Compulsory voter ID would only add to Britain’s democratic deficitIn true festive spirit, the government chose December 27 to respond to former local government minister Eric Pickles’ proposals to tackle alleged voter fraud in UK elections. Sadly, the response isn’t much of a belated Christmas present...Posted 04 Jan 2017
Our top 10 most read blogs in 2016It’s been a busy year for the ERS – from a big set of elections in May, to the EU vote, Lords scandals (an annually-guaranteed affair, it seems), voter registration drives, party funding spats, and...Posted 20 Dec 2016
Cutting numbers can’t be the end of the road for Lords reformIt’s a sad but true fact that, in general, it’s not good news that brings the need for Lords reform to the fore in British politics. But on Monday, a packed chamber of Peers gathered...Posted 07 Dec 2016
After Brexit, it’s time for a bigger, stronger Senedd‘May you live in interesting times’ goes the old Chinese curse. And few could deny that we do: Brexit, a party system in flux, and a constitution in tumult all mark new times for the...Posted 29 Nov 2016
Electoral reform is making waves across the AtlanticThere’s something in the air, it seems. As I write, electoral reformers in Canada and the US have a real chance of securing a fairer voting system. As US voters prepare to pick their next...Posted 03 Nov 2016
Calling for ‘progressive alliances’ is brave. But it should never be necessaryThis article was first published at LabourList Last week, three Labour MPs did something that takes courage. In calling for Labour to stand aside in Richmond Park, they were pushing for a more collaborative form...Posted 31 Oct 2016
Forget standing down in Richmond: parties shouldn’t have to make that choiceThis article was published on Politics.co.uk Almost as quickly as Zac Goldsmith announced his resignation this week, talk turned to the other parties in the race: should they clear the way for a candidate with a...Posted 27 Oct 2016
Time to beef up the London Assembly?It’s fair to say that the London Assembly doesn’t get a great deal of attention – despite having a strong claim to being the hub of devolved politics in England. So for European Local Democracy Week we thought...Posted 14 Oct 2016
The House of Lords needs more than tinkeringLords reform is back on the agenda. And given the frequency of scandals we see in the upper chamber, that’s no surprise. A couple of weeks ago, we revealed that David Cameron’s 189 appointments to...Posted 17 Aug 2016
Voter fraud: the nut and the sledgehammerLast week, the Former Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, published his report into tackling electoral fraud in the UK. While we should of course take all instances of voter fraud very seriously,...Posted 15 Aug 2016