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
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
Big changes to Welsh Police and Crime Commissioner electionsToday, voters across Wales will have to show ID to vote for the first time as they head to the polls to elect four Police and Crime Commissioners, covering North Wales, Dyfed Powys, Gwent and...Posted 02 May 2024
Analysis: Police and Crime Commissioners and the Supplementary VoteThe re-run of May’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) election in Wiltshire and Swindon takes place on the 19th August, after the winning candidate was disbarred due to a historical driving conviction. The original election...Posted 19 Aug 2021
We can’t let the government force a broken system on important electionsThis week, Home Secretary Priti Patel laid out new plans as part of a review into the role of Police and Crime Commissioners. The move would see the current preference-based Supplementary Vote (SV) system replaced...Posted 19 Mar 2021
Making it easier for unpopular candidates to become Mayors turns back the clockThese are deeply concerning plans to change our elections.Posted 18 Mar 2021
The Conservatives just pledged to take our democracy back decadesYesterday Theresa May launched the Conservatives’ manifesto. There was a lot of talk about ‘moving forwards’. But one pledge stuck out as doing the exact opposite. Theresa May has pledged to impose (or in the manifesto’s...Posted 19 May 2017