‘The Alternative’: Creative thinking for reformersIt’s only by working together that we can achieve the change we need. So it’s great to see that a healthy conversation has started on how to do this even better in the years ahead....Posted 25 Aug 2016
We can do referendums better in the UK. Here’s how.This article was first published by Times Red Box Last week’s referendum raised some serious questions about the nature of the democracy we have – and the type we want to create. Unlike other countries,...Posted 30 Jun 2016
The public are switched off by #EUref ‘big beasts’The past few months have seen the campaigns – perhaps understandably – wheel out the ‘big beasts’ from the various parties in an attempt to bring people over. But polling by BMG Research which we...Posted 10 Jun 2016
Today, we can build a better referendum debateLet’s be frank: the EU debate so far has been fairly dire. Dominated by personality politics, party spats and contradictory statistics, it has failed to inspire – or properly inform – the public. But it...Posted 25 May 2016
Extend the franchise for overseas citizens – but let’s have votes at 16 tooLast week’s Queen’s Speech – the legislative agenda for the next year – contained an interesting and largely overlooked reform in the ‘small print’ (see pages 62-63): the government is planning to scrap the arguably...Posted 24 May 2016
How we’re opening up the EU debateIf you think the EU referendum debate so far has been focused far too much on the personalities and internal party spats than the real issues that affect you and the country, you’re not on...Posted 19 May 2016
4 positive changes the government have made to the Union BillIt’s taken a lot of campaigning, but this week the government made some major concessions on the Trade Union Reform Bill – which had its Consideration of Lords’ Amendments stage in the House of Commons on Wednesday....Posted 28 Apr 2016
Q&A with Katie Ghose: "We need a democracy fit for the 21st century"The interview below was first published by the online magazine Blue & Green Tomorrow. Katie became Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society in 2010. A campaigner and barrister with a background in human rights law and...Posted 27 Jan 2016
Nail in the Coffin of Westminster’s voting systemWell, it’s all over. All the months of campaigning have resulted in an election outcome which few predicted. It was a good night for the bookies, and a bad night for the pollsters – but...Posted 11 May 2015
Closing the EU’s democracy GapThere is an ever-widening divide between the European institutions and the British people. We are members of the European Union, yet most of us don’t feel part of it or able to shape its policies....Posted 28 Apr 2014