David Cameron’s Farewell GiftNow that David Cameron has moved out of Number 10, the staggering bill he has left behind is starting to become apparent. Since 2010, he has appointed 205 new life peers to the House of...Posted 08 Aug 2016
How do Conservative Party leadership elections work?(Updated for October 2024) Historically there weren’t elections for the leader of the Conservative party, but, following the machinations surrounding the appointment of Sir Alec Douglas-Home in 1963, elections among the MPs were brought in,...Posted 05 Jul 2016
Costly cronies of the House of LordsIn our new report, House of Lords Fact vs Fiction, we took a look at some of the enduring myths that surround our unelected second chamber. Peers are technically unpaid, but unlike the thousands of people...Posted 24 Aug 2015
Proportional Representation can build a stronger constituency linkIt is often said that the constituency link is a vital part of British political life; MPs represent local areas and are directly accountable to those areas for their continued careers. If MPs misbehave their...Posted 27 Jul 2015
2015 General Election ResultsVotes for the two largest parties came to just 67.3% combined, with 36.9% of the electorate voting Conservative and 30.4% voting Labour. The number of votes cast for parties other than the Conservatives, Labour or...Posted 19 Jul 2015
With Proportional Representation small parties get the influence they deserveFor those used to one party getting a majority of the seats (without a majority of votes) the idea that a smaller parties often get to be in government under PR can be confusing. Of...Posted 23 Jun 2015
Did Proportional Representation put the Nazis in power?Probably the first time many of us heard of Proportional Representation (PR) was in a school classroom studying the Second World War. For some people this may have been the last time they heard about other voting...Posted 05 Jun 2015
2010 General Election ResultsIn contrast to 2005, the electoral system did not produce a House of Commons majority for a party whose support lay in the mid-30 per cent range; the Conservatives fell short in 2010 while Labour,...Posted 19 May 2010
2005 General Election ResultsLabour’s control of the 2005 parliament is somewhat less lopsided than its dominance in the parliaments elected in 1997 and 2001. But parliament is still a grossly distorted version of what Britain’s voters chose in...Posted 30 May 2005