Each year we write an Annual Review which looks back at our achievements across the last 12 months, and explains how our team have campaigned towards securing our vision for a democracy fit for the...
Posted 09 Dec 2025
As we approach the next Scottish parliamentary election, there’s a familiar narrative creeping into the conversation: that the system of proportional representation used in Holyrood is somehow ‘designed to stop a majority.’ It’s a catchy...
Posted 15 Oct 2025
This summer, I visited Folkemødet, Denmark’s annual democracy festival held in the coastal town of Allinge on the island of Bornholm. It’s a place where citizens, politicians, NGOs, and businesses gather in a relaxed, open-air...
Posted 01 Sep 2025
Last week, Dunfermline took another confident stride toward becoming a beacon of democratic innovation in Scotland. On Tuesday, Public Finance Minister Ivan McKee visited the Abbeyview Community Hub to meet with local councillors, Fife Council...
Posted 27 Aug 2025
Sometimes it is useful to take some time to digest an event fully, and come to some considerations about it. A few weeks ago, on April 26th, the Electoral Reform Society Scotland collaborated with a...
Posted 02 Jun 2025
Scotland is entering a new era in public life. The last decade has been dominated by the aftermath and consequences of two major constitutional events: the Scottish independence referendum and Brexit. Now, it is time...
Posted 12 Mar 2025
We are living through an uncertain political era. Many old certainties are shifting geopolitically and the UK has only just emerged from a chaotic Westminster parliament that saw three Prime Ministers in a year. Yet...
Posted 26 Feb 2025
After 25 years of devolution, there is much to discuss and debate. Come to this fringe to explore the impact of the Scottish Parliament, and what the future for democracy in Scotland might look like....
Posted 29 Aug 2024
I was delighted to be asked to moderate the main Plenary Session of the 9th Annual Congress on European Local Government in Poland last week to discuss ‘New Ideas of Decentralisation in a Changing World’....
Posted 12 Mar 2024
The UK has gone through a period of turmoil and volatility which has polarised society and degraded institutions. Millions of people feel alienated from official politics, while trust is at an all-time low. There is...
Posted 31 Jan 2024