England, give young people the vote like your neighboursIf you were a 16 or 17-year-old is Scotland, you probably felt quite annoyed at being left out of December’s General Election. If it had been a Scottish Parliament or Local Council Election you would have...Posted 29 Jan 2020
It will take more than moving the Lords up north to mend our broken politicsThe phrase ‘moving the deckchairs’ has never felt so apt. Over the weekend, we learnt that Boris Johnson is mulling plans to move the House of Lords permanently to York. Or maybe Birmingham. Speaking of...Posted 23 Jan 2020
Is there proportional representation in Scotland?For most of the 20th century, every election in Scotland was conducted under the First Past the Post system, from elections of MPs to local councillors. Much like in the rest of the UK, this...Posted 05 Sep 2019
Brexit pacts: The latest desperate attempt to game a broken first-past-the-post systemThe decision by both Plaid Cymru and the Greens to stand down at last week’s Brecon and Radnorshire by-election has sparked a lot of talk in Westminster about political pacts. Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price...Posted 09 Aug 2019
Four pitfalls and opportunities for the Citizens’ Assembly of ScotlandNext Monday, the firing gun will be started on the Scottish Government’s plans for a ‘Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland’. Hundreds will gather to discuss what this might look like, what it might involve, and how...Posted 05 Jul 2019
Why we’re calling on Boris Johnson to take part in the TV debatesIn our fragile democracy, we need all the opportunities possible to hold public figures to account. So it’s all the more galling when one of those opportunities is stripped away. Now a broadcaster (Sky) has...Posted 26 Jun 2019
Citizens’ assemblies can help us move beyond a broken Westminster model of politicsThis piece was originally published by The Scotsman. Talk of citizens’ assemblies is in the air. Former Conservative leadership contender, Rory Stewart has suggested holding one to break through the Brexit impasse. And on Monday,...Posted 20 Jun 2019
Binary indicative votes were never going to achieve a consensusThis is an expanded version of a letter from our Senior Director, Willie Sullivan, that was published in the Times on March 29th. When MPs voted to take control of the order paper in an...Posted 29 Mar 2019
Scotland needs new institutions to transform our local communitiesCan you remember a time you were talking with someone and the response you got back meant that it was blatantly obvious that they hadn’t understood what you were saying? You try again, but again...Posted 27 Feb 2019
Local government in Scotland is top-down and distant – but we can change thatIf there was once a connection between elected councillors in Scotland and the communities they supposedly represent, this has long since fallen away. City halls are often worlds apart from the communities within their apparent...Posted 01 Jan 2019