Scotland needs a stronger Lobbying BillRemember the phone-hacking scandal? It seems long ago, but we shouldn’t forget how much we learned about the ways big private interests try to influence policy. The Leveson Inquiry dug up all sorts of stories...Posted 07 Jan 2016
Our top ten most read blogs of 20152015 was the busiest year ever for the Electoral Reform Society blog, with monthly readership over double the level we had in 2014. As we get stuck in to 2016, we thought we’d look back...Posted 04 Jan 2016
Jonathan Reynolds MP tried to introduce proportional representationThis blog is a guest post from Jonathan Reynolds MP. Jonathan delivered this speech in the House of Commons on Wednesday 16 December as a motion for leave to bring in the Representation of the...Posted 18 Dec 2015
It’s time 16 and 17 year olds got the voteLast month saw a big victory for campaigners for a fairer franchise: the House of Lords supported giving 16 and 17-year-olds a vote in the EU referendum. Votes at 16 is now in the Bill. But...Posted 04 Dec 2015
Red cards and re-negotiationsToday, Prime Minister David Cameron has written to President of the European Council Donald Tusk setting out his demands for a renegotiation of Britain’s membership of the European Union. One of the four planks of the PM’s...Posted 10 Nov 2015
Good news for Welsh electionsThe UK Government today released their draft Wales Bill, continuing the process of the Silk Commission through to the St David’s Day declaration. It is clear that these proposals – in particular how powers are...Posted 20 Oct 2015
Canada heads to the pollsOf all the former colonies to which Britain has left behind the Westminster model of democracy perhaps none so obviously resembles the UK in its politics as Canada. Canadians have a House of Commons with...Posted 19 Oct 2015
Our bloated second chamberThe House of Lords is already the biggest chamber in the democratic world – yet it is growing in size with each new government. As peers sit in the chamber for life, it grows with...Posted 19 Oct 2015
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