Full recall would be a free-for-all of unintended consequencesA spate of recent controversies has renewed demands for ‘full recall’ – where ten percent of voters can sign a petition, triggering a local referendum on whether an MP should lose their seat and a...Posted 19 Jan 2018
Ministers are ignoring the elephant in the room when it comes to boundariesThe government’s Minister for the Constitution has claimed that millions of voters living in oversized constituencies are being under-represented. Speaking about the current boundaries, Chris Skidmore MP said: “It is an affront to democracy that 27 million people are under-represented.” ...Posted 03 Jan 2018
Our top 5 most read blogs of 2017This time of year, we take a look back on our most popular articles of the year. A lot has happened: snap elections, threats to impose first-past-the-post and the ever-reliable annual House of Lords scandal....Posted 20 Dec 2017
Meet the new ERS CouncilAfter a well-contested election, the Electoral Reform Society have a new Council to govern the Society for the next two years. Nearly 700 members took part, with 39 candidates standing for the 15 seats available....Posted 28 Nov 2017
Caroline Lucas: A fair electoral system would tackle why people don’t voteGreen Party Co-Leader Caroline Lucas at the Westminster Hall Debate on Electoral Reform If democracy is about fairly representing the views of the people, we are failing at it with first past the post. As...Posted 01 Nov 2017
Why you should stand for the ERS CouncilThis year, I’ll be standing down from the ERS Council – and it’s been one of the more rewarding, challenging, interesting and sometimes downright fun experiences I’ve had in the past few years. After 6...Posted 02 Oct 2017
New Zealand election: Citizens make the most of fair votesSaturday saw New Zealand go to the polls for its eighth election since they ditched the broken first past the post system and adopted Mixed-Member Proportional representation (MMP) in 1993. Mixed-Member Proportional is a variant...Posted 27 Sep 2017
You did it: Parliament is going to debate adopting fair votesEarlier this year, the scale of public anger at our broken voting system was revealed. Despite no General Election being on the horizon at the time – and starting from scratch – voters shattered expectations:...Posted 14 Sep 2017
2017 General Election ResultsWhile Labour achieved a nearly proportional result, getting just over 40 percent of the seats on 40 percent of the vote, the Conservatives took a skewed seat-share, with just under 49 percent of the seats...Posted 29 Aug 2017
It’s time for Westminster to join Scotland in shunning First Past the PostFirst Past the Post elections are like trying to peel potatoes with a chainsaw. For much of the UK, people have come to think this clunking old method of giving people a say is the same as...Posted 24 Aug 2017