Hereditary peers have left the Lords for the last timeSometimes change arrives with fanfare. Sometimes it arrives quietly, after years of argument, delay and unfinished business. This week, the final hereditary peers lost their automatic right to sit and vote in the House of...Posted 30 Apr 2026
Why we need to change the way we elect our councillors in England and WalesDiscussions around changing the voting system often refer to Westminster, yet the same problems that stifle the government of the UK apply at a much more local level. Just like in Parliament, councils across England...Posted 28 Apr 2026
MPs form new cross-party group aimed at wholesale Lords reformThis week, MPs and peers from across the political spectrum announced plans to form a new all-party parliamentary group on ‘wholesale’ Lords reform. The trigger was the very real sight of unelected peers using obscure...Posted 10 Feb 2026
Why voting isn’t like drinking or smokingI’m pretty glad that 12-year-olds aren’t allowed to drive buses. We have age restrictions on many things for pretty good reasons in the UK, and preventing children from careering down the high street in a...Posted 19 Jan 2026
Why First Past the Post leaves most of us without voice in parliamentWe live in a country where each constituency has a single MP. Yet for most people this means the MP who “represents” them in parliament doesn’t share their politics, didn’t win a majority of the...Posted 15 Jan 2026
We need a donation cap, but how much should it be?In the UK today, there is still no legal limit on how much a single donor can give to a political party each year. That simple fact shapes our politics in profound ways. When unlimited...Posted 04 Dec 2025
Minister: Put a donations cap in the Elections BillA million pounds here, a few hundred thousand there. Life-changing sums for most of us. Yet in the world of political finance, these are the figures some individuals can casually drop into party coffers. It...Posted 19 Nov 2025
How First Past the Post lets people with fringe views slip through the netBritain’s First Past the Post system was designed for a two-party age. One that pretty much everyone agrees we no longer live in. Yet even when most people voted for one of the two big...Posted 13 Nov 2025
What can the UK learn from California’s Prop 50 gerrymandering plan?A high-stakes fight is underway in the United States over redrawing the constituencies for the House of Representatives in Washington, DC. One flashpoint is California’s Proposition 50, a ballot measure that passed today. Voters have...Posted 05 Nov 2025
Why single-party governments under First Past the Post fail to get things doneFor all the talk of “strong government,” the reality of single-party rule under First Past the Post (FPTP) often looks anything but. Behind the scenes, these governments can be paralysed by internal battles, faction against...Posted 29 Oct 2025