Six ways to rein in the campaign ‘Wild West’On Monday, the ERS launched a united call for change – with election regulators, campaigners, academics and MPs alike demanding a review of Britain’s political campaign laws. This week marks 15 years since the...Posted 05 Feb 2019
House of Lords – Let’s break open this private members’ club once and for allAs I write, Lords are pouring into The Queen’s Robing Room to select a new member to join them for life. If that sounds like the bizarre initiation ceremony of a private members’ club, you’d...Posted 23 Jan 2019
There’s a way through this Brexit gridlock which can unite the countryThe likelihood of politicians reaching a consensus on Brexit appears to be diminishing by the day – to consternation on all sides. But what if there’s another way? Parliament is split on May’s deal and...Posted 29 Dec 2018
Building a better democracy – 2018 and the Electoral Reform SocietyAs a sense of crisis dominates national life, electoral reformers offer an alternative to the way we do politics in the UK. The shadow of the last three general elections is cast wide over Westminster,...Posted 10 Dec 2018
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