HOLYROOD’S parties have been urged to make manifesto pledges to take forward the ground-breaking work of the Scotland’s first Citizens Assembly in the next parliament.

Leading a debate on the Assembly’s report, Constitution Secretary Mike Russell said he expected the SNP would vow to advance its contribution to Scotland’s democracy and appealed to the other parties to do likewise.

The £1.4m exercise, involving a group 100 citizens representing a “mini-Scotland”, last month made 60 recommendations, including Holyrood having powers over immigration, employment and tax.

After persevering over 15 months because of disruption by the pandemic, it said it wanted Scotland to “lead with integrity, honesty, humility and transparency, in a self-sufficient and innovative way, and actively include the people in decision making”.

Many of the ideas in its report, Doing Politics Differently, were effectively a critique of Holyrood’s political class, and called for citizen scrutiny of Government plans and Bills, and far wider use of citizens assemblies at national and local level in future.

In a sign of its influence, Holyrood’s Covid-19 committee earlier discussed a report it had received from a mini-assembly on how the Government should tackle the pandemic long-term.

Mr Russell told MSPs that what the Assembly had achieved had far exceeded many MSPs’ expectations, especially given Unionist fears it was designed to promote independence.

He said the Government had given a commitment to consider its recommendations very seriously, but was inevitably constrained by the pandemic and May’s looming election.

“So, I propose that Parliament, while strongly welcoming the report that is in front of us, commends the report to the Scottish Government and Parliament, and does so not neutrally, but with a strong recommendation that our successors take forward this important work.

“For my part, I expect that my party will make a manifesto commitment to consider the recommendations that have been made by the assembly and, if re-elected to Government, to publish a comprehensive response to the report.

“I hope that colleagues in other parties will make similar pledges.”

With many of the recommendations relying on powers held at Westminster, he said he would also the Assembly report with the UK Government “because it is important that it, too, hears the voice of that representative group of the Scottish population”.

The Tories said the SNP should take the report’s recommendations on greater government transparency and its complaints about a lack of public trust in politics to heart.

MSP Dean Lockart said: “We do not need to look far to find examples of how we can easily achieve better transparency and accountability.”

Labour MSP Anas Sarwar said: “What the report shows us is that, when we give people the chance, they put forward ambitious, radical proposals to create a fairer, more equal Scotland. They also look at what we can unite behind, rather than what we can divide on.

“The report makes bold proposals, and it is safe to say that some of those proposals are not matched by the outcomes that our Parliament and our Government have achieved.”

Green MSP Patrick Harvie said: “As we group together in political parties, we do not always listen with an open mind to ideas that come from outwith our own parties. A citizens assembly is a way of ensuring that ideas are thought about in a deliberative way, in which people without a party political axe to grind consider the evidence, hear from the experts and express a thoughtful view. That is what has happened in this case.”

MSPs voted 89 to 29 in favour of a Scottish Government motion to note the report, with Labour and Green amendments underlining its ideas on inequality and climate change.

A Tory amendment stating that different political parties would “take a different view on the recommendations”, passed unanimously.

Assembly convener Kate Wimpress said: “MSPs clearly grasp the singular value of members’ work in staking out common ground for us to build on as a society, and we now expect action in the next Parliament to make the Assembly’s vision and recommendations a reality.

“This marks a new chapter in our democracy with citizens at its heart, and puts Scotland at the forefront of democratic innovation globally.”

Shirley, an Assembly member, added: “Our vision and recommendations represent the voice of ordinary, everyday people. They come from real life experiences, and they weren’t just pulled out of a hat. They were agreed through an honest, independent and transparent process that belonged to us members, and a lot of hard work and evidence.

“I want MSPs to listen and take our recommendations very seriously. My message to them is: we need you to take our report to the next level and make policy out of this.”

Willie Sullivan, director of the Electoral Reform Society Scotland, urged MSPs to put the report’s findings into effect after the election.

He said: “It showed citizens themselves can shape the path forward for Scotland after this pandemic. MSPs must do more than debate the findings – they must take forward proposals to boost scrutiny and transparency, and open up decision-making to local communities.”