As I move on from the ERS, I know that we can winBy Katie Ghose, Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society Today is my last day at the ERS. What a journey it’s been. My time since joining in 2010 has been an exciting period –...Posted 30 Jun 2017
Britain is changing, so should our electoral systemSo, the Conservatives and DUP have agreed a deal. Despite the two previous elections failing to secure a ‘strong and stable’ government, few saw this coming. There’s a reason for that. Despite all evidence to...Posted 28 Jun 2017
‘Strong and stable’? Westminster’s voting system is anything butVoters won’t be bossed about – perhaps that’s the first lesson we should take from the election. From voting for a parliament where no party got more than half the seats in an election hinged...Posted 15 Jun 2017
Online campaigning is a wild west – it’s time we knew what parties were up toIf 2015 was the digital election, this one is more specifically the Facebook election. With the big money rolling into the social media giant from parties – Labour and the Conservatives are planning to spend a million pounds...Posted 30 May 2017
Diversity deserts: 7.5m people can’t vote for a woman this electionThere’s good news and bad news when it comes to women’s representation this election. The good news is this: analysis by the Press Association suggests a record number of women could be elected on June 8th, meaning...Posted 26 May 2017
‘Progressive alliances’ shouldn’t be necessary: they’re product of a broken voting systemThere’s a lot of talk about June 8th being the ‘tactical voting’ election. This past couple of weeks we’ve seen the latest symptom: parties doing the tactical voting on behalf of the electorate – weeks before...Posted 08 May 2017
Deadline Day: Our Voter Registration System Needs An OverhaulOn the evening of the 7th June last year – just a couple of weeks before the EU referendum – the website to register to vote crashed. Cue havoc, thousands of disappointed and angry people, and...Posted 13 Apr 2017
The House of Lords effectively has seats reserved for menThe House of Lords is back in spotlight this morning, last night having again challenged the government’s Brexit plans by voting 336 to 268 for Parliament to be granted a meaningful vote on the final...Posted 08 Mar 2017
Lords scandals do a disservice to our democracy – including our MPsIf there’s one thing that’s certain about politics in these volatile times, it’s that MPs aren’t exactly flavour of the month. In fact, they’re ranked below bankers and estate agents when it comes to trust. But they...Posted 02 Mar 2017
‘Meet the Lords’ lays bare the scandalous situation in the upper chamberAnother year, another round of Lords scandals. This time, it’s revelations that a peer left a taxi waiting outside Parliament while he went inside to register for his daily £300 allowance – and then return to hop...Posted 28 Feb 2017