Our Demands: Power to the People

Corporate power has captured the political process at the expense of the voices of ordinary people. Far-right narratives have used political institutions to continue to target racialised people, the LGBTQIA community, migrants, workers, and those in poverty. We need a redistribution of wealth and power away from national governments and corporations towards people and local agencies.

Our By The Many! demands for a people-powered Europe stem from years of experimenting with citizens’ assemblies. Watch Spaces to Assemble, an episode from our documentary series Holding Spaces about the power of citizens’ assemblies:

Also watch Virginia Fume, formerly of EUmans, explain how transnational assemblies could improve access to healthcare across Europe:

• We call for people’s assemblies and deliberative, participatory democracy for a radical relocation of power and agency
• We call for meaningful civic education in schools and beyond that promotes historical and social awareness and political agency of all people
• We call for transnational lists: we want more power and representation to minoritised and marginalised groups, including racialised groups, LGBTQIA+, women and young people, and greater political diversity for a non-heteronormative, anti-racist, non-anthropocentric democracy
• We call for voting age to be set at 16 years old, in all EU member-states 
• We call for more power to the European Parliament to introduce legislation that is binding in member-states. We call for a redistribution of power away from the national, which means simultaneously power which is closer to the people, and connected power which has a greater impact on a global scale
• We demand voting rights for all residents of Europe
• We demand access to affordable, decent living spaces and a housing market that prioritises the rights of tenants and buy-to-live first-time homeowners over super landlords and corporations buying-to-rent
• We call for the redistribution of wealth across social classes and across borders, ensuring a decent standard of life for all, are achievable aims and essential to democratic societies in which each can participate fully.