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Building a better democracy – 2018 and the Electoral Reform Society

As a sense of crisis dominates national life, electoral reformers offer an alternative to the way we do politics in the UK. The shadow of the last three general elections is cast wide over Westminster,...

Posted 10 Dec 2018

ERS in the Press – November 2018

Here is just a highlight of the coverage our campaigns have received in the press this month. MPs call for end to ‘political gender gap’ at Westminster We coordinated the media for the Centenary Action Group’s campaign...

Posted 30 Nov 2018

How the Democrats could win the popular vote but not control of the House

Brenda from Bristol famously cried “not another one!” at the news that we were to hold an election in 2017, just two years since the last one. Let’s hope she doesn’t plan to move to...

Posted 06 Nov 2018

Four countries where First Past the Post is dead and buried

As a Halloween treat, we thought we’d have a spooky stroll around the graveyard of First Past the Post. Around the world, voters in country after country, tired of it’s tricks, have chosen to bury...

Posted 31 Oct 2018

Ontario and Québec look towards electoral reform

We’ve covered the exciting moves towards fair votes in British Columbia and Prince Edward Island – two Canadian provinces looking to ditch the broken ‘Westminster model’. But the usefulness of First Past the Post has...

Posted 29 Oct 2018

In 1951 more people voted Labour than Conservative, yet the Conservatives formed the government

The General Election on this day in 1951 couldn’t have been more decisive. Six years since Labour’s victory in 1945, and one year after their victory in 1950, the public was still behind Clement Attlee’s...

Posted 25 Oct 2018

Canada’s Prince Edward Island is looking again at fair voting

Two years ago, citizens of Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) – a Canadian province – took part in a non-binding plebiscite on whether to adopt a proportional voting system for the island. Voters – including, for...

Posted 23 Oct 2018

Voting opens in British Columbian electoral reform referendum

Attempts at electoral reform in British Columbia (B.C.) – Canada’s westernmost and third most populous province – date back more than 13 years. On Monday, voting opens on whether to scrap the all-or-nothing voting system...

Posted 22 Oct 2018

Is First Past the Post on its way out in Canada?

Around the world, countries that inherited a Westminster style of government from their former colonial rulers have been, one by one, democratising and reforming their systems. Australia and New Zealand, for instance, led the way...

Posted 18 Oct 2018

50 years since fair votes’ defence in Ireland

This week marks the 50th anniversary of a major event in the Society’s history and the history of the campaign for fair votes. On 16 October 1968, Ireland held a referendum that would determine the...

Posted 15 Oct 2018