Democracy café – August

August 2023

These are the notes of the Democracy Café held on 12 August 2023.

A number of people were away for a variety of reasons so attendance was low.

Four topics suggested, two (Citizens Assembly, Stonehenge tunnel) were politely set aside.

We kicked off with What response should we give to our MP John Glen, given his unsatisfactory response to a letter about the pending legislation on Freedom to Demonstrate?

Unfortunately, neither the letter (written by one of us regulars) nor JG’s reply was tabled. Since we couldn’t read the exchange in detail, it was hard to provide an effective/cogent rejoinder.

The discussion brought out many concerns, including: foreign policy outside the reach of local constituencies; the UK’s image/reputation abroad; the particular threat to teachers and solicitors who might face the loss of career if found ‘guilty’ of causing public disturbance; UK status/ credibility within the European Court of Human Rights.

Having agreed we could not prepare a draft a letter to John Glen, we broadened the debate/airing of concerns and opinions, actually encroaching on some of the stuff that would have come up had we opted for the shelved Citizens Assembly theme, and ideas that were to come up after coffee in the National Autonomy.

Shifting semantics means that the words liberal (Liberal?) and conservative (Conservative?) cannot be tossed around with confidence.

The second topic, which triggered another wide-ranging discussion (and the voicing of opinions which varied according to individuals’ depth of research and ‘urge to comply’ vs ‘defiance’) was Should we sacrifice national autonomy in – for example – pandemic preparedness as we collaborate with the World Health Organisation?

The next meeting of the Café is on 9 September.