Since women were first able to stand for Parliament just 450 have been elected“Since women were first able to stand for Parliament in 1918 just 450 have been elected. Well over half of those women have only been elected in 1997 or since, and it was not until...Posted 14 Oct 2015
Localism and devolution – ERS at Labour conference“Devolution is a hot topic,” said Jane Dudman, Guardian Public Leaders editor, who chaired the first of three ERS fringe events at Labour Party Conference 2015. The topic was: “can Labour reclaim devolution and localism?”...Posted 13 Oct 2015
Party over Principle: Independence in the LordsThe House of Lords is often assumed to be more independent than the Commons because it is less strongly whipped and because it contains Crossbench members who do not have a party affiliation. But it’s...Posted 09 Oct 2015
Building Alliances for Electoral Reform – ERS at Lib Dem conferenceWith five parties united against First Past the Post – the Lib Dems, UKIP, Greens, SNP and Plaid Cymru – the issue of how to win proportional representation has come to the fore. And it’s a particularly...Posted 30 Sep 2015
An Elected Lord?The British constitution, its parliament and its institutions are well known for its oddities and eccentricities: the space provided in the Commons cloakroom for MPs to hang their sword; the fact that all swans in...Posted 18 Sep 2015
The Scottish people should be involved in the devolution debateYesterday (Wednesday 16th September) the Scottish Parliament debated ‘Scotland’s Future: Democracy and Devolution’. One year on from the independence referendum, and with the Scotland Bill due to go to report stage in the next few...Posted 17 Sep 2015
Are the SNP about to break the Holyrood voting system (again)?This article was co-authored by ERS Scotland’s Juliet Swann and Danny Zinkus Sutton from Unlock Democracy Pollsters are perhaps not to be relied upon after their predictions for the General Election earlier in the year. Yet,...Posted 24 Aug 2015
Taking advantage of the Greek electoral lawGreece will return to the polls on September 20th. This is the third nationwide poll this year, after an earlier election in January and a referendum in June. It is also the fourth general election...Posted 21 Aug 2015
The New Zealand Flag ReferendumFor many years the New Zealand flag has been the subject of much debate. Adopted when New Zealand was still a part of the British Empire, their national standard has the British flag within it....Posted 18 Aug 2015
It’s official: the House of Lords is completely bustToday, we can reveal that the House of Lords is officially, well and truly bust. We’re pleased to launch our new report on our unelected upper chamber: ‘House of Lords: Fact vs Fiction’ – where...Posted 16 Aug 2015