Does PR mean coalitions? As New Zealand shows – it’s all down to the votersThe New Zealand Labour party are celebrating a landslide win, with 49 percent of the vote and enough MPs to form a single-party government on their own. This is the first time since New Zealand...Posted 20 Oct 2020
Early voting doesn’t have to mean long queuesTwo news stories stood out this week. As early voting opened in some US states, images of voters queuing all day to vote were greeted as signs of enthusiasm in America but confusion outside, while...Posted 15 Oct 2020
New Zealand’s MMP electoral system: how does it work?New Zealand actor Jack Buchanan explains how MMP works in this music video created in partnership with the New Zealand Electoral Commission. Politics in New Zealand can look to outsiders to be much like politics...Posted 14 Oct 2020
Are Guernsey about to hold the strangest election in the world? On 7 October, voters in Guernsey will head to the polls for what is likely to be the ‘strangest [election] in the world’. For the first time, the vote will be held across one island-wide constituency which will see...Posted 06 Oct 2020
ERS in the Press – September 2020As the government continues to implement new restrictions to fight the second wave of coronavirus, the cracks in Britain’s political system continue to grow behind the curtain. In September we released new research on party...Posted 02 Oct 2020
Parties have become even more secretive about their online campaigningOpenness and transparency are the key foundations of any democracy. But today we find too much of our politics is shrouded in secrecy. Too often voters remain unsure about who is behind the messages they...Posted 29 Sep 2020
Paying the price of First Past the Post – Towns Fund millions spent on marginal seatsThere is no better way of finding out which voters matter under Westminster’s warped electoral system than looking at where your taxes are funnelled to. The government’s £3.9bn Towns Fund was heralded as the way...Posted 25 Sep 2020
Campaigners unite to urge Labour party to back proportional representation A major new project has been launched to encourage the Labour party to back proportional representation. Posted 22 Sep 2020
It is possible to hold elections in a pandemic, but we have to start planning for them nowThis is a guest article from Sarah Birch, Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Economy, King’s College London. Elections are by their nature complex logistical exercises. During a pandemic, holding an election will be...Posted 15 Sep 2020
ERS in the Press – August 2020As governments respond to the global pandemic, the issue of how voters are represented has not gone away. In fact, in many ways, it has become more salient. PR in the public eye In August,...Posted 04 Sep 2020