Proportional representation helped women get elected in 2022In January 2023, the global proportion of women parliamentarians just was 26.5%, indicating that there’s a way to go before we have equal numbers of men and women in parliament around the world. While quotas...Posted 27 Jul 2023
How honourable are honours lists?Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list caused quite a kerfuffle between the House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) and the current and former PM. This all led to a rather slimmed-down list from the much speculated...Posted 11 Jul 2023
Exploring the franchise: Who can vote in UK elections?The franchise has been in the news recently due to Labour considering plans to extend the franchise to resident EU citizens and 16 and 17 year olds. The question of who gets to vote in...Posted 25 May 2023
How can one party win all the seats in a local council election without all the votes?In May’s 2023 local elections in England, the Liberal Democrats won 72% of the seats on Bath & North East Somerset. In Broxbourne, the Conservatives won 90% of the seats that were up for election....Posted 11 May 2023
Local Elections: Frequently Asked QuestionsIn the run-up to the May local elections we often hear the same questions being asked by concerned voters. We thought we’d collect together the answers for some of the most frequently asked questions, we...Posted 17 Apr 2023
What was AV+ the electoral system recommended by the Jenkins Report?In their 1997 election manifesto, Labour set out a commitment to hold a referendum on the current First Past the Post (FPTP) voting system. This referendum was never called, however the Labour Party, with support...Posted 27 Mar 2023
How many countries around the world use proportional representation?This article was updated in January 2025. Proportional representation is the most popular form of democracy for countries in the world today. Proportional Representation isn’t one electoral system though, it’s the simple idea that the...Posted 20 Mar 2023
What elections should the next government reform?Last week we published a blog on UK electoral reforms since 1997 and highlighted that whilst at Westminster the fight for electoral reform continues, the progress of reform across the UK increased and voters are...Posted 08 Mar 2023
What Electoral reforms have there been since 1997?While the need for reforming Westminster’s First Past the Post (FPTP) voting system is getting clearer every day, outside Westminster the process of reform has been slowly, but surely, going in the right direction. While...Posted 02 Mar 2023
Are there whips in the House of Lords?From 1990s TV series House of Cards to James Graham’s play This House, the role of the Whip in British politics has long been a source of fascination. While much is said of Whips in...Posted 17 Feb 2023