As the Scottish Government closes the ‘dark ads’ loophole, Westminster must follow suitFor too long now, online political campaigning in Britain has gone effectively unregulated – to the benefit of well-funded, secretive groups, and to the detriment of voters. Despite the rapid rise of online political ads as a campaign tool, governments...Posted 29 Oct 2020
Westminster could learn a lot from the Australian Capital Territory Could Australia’s capital show the rest of Australia and Westminster how to be fairer and more representative?Posted 21 Oct 2020
Democracy and ‘deterrence’: How out-of-date campaign rules leave the door open to turnout suppressionPresidential elections tend to highlight the best and worst of US democracy. In 2016, for instance, the winner of the popular vote did not win the election, due to the electoral college system – a...Posted 20 Oct 2020
It is possible to hold elections in a pandemic, but we have to start planning for them nowThis is a guest article from Sarah Birch, Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Economy, King’s College London. Elections are by their nature complex logistical exercises. During a pandemic, holding an election will be...Posted 15 Sep 2020
Lebanon’s confessional system keeps change just out of reachJosh Dell is a writer based in London, who has led on democracy projects for organisations including Bite The Ballot and The Politics Project. His work has been published in CityMetric, Left Foot Forward, and The Sunday...Posted 02 Sep 2020
Most of us don’t agree with a single party across all issuesThe ‘policy comparison’ tool Vote for Policies crunched the numbers from the 1.1 million responses to their pre-election survey in 2019. Vote for Policies’ Matt Chocqueel-Mangan explains their findings. This is an edited version of...Posted 17 Aug 2020
Ed Davey MP: Westminster needs comprehensive reform – including proportional representation for votersThe Electoral Reform Society offers a space to party leadership candidates to put forward their visions for democracy during internal elections. This is a piece from Ed Davey MP, who is running to be leader...Posted 04 Aug 2020
Layla Moran MP: It’s time to build a cross-party consensus for electoral reformThe Electoral Reform Society offers a space to party leadership candidates to put forward their visions for democracy during internal elections. This is a piece from Layla Moran MP, who is running to be leader...Posted 04 Aug 2020
The Virtual Council: How are local authorities responding to the Covid crisis?The Centre for Public Scrutiny set out some good practice for how councils can adapt during the pandemic.Posted 04 Jun 2020
Why it’s time for Automatic Voter RegistrationHere's how to bring in the 'missing millions'.Posted 30 Apr 2020