DUP deals and the warped world of First Past the Post coalitionsWith news that the Democratic Unionist Party’s 10 MPs are considering voting down the budget over Brexit divisions, the usual arguments are being rolled out about the ‘tail wagging the dog’ during coalitions. For two...Posted 12 Oct 2018
Labour voters know to get an economy for the many, we’ll need a democratic overhaulSince Labour’s Democracy Review was launched last year, the party’s internal structures have been exhaustively debated, picked over, and now amended. The process by which parliamentary candidates are selected in Labour-held constituencies has been a...Posted 26 Sep 2018
Three things we learnt at Lib Dem ConferenceAfter spending a long weekend at Liberal Democrat conference, I can confirm that EU berets are firmly in fashion, you should never mention the M (moderate) word in their company and there is nothing they...Posted 20 Sep 2018
TUC: A fair society needs equality in Westminster, not just the workplaceThe 150th Anniversary Congress of the TUC was both a celebration of the past – and a chance to look to the future of trade unions in Britain. Politics for the Many – the trade...Posted 20 Sep 2018
International Day of Democracy 2018: The changes desperately needed to give a voice to allMillions across the globe are celebrating International Day of Democracy, established in the hope of inspiring people to find ways to “invigorate democracy.” Questions over the state of our democracy are as relevant now as...Posted 15 Sep 2018
How can a party lose support but gain seats? The upside-down world of Westminster’s voting systemWhat would you expect to happen if a party gained support in a fresh election? Most people would expect them to gain MPs. It seems obvious that a change in popular support should lead to...Posted 14 Sep 2018
It’s not just the boundaries that need reviewing – it’s First Past the PostThe four national Boundary Commissions have now announced their results. If parliament accepts them, these will be the constituencies that the next general election in 2022 will be fought on. The election specialists Rallings &...Posted 11 Sep 2018
A cross-party group of MPs are fighting Westminster’s broken voting systemThis week is the first National Democracy Week – a rare moment to put the ‘nuts and bolts’ of democracy on the agenda. The elections of the past year have shown that Westminster’s First Past...Posted 04 Jul 2018
Electoral reform for Love Island?What’s not to like about Love Island? A group of good-looking singletons enter a villa in the hopes of finding love, and we the public, get to vote on what goes on. Much like the...Posted 29 Jun 2018
59 years since Enid Lakeman defended fair votes in IrelandLast weekend marked the 59th anniversary of a major event in the Society’s history and the history of the campaign for fair votes. In June 1959, Ireland held a referendum that would determine the very...Posted 18 Jun 2018