From random results to Lords-a-claiming – 2017 and the Electoral Reform SocietyLooking back on the past year, there’s a strong sense of achievement at the issues the ERS has been able to raise – and we are equipped with stronger arguments than ever for reform. It...Posted 06 Dec 2017
The House of Lords is a rolling expenses scandal – now politicians must actThe past two years have not been good for the House of Lords. Despite legislation to expel those who commit crimes or fail to attend, there are still those who do very little yet continue...Posted 21 Nov 2017
The proposed Lords reforms are sticking plaster politics: Peers are writing their own rulesWe’re at a rare point in politics. There is almost a consensus on the need for change –to cut down the supersized House of Lords. At the end of this month, a key Lords committee...Posted 19 Oct 2017
The public can unite on the big issues around Brexit: the Citizens’ Assembly showed howJust a few days ago, a representative body of UK citizens came together to do something new: work across divides together to find a way forward on Brexit. Members of the Citizens’ Assembly on Brexit...Posted 03 Oct 2017
This is your chance to steer the movement for fair votesDo you have the skills the Electoral Reform Society needs for the future? This year our members are electing the ERS’ Council – it’s the governing body of the Society, with ultimate responsibility for its...Posted 29 Sep 2017
You did it: Parliament is going to debate adopting fair votesEarlier this year, the scale of public anger at our broken voting system was revealed. Despite no General Election being on the horizon at the time – and starting from scratch – voters shattered expectations:...Posted 14 Sep 2017
The myth that Westminster’s voting system is ‘strong and stable’ has been bust for goodIf ‘strong and stable’ has been the motto of Parliament’s First Past the Post voting system, June 5th put an end to that myth once and for all. For the third time in a row,...Posted 24 Aug 2017
June 2017’s election was the third strike for Westminster’s voting system. It’s outThe evidence is there for us all to see now: the 2017 General Election was the third strike for the First Past the Post voting system. From producing a Parliament where no party got more...Posted 21 Aug 2017
We have a chance to revitalise British democracy – I look forward to leading the pushOn Monday I began my role as Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society – the world’s longest-standing pro-democracy group. I join at a time of huge change for democracy in the UK. The ERS has grown...Posted 08 Aug 2017
The results come in for the UK’s most bizarre and elitist electionBaron Vaux of Harrowden (or Richard Hubert Gordon Gilbey) has won a seat for life on the basis of 16 (out of 27 cast) aristocrats’ votes. How did we get here? In 1999, the House...Posted 20 Jul 2017