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Blanket ban on broadcasting ‘shutting voters out’

While some communities still face barriers accessing the internet, for others online channels like council websites, Twitter and Facebook are important ways of finding out information. From big decisions like planning applications, through to everyday...

Posted 20 Feb 2013

A weekend with the ERS and Unlock Democracy grassroots

David Cameron’s recent failure to secure far-reaching boundary changes in time for the 2015 General Election was another nail in the coffin of the Westminster government’s constitutional and political reform agenda. Many changes have been...

Posted 11 Feb 2013

Time to Discuss Local Democracy in Wales

A few weeks ago, Electoral Reform Society Wales gave evidence to the Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee about the new Local Democracy Bill making its way through the National Assembly. Is the new Local...

Posted 06 Feb 2013

ERS Scotland hosts event to put the public’s ideas to the test

On a chilly night in Edinburgh, ERS Scotland and the Public Policy Network at the University of Edinburgh held a participatory discussion on Scotland’s democracy in a lecture theatre. Not the ideal space for a...

Posted 15 Jan 2013

Politics: the future is plural

The question of whether it is possible to be both a pluralist and a tribalist in politics dominated the debate at last night’s launch of Labour for Democracy, a new network within the Labour...

Posted 05 Dec 2012

Does no means ‘No Change’ or ‘More Powers’?

So we have a deal. We have a Yes/No question for a vote on Scottish Independence, and we can hardly contain our disappointment. This referendum has become a bit of a game with both sides intent...

Posted 15 Oct 2012

50 days and counting to the election no one’s heard of…

It’s 50 days and counting to the election no one’s heard of… We have been joined by candidates from across the political divide to call on Theresa May to tackle the rock bottom turnout predicted for...

Posted 26 Sep 2012

Avoiding a politicians fix – more powers should be on the ballot

Most people think it would be a good idea if the Governments in Westminster and Edinburgh could agree on the form of the Referendum on Scottish Independence. It would probably save all sorts of legal...

Posted 21 Sep 2012

Low turnout is a gift to candidates who have cash to spend

For some people, low turnout is an opportunity. In the last week we’ve gained enormous traction for our report that Police and Crime Commissioner elections are set for record low turnout – 18.5%, quite possibly the lowest...

Posted 26 Aug 2012

Playing pass the parcel on turnout

On May 3 2012 Scotland went to the polls. We’d like to tell you precisely how many Scots actually went to vote, but the honest answer is we can’t. And that’s because no one knows...

Posted 26 Jul 2012