England and Wales can learn from Scotland’s success with STVIt is now 15 years since Scotland abandoned First Past the Post for local government elections and adopted theĀ Single Transferable VoteĀ form of proportional representation. What many will have seen as a small shift in process...Posted 01 Apr 2022
Conservative councillor: How the Single Transferable Vote broke open Scotlandās one-party fiefdoms"With STV, we are trying to steal a march on other parties, while at the same time cooperating for the public good."Posted 05 Aug 2021
After a council voted to oppose mandatory voter ID, more could follow suitA council in Scotland will write to the Prime Minister to formally oppose plans to bring in voter ID at future general elections.Posted 25 Jun 2021
2021 Elections: Millions of voters to get fair representation through PROver 12Ā million votersĀ haveĀ a powerful voice today, with proportional representation used in Wales, Scotland and on the London Assembly.Ā Ā Posted 06 May 2021
Holyrood must take forward the Citizensā Assembly’s calls to revamp Scottish democracyPoliticians must move Scottish democracy forward by putting citizens at the centre, the ERS and 17 other leading organisations and campaigners say.Posted 18 Feb 2021
Does PR mean coalitions? As New Zealand shows – it’s all down to the votersThe New Zealand Labour party are celebrating a landslide win, with 49 percent of the vote and enough MPs to form a single-party government on their own. This is the first time since New Zealand...Posted 20 Oct 2020
Looking back at a decade of proportional representation for local elections in Scotland"When we now come to use Westminsterās one-person-takes-all system in Scotland, it seems perverse and unwieldly."Posted 04 May 2020
Is there proportional representation in Scotland?For most of the 20th century, every election in Scotland was conducted under the First Past the Post system, from elections of MPs to local councillors. Much like in the rest of the UK, this...Posted 05 Sep 2019
Citizensā assemblies can help us move beyond a broken Westminster model of politicsThis piece was originally published by The Scotsman. Talk of citizensā assemblies is in the air. Former Conservative leadership contender, Rory Stewart has suggested holding one to break through the Brexit impasse. And on Monday,...Posted 20 Jun 2019
It’s time for Westminster to join Scotland in shunning First Past the PostFirst Past the Post elections are like trying to peel potatoes with a chainsaw.Ā ForĀ much of the UK, people have come to think this clunking old method of giving people a say is the same as...Posted 24 Aug 2017