Would you back ‘None of the Above’?Following the county council elections we’ve been hearing a lot about ‘None of the Above’. The IPPR recently flagged None of the Above – or NOTA – as a part of their plan to boost youth...Posted 14 May 2013
Where are my leaflets?“How could I make a decision? I didn’t receive any leaflets” That seemed to be a common complaint from the 2013 County Council Elections. We’ve conducted a string of interviews for local radio where many...Posted 13 May 2013
The ban on dual candidacy damages scrutiny in the Welsh AssemblySome more good news from today’s Queen’s Speech. And this time it’s for something that’s actually in it. The Coalition Government is now pledged to bring forward draft legislation to reform elections in Wales. The current...Posted 08 May 2013
UKIP rise: Expect the unexpectedAs polls open in County Council Elections all the talk is on UKIP’s prospects. Our elections were never designed for 3 party politics – let alone 4. Our fickle First Past the Post system has...Posted 02 May 2013
Do you live in a Rotten Borough?With this year’s county council elections only a few weeks away, we’ve undertaken new analysis that has revealed the parlous state of local democracy in England and Wales. Evidence shows 21 million people are now...Posted 17 Apr 2013
Why 32,000 people will be denied a vote in MayOn Thursday 6 May, 27 county councils and 8 unitary authorities in England and Anglesey in Wales will hold elections. Sadly, they give us yet another example of the woeful state of local government. The...Posted 10 Apr 2013
South Shields: Why bother with a by-election?After David Miliband’s shock resignation we’re looking at a by-election in South Shields. At the Electoral Reform Society we care about elections. But in the case of South Shields we’re wondering what’s the point? The...Posted 27 Mar 2013
Electoral Commission slams Police and Crime Commissioner electionsIt’s Official! Everyone (apart from the Home Office) who has looked at the elections for police and crime commissioners (PCCs) say they should never be allowed to happen that way again. At the Electoral Reform...Posted 19 Mar 2013
What Scots really think about devolution?Scots currently aren’t keen on independence, but most of us would like all major powers – including welfare and tax – exercised in Edinburgh, not Westminster. Today we launch a joint report with Scotcen to show what...Posted 18 Mar 2013
Reviving the Health of Our DemocracyPolitical and constitutional reform has had a tough time of late but going into the next General Election has never been so important. Too often shoved into the ‘too difficult’ box, reform of our democratic...Posted 12 Mar 2013