Articles by Michela Palese

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Michela Palese, former Research and Policy Officer

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What can we learn from the UK Climate Assembly?

The UK’s first nationwide citizens’ assembly on climate change came to a close this week, with the launch of its final report setting out 50 recommendations on how the UK should reach net zero by...

Posted 11 Sep 2020

Britain moves closer to shutting down ‘dark ads’ – but we need action now

The government has today unveiled new proposals that would require parties and political campaigners to display a digital imprint on online political advertisements. This would bring online ads in line with offline election material, which...

Posted 12 Aug 2020

Who benefits from Westminster’s First Past the Post voting system?

Westminster's voting system hurts voters. Here's how.

Posted 29 Apr 2020

Voters of all parties suffered in some part of the UK

People are rightly losing faith in politics, it’s time for democratic renewal

A new report by the recently established Centre for the Future of Democracy at the University of Cambridge has found that dissatisfaction with democracy has reached an all-time global high. Westminster-style democracies (the UK, Australia,...

Posted 31 Jan 2020

The broken Westminster system is at the root of this dissatisfaction

Italian far-right fail to bring in First Past the Post

On Thursday last week, Italy’s Constitutional Court rejected a request by the far-right League Party to hold a referendum to impose Westminster style First Past the Post (FPTP) for elections to both the Chamber of Deputies...

Posted 21 Jan 2020

Three ways Westminster’s voting system has skewed the election – before a single vote is cast

Though we are still a couple of days away from knowing the outcome of the general election, the campaign has already exposed the worst flaws of the First Past the Post (FPTP) voting system. In...

Posted 10 Dec 2019

In many parts of the UK there isn’t much of a contest this election

What does the Electoral Commission do?

The Electoral Commission is an independent body established in 2001. Its mandate is limited by what is set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (PPERA) 2000 and subsequent amendments. The Electoral Commission...

Posted 09 Dec 2019

The Electoral Commission is not an all-encompassing democracy watchdog

What can we learn from Canada’s Leaders’ Debate Commission?

This election’s televised leaders debates have taken place against a backdrop of endless rows over who should be allowed to take part, in what has become a recurring feature of our election campaigns. Arguments over...

Posted 04 Dec 2019

TV debates have a much longer history in Canada, having taken place since 1968

Five things we have learnt about England’s voter ID trials in May’s local elections

The ID trials, which followed an initial set of pilots last year, required voters in ten English local authorities (Braintree, Broxtowe, Craven, Derby, Mid-Sussex, North Kesteven, North West Leicestershire, Pendle, Watford and Woking) to present personal...

Posted 06 Aug 2019

An election could happen at any time – electoral law needs to be urgently updated

Last week, the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee published its response to the government’s Online Harms White Paper, where it called for urgent legislation to safeguard future elections. Echoing the...

Posted 11 Jul 2019