A so-called by-election is showing the Lords up as a disaster for democracyHere’s a strange fact, a week ahead of the centenary of women’s right to stand for Parliament: 90 seats in the Palace of Westminster are effectively reserved for men. Voting has just begun for the...Posted 15 Nov 2018
Foreign influence, not voter fraud, is the biggest threat to our democracy“Do we need to start messaging ‘widespread reports of election fraud’, so we are positively set up for the recount regardless of the final number?” wrote one Republican businessman earlier this year. “Yes” came the...Posted 12 Nov 2018
The threat of dark money goes beyond BrexitTwo and a half years on from the EU referendum, the result is still being discussed and debated. Arguably more important though is another story: whether the rules of the game are bust. The weekend...Posted 07 Nov 2018
Lords lost in stasis as fake reforms go nowherePolitics is often dominated by disagreements, but one thing almost everyone agrees on is this: the House of Lords is too big. At 800 members, we have the largest second chamber in the world. So...Posted 02 Nov 2018
Lords are lobbying – our second chamber is leaving us open to foreign interferenceA story last week showed the House of Lords for what it really is: a lobbyist’s paradise. As revealed by The Times, a series of peers have financial interest in Russia. Some of these have...Posted 29 Oct 2018
Labour voters know to get an economy for the many, we’ll need a democratic overhaulSince Labour’s Democracy Review was launched last year, the party’s internal structures have been exhaustively debated, picked over, and now amended. The process by which parliamentary candidates are selected in Labour-held constituencies has been a...Posted 26 Sep 2018
The government is wearing blinkers over Voter ID – and it’s voters who will sufferThis week the Cabinet Office launched its call for councils to join a second-round of voter ID pilots, due to take place in next May’s elections. In the prospectus, ministers are keen to frame the...Posted 28 Aug 2018
Citizens’ Juries could become the core of a revived local democracyDeliberative forms of democracy are certainly coming into fashion. From the Irish Citizens’ Assembly that led to the historic repeal of their constitutional ban of abortion, to that which informed the Health and Social Care...Posted 23 Aug 2018
Why pressure is growing from the PM’s own ranks to back votes at 16The Electoral Reform Society has launched a new pamphlet titled ‘Civic Duty: The Conservative Case for Votes at 16 & 17.’ Below is its introduction written by ERS Chief Executive, Darren Hughes. British politics is...Posted 11 Jul 2018
These ‘sham elections’ in the House of Lords must end – as the first step towards real changeToday, with 12 votes, the Earl of Devon won the by-election to decide who will replace Earl Baldwin of Bewdley in the House of Lords. Wherever you stand on the House of Lords, the Prime...Posted 04 Jul 2018