Building Relationships with Important People
Willie Sullivan, Senior Director, Campaigns and Scotland:
“Building connections with politicians is incredibly important in mobilising change.
Our work behind the scenes consists of meeting with MPs and their staff to better understand their democratic concerns, gathering information and identifying politicians who share our goals. We are building our reputation as a trusted source of information by providing evidence-based research on a variety of democratic issues.
We work closely with other organisations in the democracy sector to support MPs in raising democratic issues with the government and organising events to facilitate conversations amongst politicians around our policy issues.”
Legislation on the Removal of Hereditary Peers
The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill, has made it to its final stage in parliament in which the House of Lords reviews the changes made in the Commons. This bill will end the right of hereditary peers to hold a seat in the second chamber simply because of the family they were born into. The 92 seats for hereditary peers were retained as part of a deal during the 1999 Lords reforms but this was only ever intended to be a temporary measure.
After 26 years, and despite the passage of the bill being delayed with peers tabling a huge number of amendments for this two-page bill, it now looks likely to make it into law. We will continue to press the government on their work towards the promised second stage of Lords reform in which voters get a say in who makes laws on their behalf.
Upcoming Bill on Improving Elections
In July the government released a strategy statement outlining proposals for the forthcoming Elections Bill. The statement committed to lowering the franchise to 16 as expected but also included many other measures that we have been campaigning for, such as automatic registration (AVR) which will be piloted before introduction, and changes to the voter ID scheme. The government’s strategy also looks to tighten rules around political donations and increase the Electoral Commission’s powers with an increase in the maximum fine it can impose.
We expect the bill to be introduced to parliament soon and we will continue to work with government and with MPs to ensure that the bill is the best it can be for voters.
English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill
The English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill has also been making its way through parliament this autumn. Prior to publication we argued for returning to a preferential system for Mayoral elections (which were changed to FPTP elections in the Elections Act 2022).
We were delighted that the government listened and the bill will change these elections back to the Supplementary Vote, meaning the preferences of voters will be better reflected in the outcome of these elections. This bill has also given us the opportunity to raise the issue of PR for English local government elections with the government and with MPs.
Proportional Representation Debated in Parliament
In January, MPs met in Parliament to debate proportional representation, which was a welcome and vital opportunity to discuss a fairer and more representative democracy for all. In preparation for this debate, we actively encouraged MPs to attend and speak out in support of fair votes. To support this, we provided them with our key research – emphasising how the voting system is truly letting voters down.
This debate built on the success of a Ten-Minute Rule Bill raised by Sarah Olney at the end of last year, in which she made the case for a voting system that treats everyone fairly. Over 100 MPs have joined a parliamentary group on electoral reform – upping the pressure on the government to take action on our failing voting system.
This Year at the Party Conferences
Having a presence at the major party conferences is a key activity in our campaigning work. Party conferences provide us with opportunities to get our issues in front of people who can make a difference. Across a typical conference we host fringe events to generate high-level discussions on our issues, meet with MPs and key stakeholders in the party, and come together with our allies from across the movement to make the case for fair votes.
This year our staff team attended the autumn Conferences for Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Reform and Greens. We also attended the Liberal Democrat spring conference at the start of the year.
Support the Electoral Reform Society
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