This isn’t reform. It’s a revolution in representation

Simon Hobson

Ask the average person who their local councillor is, and you’ll likely be met with a shrug. Ask them what their council actually does, and things don’t improve much. And yet, these are the people making decisions about bins, roads, schools, care homes — the fabric of everyday life.

We are told this is democracy. But it doesn’t feel like it. The truth is democracy — real democracy — has been starved. Starved of imagination, of courage, of the public’s trust.

People have grown tired of being asked to believe in a system that no longer believes in them.

If we want to revive democracy in Wales, we must rebuild it from the ground up. Not with tweaks. Not with tinkering. But with transformation.

It begins with this: councils must go. In their place? People’s Assemblies.

The people step in

People’s Assemblies are not about party politics, careerism, or faceless bureaucracy. They are made of us — ordinary people, drawn from their communities, not to ‘represent’ in the old sense, but to act. To listen. To speak. To decide.

People’s Assemblies across Wales. In our communities. Each one a living, breathing embodiment of local power. Membership is determined by lot, like jury duty — not by tribal political groupings, popularity contests or social media wars. And because these assemblies will reflect the communities they serve; they will be as diverse as Wales itself.

Assembly members will serve for three months. Five hours a day. Paid fairly. Expenses covered. A civic service, not a life sentence.

No more rubber stamps

What do these assemblies do?

They pass policy. Set budgets. Hold power. If the local road needs fixing, if a community wants more green space, if houses need building — these people don’t just write reports about it. They do something about it.

And when they don’t know the answer, they ask. Assemblies will be able to call on specialist advisers: professionals in road engineering, the law, accounting and others such specialists — guiding complex decisions without taking them over. Of course, a benefit of the lot system of selecting participants in our People’s Assemblies is that many professionals will be brought into the process.

But here’s where it gets interesting. Because voting on policies affecting our communities doesn’t stop with the assemblies.

The liquid thread

Enter Liquid Democracy — a system that lets every citizen of Wales have a voice in any decision that affects them. You want to vote directly? Great. You want to delegate your vote on climate policy to your mate who’s a marine biologist? Also, great. Education to your sister, the teacher? Go for it.

Delegated voting isn’t a blank cheque. You can take back your vote anytime. You can see exactly how your chosen delegate voted. You can build a chain of trust — issue by issue, person by person.

It’s flexible. It’s transparent. And it’s possible now thanks to digital tools that didn’t exist a generation ago.

This is what democracy looks like when you stop asking people to tick a box every few years and start inviting them in. Not just to watch, but to shape. To build. To act.

A Wales that leads

What’s proposed here isn’t just an overhaul of local government. It’s the rekindling of belief — not just in systems or institutions, but in ourselves. That we are capable of more. That we can govern wisely, not because we’ve been trained to, but because we live here. We care. We know.

If Wales wants to lead — truly lead — then let it be in this. Let it be the place where democracy lives again. Not behind closed doors or on white paper reports, but in community halls, school gyms, community libraries —wherever people are ready to step forward and speak.

Let’s stop asking for better politics.

Let’s make it.

A democracy worth believing in

Refreshing and innovative ideas, such as People’s Assemblies across Wales, are what New Wales was established to realise and debate.

An apolitical and civic think tank focused on reimagining democracy, power, and governance in our nation. New Wales aims to challenge the status quo and put forward bold, practical ideas for transforming how Wales is run — with a strong emphasis on asking the questions many find uncomfortable to posit.

These will include challenging the pathways to democratic reform, community empowerment, making our economy work for the citizens of Wales and what shape does self-determination take on — remaining within the Union under a federalised autonomy, dominion status or the road to sovereignty?

At its core, New Wales believes that the current devolution given to Wales by Westminster is designed to create a dysfunctional Senedd. Making Wales work for our nation’s citizens requires their participation. If you want to be involved in building Wales’ future, get in touch with us at — New Wales.

Simon Hobson’s early years on his Welsh grandparent’s farm sparked a lifelong passion for earth sciences and wildlife. After a professional cycling career across Europe, he earned a mining engineering degree from the renowned Camborne School of Mines in Cornwall, leading to a global career in the field. For over 20 years, Simon has been active in wildlife conservation and rural advocacy. In 2024, he stood as a Liberal Democrat candidate in the Westminster elections but was later deselected for pushing greater internal debate on improving devolution for Wales. He is a co-founder of the think tank: New Wales.