Articles by Tara Azar

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Tara Azar, former Student Placement

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First time votes for 16 and 17 year olds in Wales – what Westminster can learn

This week we saw history happen in Wales. After years of ERS Cyrmu campaigning for the rights of 16 and 17 year olds to vote in Wales, the first election with an expanded franchise took...

Posted 07 May 2021

For the first time 16 and 17 year olds were able to vote for the Senedd

Who can I vote for? How do I vote? What everyone needs to know for the May elections

May sees elections for around 5,000 seats in England, votes for the Mayor of London and London Assembly, the Senedd (Welsh Parliament), the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood), and Police and Crime Commissioner elections. Holyrood and the...

Posted 23 Apr 2021

If you want to vote by proxy, your application must arrive by 5pm on 27 April

Greensill 2.0: Is the next lobbying scandal brewing in the House of Lords?

Posted 16 Apr 2021

How May’s London Assembly elections will work

This May, millions of Londoners will go to the polls to vote for the Mayor and the London Assembly. The London Assembly is the political body that holds the mayor to account and scrutinises their...

Posted 07 Apr 2021

The London-wide vote compensates for the warping effects of First Past the Post

There are big reasons some people won’t vote this May – and it’s not just Covid

When one party takes all – on a fraction of the vote – people understandably feel alienated and voiceless, and new research appears to back this up.

Posted 19 Mar 2021

Ministers need to tackle the main impediment to voting

International Women’s Day: How Westminster’s voting system is holding back gender equality

What’s clear is that Westminster’s out-dated structures aren’t allowing the fair representation Britain needs. That’s bad news for everyone.

Posted 08 Mar 2021

Electoral systems play a big role in the number of women elected

Parliament is considering turning its back on new ways of working

Both houses of Parliament have long been associated with inaccessibility, with working patterns designed around the diaries of married, middle-aged men. MPs who were ill, pregnant or hundreds of miles away in their constituencies often...

Posted 26 Feb 2021

7 out of 10 want MPs to be able to participate remotely

ERS Cymru leads calls for political parties to engage with new voters ahead of Wales’ May elections

May’s election will be the first that 16 and 17 year olds and all resident foreign nationals are able to vote in Wales, representing around 100,000 potential electors. Now a coalition of 32 leading civil...

Posted 22 Feb 2021

May's election represents a significant step forward for Welsh democracy

One-party politics is over: Why pressure is building for proportional representation

Debate is growing about the need for a fair, democratic voting system. This week an editorial in the Guardian noted how the pandemic shows how giving governments 100% of the power – with only minority support is...

Posted 19 Feb 2021

We need to see ‘more collaboration’ and ‘more consensus’ in UK politics

MPs step up parliamentary push for electoral reform with new cross-party campaign

MPs have launched a fresh effort to reform Westminster’s undemocratic voting laws, with a new all-party group pushing for change. The cross-party group – the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Electoral Reform – is working towards...

Posted 12 Feb 2021