Articles by Darren Hughes

Author:

View by category

View by date

Building a better democracy – 2020 and the Electoral Reform Society

It’s hard to think of a more troubling year in living memory. But the public health crisis has, perhaps counter-intuitively, put issues of democracy at the forefront. The election may feel like a distant memory,...

Posted 07 Dec 2020

In both the US and Britain, millions are silenced by a broken electoral system

First published in the i newspaper While President Trump looked hopefully at a path to re-election on Tuesday night, one fact offered a little consolation to Democrats: they were winning the popular vote. But in...

Posted 06 Nov 2020

Voters have had enough of the unelected Lords. The PM and peers need to listen up

The first of the Prime Minister’s 36 new appointments to the unelected House of Lords have started to take their seats. They do so at a time of growing public outrage at the state of...

Posted 07 Sep 2020

Just 12% of people support keeping the chamber in its current form

Our elections watchdog needs strengthening, not scrapping

You’d think given the rising tide of disinformation, dodgy donations and dark ads online, the government might be getting serious about empowering our elections watchdog. Instead, the Conservative Party has actually issued a call to...

Posted 03 Sep 2020

Abolishing the Electoral Commission would be a dangerous backwards step

The unelected House of Lords is undermining Britain’s reputation

Britain's ability to speak up for democracy abroad has just taken a major self-inflicted hit.

Posted 06 Aug 2020

It’s time for the Labour Party to get behind real democracy at Westminster

The rules that govern our politics have a lot to answer for when it comes to political in-fighting and polarisation.

Posted 07 Jul 2020

Why are Britain’s unelected Lords hiding from scrutiny?

It was a Parliamentary first – and it went without a hitch. On Wednesday, voters and MPs tuned in to the first-ever 'virtual' Prime Minister’s Questions.

Posted 24 Apr 2020

Keir Starmer will have to combine working together with in-depth scrutiny

Within hours of victory, new Labour leader Keir Starmer had vowed to work with Boris Johnson ‘in the national interest’ to tackle the mounting coronavirus crisis – following a letter from the PM urging opposition...

Posted 09 Apr 2020

We have to start here and now, to fill the vacuum of scrutiny

The ERS, democracy and the coronavirus crisis

ERS staff are, as you would imagine, working from home, and our events and meetings have all been postponed. While the office is closed, we’re still keeping up our work remotely (do contact [email protected] if...

Posted 24 Mar 2020

When millions of voters are systematically ignored, it’s time for an overhaul at Westminster

One thing was clear before a single result came in on Thursday night. The voting system is not just bust – it’s bankrupt. A huge amount of time was given this election to talk about...

Posted 16 Dec 2019