the autumn and Spring 2020. MSPs, MPs, MEPs, councillors and members of the House of Lords, political party staff, public appointees and senior public and civil servants will be ineligible to sit on the Assembly, as will representatives and officials of relevant advocacy groups. David Martin, former Member of the European Parliament for Scotland, and Kate Wimpress, from a charity and arts background, took office as co-conveners on 6 August 2019. Criticism The Citizens' Assembly has received criticism with some claiming the initiative is being used as a tool to achieve independence. Pro-independence journalist Neil Mackay has criticised the Scottish Government's approach to the citizens' assembly due to its announcement being alongside planning for a referendum on independence and SNP MP Joanna Cherry QC's comments on the links between a citizens' assembly and its links with independence. Counter to this, Citizens' Assembly Co-convener David Martin said that under his chairmanship, the Citizens' Assembly will remain independent of Government and non-partisan, with the Assembly deciding amongst its members how to approach its remit without interference. Martin also called Cherry's comments 'unhelpful' making the task of establishing the assembly 'ten times harder'. The Scottish Conservatives and the Scottish Liberal Democrats alongside campaign group Scotland in Union have called for a boycott of the Citizens' Assembly. Scottish Labour have not stated a stance on the citizens' assembly, with Chairman David Martin aiming to establish a non-partisan assembly that will reduce the fears of unionist participants. References Politics of Scotland Citizens' assemblies