Trailblazing New Politics

Trailblazers is drawn to deliberative democracy — decision-making rooted in listening, dialogue, and collective wisdom. Unlike traditional top-down party politics, this model empowers ordinary people to deliberate on issues that affect them, with facilitators guiding but not imposing outcomes.

So far, two approaches have been at the centre of our thinking:

1. People’s Assemblies

• Open, grassroots forums where anyone can join the discussion.

• Aimed at surfacing values, stories, and lived experience.

• Tend to be informal, fluid, and more accessible to diverse voices.

• Work best for movement-building, community listening, and creating shared vision (e.g., feeding into our Manifesto).

2. Citizens’ Assemblies

• Randomly selected, representative groups of citizens (using sortition, like jury duty).

• Participants deliberate on a defined question, supported by balanced information and skilled facilitation.

• Produce recommendations that carry legitimacy because they reflect society’s diversity.

• Work best for policy development and testing practical proposals (e.g., pilots from Beacons).

Direct Democracy: The Swiss Model (briefly)

Switzerland has one of the most developed systems of direct democracy in the world.

• Citizens can initiate referenda to challenge or propose laws.

• They vote regularly on local and national issues (a few times a year).

• It’s embedded in political culture, but it requires high civic literacy and turnout to function well.

This model gives people direct decision-making power but can risk oversimplification of complex issues if not paired with deliberative processes (where citizens have time to learn and discuss before voting).

How Trailblazers Can Integrate Assemblies

Since Trailblazers is a movement, not a party, assemblies can become both practice and principle:

Manifesto Development

• People’s Assemblies at Gatherings and Beacons feed values, visions, and stories into the evolving manifesto.

• This keeps it alive, co-authored, and rooted in lived experience.

Policy Prototyping

• Citizens’ Assemblies at regional or national level could test specific proposals (e.g. on local commons, energy, housing).

• Beacon-led pilots feed data and experience back into assemblies.

Movement DNA

• Assemblies are not just tools but a philosophy of governance.

• Trailblazers could pledge that all major decisions — whether internal (movement direction) or external (policy recommendations) — are guided by assembly-style processes.

Bridge to Direct Democracy

Assemblies can complement (not replace) direct voting.

For example: A Citizens’ Assembly debates an issue → produces recommendations → movement members or wider public vote.

This avoids the pitfalls of “yes/no” referenda by grounding votes in informed deliberation.

TRAILBAZERS MANIFESTO

✅ Useful Links & What They Cover