In recent weeks, The Scottish Government has opened a major debate about the future structure of local government. As part of its recent publication on the issue, the government argues that some councils are “too...
Posted 08 Oct 2026
I had the opportunity to visit Denmark’s democracy festival, Folkemødet, (translated as the People’s Meeting), this June. Representatives from Perth and Kinross council, Argyll and Bute council and I, swapped the Scottish summer rain for the...
Posted 30 Jul 2026
Coverage of elections down in England can often give the impression that results which are wildly different from the way people vote is just a fact of nature, or at most a strange quirk of...
Posted 14 May 2026
The 2024 General Election in Scotland was a one-sided affair. Scottish Labour won 35.3% of the vote in Scotland and 64.9% of the available seats. While the SNP came a narrow second place on 30%...
Posted 23 Apr 2026
When the Scottish Parliament was created, it was built to be different to Westminster. A system designed to reflect how all Scots voted, not just who comes first in each area. Scotland uses what is...
Posted 25 Mar 2026
Make Scotland’s democracy even more representative.
Posted 02 Feb 2026
Scotland’s Parliament has always been better at representing the political makeup of Scotland than Westminster. A parliament where votes mattered more, where power was shared, and where the political map reflected how people actually voted....
Posted 28 Jan 2026
Dunfermline, Scotland’s ancient capital, feels like the ideal place to explore new ways for communities to influence decisions. This weekend saw the first meeting of the Dunfermline New City Assembly — a project close to...
Posted 26 Jan 2026
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