | Letters
Readers respond to John Harris’s call to allow the people of the country to take part when difficult choices need to be made
As chief executive of Involve , I welcome John Harris’s call for a citizens’ assembly on assisted dying to inform Kim Leadbeater’s private member’s bill on the topic (How can Britain plot its future when it is so deeply stuck in the mud? Empower the citizens, 20 October ). There is a valuable precedent in Jersey that the new government could learn from. In 2021, Involve helped run a citizens’ jury on this issue for the government of Jersey, as part of its preparations for legislation. Politicians later followed the recommendations of the jury, which were to allow assisted dying, for people with a terminal illness, in certain circumstances.
The lesson here is not whether the Jersey jury voted to allow or prevent assisted dying. Rather, the example shows that we should give our decision-makers the tools they need to do their jobs properly and democratically. In Jersey, politicians understood the informed preference of the people, when given space and time to come to judgment. This enabled decision-makers to break the political deadlock on this complex, sensitive and contested issue.