A small change has the potential to make a big difference to Australian electionsIn 1918, a seemingly ordinary by-election in the Australian electoral division of Swan changed Australian federal politics forever. The conservatives left Labor in the dust with almost double the vote. Unfortunately for them, there were...Posted 08 Jan 2021
How close was Trump to winning the election?Just before the 2020 US Presidential election, we asked the question ‘could Trump win the Presidency and lose the popular vote again’? Now that results from every state have been certified and the Electoral College...Posted 05 Jan 2021
Labour MPs call on party in Westminster to back electoral reform after Wales’ Senedd backs changeLabour MPs from across the party have called on the leadership to back reform to Westminster’s ‘broken voting system’ after the Labour-led administration in Cardiff passed legislation introducing STV for local government elections across Wales....Posted 20 Dec 2020
Top 10 must-read stories from the Electoral Reform Society in 2020The pandemic has cast its shadow over everything this year – and issues of democracy are no exception. We’ve seen the effects of a super-centralised political system, leading to clashes between the nations and regions...Posted 18 Dec 2020
Shock Parliamentary survey results highlights calls for electoral reformBy Akash Thiara, a Placement Student with the Electoral Reform Society from the University of Nottingham. A survey conducted by the House of Commons’ Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee (PACAC) asked people what...Posted 15 Dec 2020
YouGov study reveals the stark levels of discontent with WestminsterBy Akash Thiara, a Placement Student with the Electoral Reform Society from the University of Nottingham. Last week, polling firm YouGov released a wide-ranging study on democracy and its perception amongst Britons – and it...Posted 11 Dec 2020
One year on from the General Election: What we’ve learnt about Westminster’s warped voting systemA year ago this Saturday, the polls opened on the first December election for over ninety years. At the time this felt like an unusual bookend to an unusual parliamentary term, which had culminated in...Posted 11 Dec 2020
What is the government’s proposed Democracy Commission?By Akash Thiara, a Placement Student with the Electoral Reform Society from the University of Nottingham. During last year’s general election, the government pledged that, in its first year, it would set up a ‘Constitution,...Posted 07 Dec 2020
Building a better democracy – 2020 and the Electoral Reform SocietyIt’s hard to think of a more troubling year in living memory. But the public health crisis has, perhaps counter-intuitively, put issues of democracy at the forefront. The election may feel like a distant memory,...Posted 07 Dec 2020
ERS in the Press – November 2020In a month dominated by coronavirus and a second national lockdown in England as well as Brexit negotiations, democratic issues have still been in the news and we’ve continued to be at the forefront of...Posted 02 Dec 2020