Articles by Darren Hughes

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The ERS team at a historic Labour Conference

The campaign for fair votes recently achieved a historic victory when Labour Party Conference voted for a manifesto commitment to proportional representation for general elections. This is a massive moment for democracy in the UK....

Posted 05 Oct 2022

Darren’s Diary - Behind the scenes at Labour Conference

The Power of Preferences: STV in Scottish Local Elections

Much talk of the need for electoral reform focuses on Westminster and the goal of a proportionally elected House of Commons. But while the UK Parliament, and almost all of England’s elections, are still held...

Posted 26 Apr 2022

The Power of Preferences_STV in Scottish Local Elections preview

IWD: Why proportional representation can be a driving force for political equality

A driving force for most people who believe in electoral reform is the belief that seats should match votes and that the broad and diverse communities that make up the United Kingdom should have their...

Posted 08 Mar 2022

Here to Stay: Two Decades of Proportional Representation in Britain

The 6 May 2021 was a milestone for the campaign for fairer votes in Britain. The date marked the sixth set of elections to take place for each of Great Britain’s devolved elected institutions –...

Posted 31 Jul 2021

Here To Stay Two Decades of Proportional Representation in Britain

The ERS’ new strategy for 2021-2024: Alliances, agreements and action for real reform

Since the ERS published our last strategy in 2016, UK politics has, in some ways, changed beyond recognition. Britain has left the European Union, the pandemic has reshaped our society, and we’ve had leadership changes...

Posted 23 Jul 2021

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