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"As a mother, I don't want to pass a broken system on to the next generation. After growing up in Northern Ireland and serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, I've seen what happens when states fail: ordinary people pay the price. I trained as a biological anthropologist, and have spent my career exploring how societies survive and thrive. After twenty-five years inside government, I believe we can't rely on the systems we inherited. The UK urgently needs new ways to think, decide and act together - before events decide for us."

"If you want to repair democracy, you need to create a more deliberative society. When people deliberate on polarised and contentious issues, they come out with greater mutual respect, feel their opinions are worth listening to, pay more attention to public affairs, and have higher voting rates. The effect is a surprise, but it's pretty dramatic. The National Strategy Project allows us to spread the benefits of deliberation. We're able to gather a whole country in "one room", using a platform that moderates and balances the discussion. If we scale this to tens or hundreds of thousands of people, it could cool the temperature, reduce rancour, and help create more informed, engaged citizens."

"Who isn't in the room yet - and what becomes possible when they are? I've spent my career asking that question. I've seen what happens when you bring genuinely different perspectives together - the sparks that fly, the conversations that break open, the sense that something new, something innovative could happen. I believe fundamentally in the power of dialogue and people to generate change from the bottom up. That's where movements begin. The National Strategy Project is built around that magic - we're creating the space for every voice to participate, and for all of us to shape what comes next together."

"Having seen around the world how easily echo chambers can create polarisation, I'm convinced that our democracy needs constant nurturing and renewal, in order for it to succeed for everyone in it. I'm now focused on creating a new framework for informed debate, thoughtful trade-offs and genuine understanding - helping people step outside their bubble and reconnect with other people across society. That mission is what led me to co-found the National Strategy Project."

"I grew up in a time when democracy felt a lot more comfortable, when people disagreed politely and mostly seemed to get along. Today's polarisation is making us all more unhappy and antagonistic. Meanwhile, no one is addressing the big long-term challenges facing us. This approach won't be easy, but we have to try. The only way we'll ever achieve a national consensus is through rational debate. We have to take pride in building for the country's future as previous generations did."

"Everyone knows the system isn't working in our long-term interests. People don't trust politicians or institutions. Politicians have the impossible task of solving complex problems confidently, while the real trade-offs are often hidden from the public. The way that power operates must change. Decision making must include greater public agency, informed public judgement on the issues that matter, so our institutions can evolve. The NSP can kick start a whole deliberative system for the UK, at massive scale. It will be too big and too interesting to ignore."

"I have a really vivid memory of taking my kids to the London Paralympics. Everyone was so welcoming. Surrounded by people of every age, colour and background, I felt super-proud to be British. That's what we should be about! We seem so far away from that now. Society is starting to fracture and polarise in a deeply worrying way. I see what is happening in other countries and I do not want us to go down that road. People feel let down and ignored. The NSP is one of the few initiatives that might restore some agency, optimism and cohesion."

"I arrived in the UK almost a decade ago and consider it my home. I see lots of regular citizens around me who have the interest and ability to be involved in politics, and want to do more than just vote once every few years. If we create the right conditions for people to participate, they can contribute much more. Past Deliberative Polls show again and again that the extremist views presented by parties and the media are not an accurate representation of what people really think. The people of the UK deserve a chance to be heard through peaceful and civil conversations. Everyone should have the opportunity to help decide the future of this country."