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
A cross-party group of MPs are fighting Westminster’s broken voting systemThis week is the first National Democracy Week – a rare moment to put the ‘nuts and bolts’ of democracy on the agenda. The elections of the past year have shown that Westminster’s First Past...Posted 04 Jul 2018
Four ways Westminster’s politics needs fixing this Democracy WeekMonday marks the start of the first ‘National Democracy Week’ – the government’s initiative to encourage democratic participation. It has been established on the premise that “regardless of who we are or where we are...Posted 29 Jun 2018
Revealed: The Lords is increasingly out of touch with modern BritainTo many of us, the House of Lords looks very much like a private members’ club – a cosy corner of Westminster, where unelected peers vote on our laws. But just how out of touch...Posted 18 Jun 2018
Why are Ministers celebrating citizens losing their right to vote?In a comment piece for The Times this week, Chloe Smith, Minister for the Constitution, made some bold claims about the government’s voter ID trials, which took place in five areas last month. She said the...Posted 08 Jun 2018
There’s a sham election happening in Parliament. Here’s what you need to knowThe idea that people can become lawmakers for life – simply because they were born into the ‘right’ family – is, to most of us, absurd. Yet in the UK, in 2018, this is the...Posted 04 Jun 2018
Without urgent action, Britain’s super-sized second chamber is going to get even biggerIt’s already the second largest chamber in the world – but it’s about to get bigger. The House of Lords will be ‘bursting at the seams’ with more than 1,000 members by 2031, if its current...Posted 30 May 2018