Direct Democracy & Citizens’ Assemblies
How Shake It Up puts power back into the hands of Lambeth residents
Shake It Up isn’t just about challenging party politics, it’s about rebuilding democracy from the ground up, so people who live and work in Lambeth can take real responsibility for shaping their communities.
For too long, decisions have been made about communities rather than with them. We believe lasting change only happens when power, resources and responsibility flow to those working on the ground, and when decision-making is shared, transparent and inclusive.
That’s why Shake It Up is built on Direct Democracy.
What do we mean by Direct Democracy?
Direct Democracy is a way for communities to govern themselves through Citizens’ Assemblies.
Instead of voting for representatives and hoping they make the right decisions behind closed doors, residents come together to:
Learn about key issues affecting their area
Hear from people with lived experience and subject-matter expertise
Discuss options openly and respectfully
Agree recommendations they believe will genuinely work
This approach values collaboration over competition, and participation over passivity.
What is a Citizens’ Assembly?
A Citizens’ Assembly is a group of local residents brought together to deliberate on a specific issue and help shape solutions.
Assemblies are not about winning arguments or pushing personal agendas. They are structured spaces designed to support:
Informed discussion
Shared understanding
Collective decision-making
The goal isn’t perfection, it’s better decisions, made together, by people who understand the realities of their community.
How are people chosen to take part?
Representation matters.
To ensure a Citizens’ Assembly reflects the full diversity of a community, not just those who are most confident, available or politically active, participants are selected randomly.
This method is known as sortition.
We know many residents have caring responsibilities and access needs. The Citizens’ Assembly will provide financial and other support to residents who are selected to remove as many barriers to participation as possible.
How do Assemblies avoid corruption or capture by powerful interests?
Citizens’ Assemblies are designed specifically to reduce the risk of corruption and concentration of power.
Key safeguards include:
Time-limited participation: Members serve for a short period and are then replaced
Collective decision-making: Outcomes must be agreed upon through group discussion, not individual authority
Transparency: Processes and recommendations are open and accountable
These principles are drawn from internationally recognised standards, including those set out by Blue Democracy.
Together, these structures help ensure that decisions serve the wider community rather than narrow interests.
Can “ordinary people” really make big decisions?
Yes — and history shows they often make better ones.
Citizens’ Assemblies are built on the idea that lived experience is a form of expertise. People who use local services, navigate housing, raise families or run businesses in Lambeth understand the impact of decisions in a way no distant authority can.
At the same time, Assemblies are supported by learning:
Experts, researchers and practitioners are invited to share evidence
Witnesses with direct experience explain real-world impacts
Participants are given time and space to reflect before deciding
This combination of lived experience and specialist knowledge creates thoughtful, balanced outcomes grounded in reality.
Where has this worked before?
Citizens’ Assemblies are not an experiment; they are already being used successfully worldwide.
Ireland is widely recognised as a leader in this approach, having held multiple national Citizens’ Assemblies to address complex and sensitive issues.
These assemblies have helped inform major policy decisions and demonstrated the power of participatory democracy in practice.
Why this matters for Lambeth
Shake It Up is working to establish a Lambeth Community Assembly, bringing together residents from all 25 wards to:
Hold Lambeth Council to account
Influence policy in an ongoing, meaningful way
Ensure community voices shape decisions long after elections are over
This is about moving from a politics done to people, to a democracy built with them.
Community power. Shared responsibility. Real accountability.
That’s how we believe Lambeth can work better, for everyone.