News and Comment

The latest news and commentary from the Electoral Reform Society.

Around the World | Current Affairs Commentary | Developments at the ERS | Your Questions Answered | Case Studies

We need to talk about PMQs

Prime Minister’s Questions hit the headlines last week following a Hansard Society report that found nearly half of their respondents thought it ‘too noisy and aggressive’. The Speaker, John Bercow, supported the report, criticising the ‘orchestrated barracking’...

Posted 26 Feb 2014

Neglecting Wythenshawe

Voters in Wythenshawe and Sale East are getting an unusual amount of attention as they go to the polls today. In a by-election, the might of parties’ national infrastructure can be concentrated on a single...

Posted 13 Feb 2014

Time to Bite the Ballot

Today is the first-ever National Voter Registration Day – a fantastic initiative by Bite the Ballot to get as many (particularly younger) people on the electoral register as possible. A large number of schools, businesses, associations and...

Posted 05 Feb 2014

Tomorrow’s Party: share your vision

This post was originally published by Democratic Audit. Contribute to our Tomorrow’s Party consultation here.    Kind words are rarely spoken about political parties nowadays. If members of the public think of them at all, they tend to...

Posted 09 Dec 2013

Pausing the Lobbying Bill

The Government’s concession this week to pause and briefly consult on the worst aspects of the deeply flawed Part 2 of the Lobbying Bill demonstrates the power and importance of collective organising and co-operative campaigning....

Posted 07 Nov 2013

Keep politics civil

Often when discussing the necessary culture and institutions required for democracy to flourish, the need for ‘civil society’ is extolled – that is, the networks of non-state organisations which are formed by people coming together...

Posted 28 Aug 2013

A democratic vision

As Edinburgh’s celebration of artistic endeavour and creativity drew to a close ERS Scotland shared the results of 13 months of political endeavour and creativity with the launch of the Democracy Max vision for a good...

Posted 28 Aug 2013

A civil referendum

The chances of Scotland having a high-quality and inclusive debate about independence just got significantly higher. The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) has given charities and voluntary organisations the green light to campaign during...

Posted 26 Jul 2013

From Councillors to MPs

The relationship between performance in local and national elections has not received the attention it deserves.  Pundits will endlessly speculate on what a hammering at midterm means for a sitting government’s prospects. Polls are compared,...

Posted 15 Jun 2013

More pantomime than serious debate

Balanced and informative media is vital for a good democracy. The BBC’s decision to invite controversial politicians to participate in a Question Time panel in Edinburgh and overlook two of Scotland’s elected parties was greeted with...

Posted 14 Jun 2013