FORMER Prime Minister Gordon Brown has revealed plans to hold a series of neighbourhood assemblies across Scotland to help bring the country “back together”.
The assemblies will be organised by think tank Our Scottish Future and follow the launch of the Scottish Government’s own independent Citizens’ Assembly.
Among those chairing the events will be former Labour MEP David Martin, who recently stood down as co-convener of the Scottish Government’s Citizens’ Assembly for personal reasons, and his party colleague, former first minister Henry McLeish.
Former Labour MP Lesley Laird and human rights activist Pam Duncan-Glancy are among those who have been invited to host the free assemblies, which will begin next month and be held in community halls.
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Brown said: “Decisions in this country should not be made by dictates from the top, but from the ground up by hearing what people think and aspire to. That’s why, over the course of the next few months, Our Scottish Future will hold a series of neighbourhood assemblies with the aim of hearing from Scots of all political backgrounds, or none, on how they want the country to move forward.
“And I hope that by discussing – and sharing – our hopes and fears for the future with each other, our local communities can offer up the ideas and a vision for the future that we can all back and can bring us back together.”
Among the issues which will be discussed are child poverty, climate change and the economy and what they mean for Scotland’s constitutional future ahead of the 2021 Holyrood elections.
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