News and Comment

The latest news and commentary from the Electoral Reform Society.

Around the World | Current Affairs Commentary | Developments at the ERS | Your Questions Answered | Case Studies

View by category

View by date

Imprints – finally some action to update our analogue laws for the digital age

In a victory for voters; campaigners; academics; the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee; and the Electoral Commission, among many others, the government has finally committed to extending imprints (disclosures stating who has paid for...

Posted 07 May 2019

A small, but important, victory for voters

Ministers can’t let themselves of the hook when it comes to tackling the social media ‘Wild West’

Last week the government launched a consultation into tackling ‘online harm’. It’s the first step towards dealing with the tech barons of the new ‘wild west’. But ministers can’t let themselves off the hook just...

Posted 15 Apr 2019

There are huge threats to our democracy which mustn’t be ignored

ERS in the Press – March 2019

Brexit might be dominating the news, but the rolling constitutional crisis that we call Westminster is still up to its usual tricks. We’ve spent the last month getting press attention for some of our biggest...

Posted 29 Mar 2019

Money could flood into British politics under planned law

The Overseas Electors Bill, which returned to the Commons last week, has a sound purpose – to end the current limit on how long Britons can live abroad and still be able to vote. But,...

Posted 25 Mar 2019

Those funding our parties should live here

Digital political campaigning remains as unregulated as ever – but calls for reform are increasing

Over the weekend, Buzzfeed reported that Britain’s Future, an obscure pro-Brexit group, spent almost £350,000 on 2,600 Facebook adverts over the course of five months, micro-targeting tens of thousands of voters to get them to...

Posted 12 Mar 2019

Britain’s Future hasn’t broken any rules – indeed, this is exactly the problem

Tax ‘exiles’ are funnelling money into our political parties. It’s time to close the loophole

Here’s a fairly basic democratic principle: those who pour money into our political parties in exchange for influence should – at the very least –be based here at home. Sadly, even that low bar is...

Posted 07 Mar 2019

Britons living in tax havens and their UK companies have made political donations worth 5 million

ERS in the Press – February 2019

Another wild month in politics – from crucial Brexit votes to the apparent disintegration of Britain’s party structures. Throughout, we’ve been pointing at the elephant in the room: the crumbling state of Britain’s democracy and...

Posted 28 Feb 2019

Moving targets: What is the technical future of political campaigning?

Josh Smith, Senior Researcher at the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media, Demos Targeted online advertising has produced a fundamental shift in the ways in which political campaigns are conducted. The ability to divide...

Posted 20 Feb 2019

A new Office for Responsible Technology

Jacob Ohrvik-Stott, Researcher for Doteveryone, an independent think tank championing responsible technology for a fairer future, contributed this piece for our report Reining in the Political ‘Wild West’: Campaign Rules for the 21st Century. The...

Posted 19 Feb 2019

Reining in the tech giants – ICO’s Steve Wood in conversation with the ERS

Steve Wood, ICO Deputy Commissioner (Policy) – In conversation with the ERS Head of Communications, Josiah Mortimer for our report Reining in the Political ‘Wild West’: Campaign Rules for the 21st Century. Josiah (ERS): Do you feel...

Posted 18 Feb 2019