Greg Wright: We may be forced to embrace Extinction Rebellion’s beliefs, even if we question their tactics

Read more:

Greg Wright: Non-disclosure agreements must not be used to silence whistleblowers

Greg Wright: New Prime Minister has chance to break from pastI’m not talking about Extinction Rebellion, the environmental activists who held a high profile and controversial demonstration in Leeds city centre last week.

I’m referring to the Chartists, who held noisy protests in Yorkshire 180 years ago because they wanted to have a say in how their country was run.

Today, the Chartists are honoured as heroes who campaigned for rights we take for granted, such as secret ballots and universal suffrage. But at the time, they were regarded as a pain in the neck by the established order and anyone else who just wanted to keep their heads down and lead a quiet life.

It’s just possible that, in 60 years’ time, people will wonder why so few of us were willing to take to the streets to protest about climate change.

I hold no brief for Extinction Rebellion. I can sympathise with anyone who faced frustration and disruption last week. The environmental activists blocked a Leeds street for five days, infuriating locals and acting as a drain on precious police resources.

Many people will sympathise with the commuter who tweeted: “They talk about extinction but they’ve probably just threatened the existence of genuine working class families by hitting them in the pocket by preventing them going out to work, or making them late.”

Their tactics are questionable. The people who suffer as a result of this type of protest are often the poorest in society who cannot get to work because their route is blocked.

But it’s worth examining the beliefs of Extinction Rebellion, so we can attempt to understand what motivates them.

Extinction Rebellion is calling on the Government to declare a climate and ecological emergency and work with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.

Like the Chartists, Extinction Rebellion is calling for changes in the way the Government engages with its citizens.

The campaigners are calling for the establishment of a citizens’ assembly to make recommendations about how to combat climate change.

It would work in a way similar to jury service, according to the campaigners. Members are randomly selected from the population by a process called sortition. Quotas are used to ensure that the assembly is representative in terms of key characteristics such as gender, age, ethnicity, education level and geography

The members spend time deliberating in small, facilitated groups and then draft and vote on recommendations.

Organisers of Extinction Rebellion say citizens’ assemblies around the world – for example in Ireland, Canada, Australia, Belgium and Poland – have demonstrated that the general public can understand complex information, deliberate on options, and make fair and impartial choices.

A citizens’ assembly on climate and ecological justice would give politicians access to public judgements that have been reached in a fair and informed way, according to Extinction Rebellion. Citizens’ assemblies can be used when difficult trade-offs are necessary. For example, experts might propose policies on how to meet a 2025 target for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and the assembly would then decide which one they prefer.

To critics, this might sound very naive. But consider the influence of the People’s Charter of 1838, which was drawn up by working class activists who had been enraged by the slow pace of electoral reform. The Chartists’ noisy demands were regarded as subversive and the movement died a slow death. They were dismissed by many as a feckless group of failed rabble-rousers.

However, by 1918, five of the Chartists’ six demands had been achieved. Their dream of a Parliamentary system built around a secret ballot was not an impossible one. As our climate undergoes unsettling changes, we may well be forced to embrace the policies advocated by Extinction Rebellion, even if we despise their tactics.