Support for electoral reform is strong at the Liberal Democrat’s 2023 conferenceHeading to the Liberal Democrats’ 2023 conference in Bournemouth to promote electoral reform is not the hardest task I’ve been handed in my working life! Saying that, our task was more to find out if they...Posted 28 Sep 2023
Resignation honours are the worst, but all patronage is badThe fact that Liz Truss’s short-term premiership can result in lifetime appointments to the house of House of Lords has rightfully angered many. But it is just an example of business as usual in Westminster,...Posted 23 Aug 2023
First Past the Post locks many talented people out of politicsThis week, Politics Home reported that Regional Tories Are Snubbing Parachuted MP Candidates In Favour Of “Local Champions”. It seems that number of Conservative candidates with a background in local government is increasing at each...Posted 11 Aug 2023
Should the ERS look at the rules for… Tennis?As tennis players line up for the Wimbledon semi-finals, and candidates hit the doorstep for multiple by-elections, we’ve been thinking about how useful sporting analogies are when it comes to politics. As, when you think...Posted 14 Jul 2023
Now we know at least 14,000 were blocked from voting, voter ID should be scrappedOn the 23rd June, the Electoral Commission published their provisional report on the rollout of voter ID. One figure stands out from their research: 14,000 eligible voters were denied their democratic right to cast their...Posted 11 Jul 2023
Northern Ireland’s local elections show the benefit of the Single Transferable VoteOn the 18th of May, Northern Ireland’s local elections showcased the continued successful use of the Single Transferable Vote (STV). This inclusive and proportional method stands in stark contrast to the disproportionate results witnessed in...Posted 26 May 2023
Voter ID is a ‘gerrymandering scheme’ suggests Jacob Rees-MoggWe still don’t have the full picture of how many people were stripped of their right to vote in May’s local elections in England. We’ve long warned that this unnecessary policy would be a messy...Posted 16 May 2023
90% of seats on less than half the vote? That’s England’s local democracyWith nearly all the 2023 local election results declared, the First Past the Post system used across England has once again failed to reflect the views of voters in who runs their local community. Rather...Posted 09 May 2023
Voters across England will be turned away from polling stations today for lacking IDMay 4th 2023 was a historic local election for all the wrong reasons. For the first time, voters in England were turned away from polling stations as they lacked the right forms of ID. The...Posted 04 May 2023
Why do so many parties use transferable voting for their leadership elections?The 27th of March sees the announcement of the results of the SNP leadership election. As we wrote a few weeks ago, the SNP uses the Alternative Vote to elect their leader – and they’re...Posted 24 Mar 2023