Business leaders make the case for electoral reformWe saw a significant intervention in the debate around electoral reform last week. More than 20 business leaders, including the chairman of the Virgin Group, Peter Norris, called for Westminster to scrap the failing First...Posted 19 Jan 2026
Legislative battles are renewing the focus on Westminster’s unelected upper chamberA common argument from defenders of the unelected Lords is that ministers should dedicate the entirety of their time to bread and butter policies that more immediately impact voters. The implicit basis here is that...Posted 04 Dec 2025
Conservatives mull path back to power at Manchester conference – and the electoral systemThere was a notable shift in mood at the Conservative conference this year compared to recent ones. Until last year, the party had been in government and its conferences focused on the leaders’ speeches, while...Posted 20 Oct 2025
Electoral reform takes centre stage at Labour Party conferenceElectoral reform took centre stage, literally, at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool this year. Andy Burnham was the lead speaker at the rally calling for reform of Westminster’s voting system, hosted by colleagues in...Posted 15 Oct 2025
Sticking-plaster reforms won’t fix the absurd and undemocratic Lords – the real solution is obviousThe absurdity of how the House of Lords currently operates has been thrown up in technicolour over the last few days. Several issues have been garnering media attention as the end of recess approaches and...Posted 28 Aug 2025
Government decision to restore Supplementary Vote system elections is a big win for votersToday we can celebrate a big win in the fight for a fairer democracy. The government has announced in its English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill that it will be scrapping First Past the Post...Posted 10 Jul 2025
The end of the two-party system? What the experts are saying about the 2025 local electionsSince the votes cast in the local elections were counted on Friday there has been extensive debate among experts and in the media about whether we are seeing the end of the two-party system. This...Posted 07 May 2025
Leading lord makes open threat to government in last ditch attempt to save hereditary peersFor weeks now we have watched the bill to remove the 88 remaining hereditary peers make slow progress through the House of Lords. Only last week did the legislation finish committee stage, but not before...Posted 08 Apr 2025
The government can do better than this on voter IDSince voter ID was imposed in 2023, we know voters have been turned away from polling stations over 40,000 times and not returned. This alone is a shocking enough fact, but that’s not even the...Posted 24 Mar 2025
Liberal Democrats sense growing opportunities on proportional representation as they assemble for 2025 Spring ConferenceThe Liberal Democrats assembled in the picturesque Yorkshire town of Harrogate this weekend for their spring conference, where they discussed how to build on their success in the general election and maximise the impact of...Posted 24 Mar 2025