Does Australia use First Past the Post?Australians head to the polls tomorrow to elect all 151 members of the Federal House of Representatives and 40 of their 76 Senators. Australian elections are world-renowned for their beloved ‘Democracy Sausages’ and the fact...Posted 17 May 2019
‘This is What Democracy Looks Like’: Why campaigners are gathering in Manchester 200 years on from the Peterloo MassacreNearly 200 years ago, thousands of working people gathered on St Peter’s Field in Manchester with a simple demand: political representation. Local magistrates tried to shut down the meeting – the cavalry charged on the...Posted 15 May 2019
The plans to save Westminster are a missed opportunity to re-build our democracyYesterday the government has published its long-awaited Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Bill setting out its plans to repair the dangerous and crumbling Parliamentary estate. As part of it, they’ve also launched a new consultation...Posted 09 May 2019
ERS in the Press – April 2019As we geared up for a big round of local elections in England and Northern Ireland, we’ve been putting reform of Britain’s out-dated politics firmly on the agenda. Fair votes now As the Brexit process...Posted 01 May 2019
Conservative MPs back proportional representation, arguing First Past the Post “encourages conflict and aggression”MPs from across the spectrum made the case for reforming the Commons’ ‘divisive, broken electoral system’ on Tuesday, in a Westminster Hall debate on proportional representation. The Lib Dems, Green Party, SNP, Plaid Cymru, members...Posted 26 Apr 2019
Uncontested seats mean thousands of voters will be denied their democratic rightsNext week, on Thursday, 2 May, voters in many parts of England will go to the polls to elect their local representatives. Elections will take place in urban metropolitan boroughs, unitary authorities and district councils,...Posted 25 Apr 2019
Democracy cancelled: How parties have captured hundreds of seats before local election dayLarge parts of England are effectively democracy deserts, with hundreds of thousands of potential voters denied real choice in this May’s elections. New research by the Electoral Reform Society ahead of next month’s vote shows...Posted 19 Apr 2019
Why A General Election Won’t Solve The Brexit DeadlockOne piece of news got buried last week. While Labour held on to Newport West in Thursday’s by-election, the full figures reveal an interesting picture. Back in 2017 Labour and the Conservatives took nearly 92%...Posted 11 Apr 2019
ERS in the Press – March 2019Brexit 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
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