MPs vote to cut short First Past the Post’s imposition on MayorsOn 2 September 2025, the House of Commons held the second reading of the English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill. While the bill covers many areas, one of the clauses is something we have been...Posted 03 Sep 2025
Government decision to restore Supplementary Vote system elections is a big win for votersToday we can celebrate a big win in the fight for a fairer democracy. The government has announced in its English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill that it will be scrapping First Past the Post...Posted 10 Jul 2025
Why are our mayors winning on less than 30% of the vote?This past week’s mayoral elections marked a worrying milestone for democracy in England. For the first time ever, two combined authority mayors have been elected on less than 30% of the vote – with one...Posted 07 May 2025
Are we going to see Mayors elected with even lower levels of public support in 2025?Four Combined Authority mayors will be elected on 1 May 2025, but changes to the rules could see mayors taking power with little public support locally. Voters are going to the polls in the following...Posted 24 Apr 2025
Positive statements on restoring the electoral system for Mayors and PCCsThere have been positive noises from government ministers on repairing one part of the damage done to our democracy by the previous government. At the Local Government Association conference this week, government minister Jim McMahon...Posted 24 Oct 2024
Imposing First Past the Post on these roles was a mistakeThe recent mayoral and Police and Crime Commissioner elections took place under a First Past the Post (FPTP) system, where people are able to put just one ‘X’ on their ballot – choosing only one...Posted 15 May 2024
Local elections: A third of the vote shouldn’t make a mayorThe local and mayoral elections saw the corrosive impact First Past the Post is having on our democracy writ large. Not only did we witness its continued distorting effect on local council elections, with a...Posted 08 May 2024
24 years ago the Greater London Authority Act gained royal assentThis weekend (11th November) marks the 24th anniversary of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 gaining royal assent. The Greater London Authority, comprising the Mayor of London and the London Assembly, was first elected in...Posted 10 Nov 2023
First Past the Post in mayoral elections means less choice and a weaker voiceThis week, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said he is facing his ‘toughest election yet’ but why is that? When Labour have a national polling majority of somewhere in the region of 20...Posted 02 Nov 2023
New rules see Mayors elected without majority supportCoverage of the local elections has been dominated by punditry over what the results mean for next year’s general election and the government’s controversial voter ID scheme, which saw countless people turned away from casting...Posted 10 May 2023