A new politics: A citizens' convention

Trust in our politicians has collapsed. How can it be restored? Public confidence cannot even begin to return this side of a general election. The public rightly want the opportunity to hold this parliament to account for its actions. We also need to clean up the system of expenses and ensure that MPs' pay and allowances are set and audited by an independent body.
But restoring trust will also require wider reform. Everyone has their favourite proposition for reforming our dysfunctional political system. Many of these measures, such as electoral reform, are desirable for a number of reasons, though their connection to the current controversy is not obvious. Whatever the merits of individual measures, the most important condition for any process of political renewal is that it must be led by the public itself.
There is currently a mismatch between the conversations politicians are having – about the pros and cons of different reform measures – and the wider public conversation, which is almost exclusively about expenses. The reformists are right to claim that measures such as electoral reform are essential to the renewal of our political system, but the wider public is largely absent from that debate.
The government is to set up a national council for democratic renewal, made up of ministers and constitutional experts. But voters do not want a reform programme that has been foisted on them by a class of politicians who have lost their political authority. Instead, a citizens' convention should be established, tasked with reviewing the political system. The convention would be made up of 150-200 ordinary citizens, selected by lot like a jury. It would take evidence at "town hall" meetings around the country and would recommend a number of options for reform. These could be voted on by parliament or by the public in a referendum.
If trust is to be regained, we need to take the constitutional reform debate out of the Westminster village and ask the British people what kind of politics they want.