Between apathy and hope – your chance to give yourself something to vote for!Peter Lesniak, Director of Communications, Bite the Ballot George Jean Nathan said a hundred yeas ago that ‘bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote’. This statement is as true today as...Posted 24 Jul 2012
February 1974 – The election everything changed for the British party system“Power of the British Voter in Terminal Decline.” So read the headline in Saturday’s Guardian, which gave us an exclusive first glimpse at the latest edition of the Democratic Audit. The picture the report paints...Posted 09 Jul 2012
Where have all the working class MPs gone?The relationship between an individual’s social background and the way they vote has become much weaker in recent times with class no longer acting as a relatively accurate predictor of party preference. Voters are now...Posted 03 Jul 2012
A People’s Gathering on the Scottish ConstitutionMaybe our democracy never really worked that well. Maybe increased transparency and developments in technology mean that ordinary people are able to appreciate the realities of power and its misuse. Maybe the modern age has...Posted 02 Jun 2012
Electoral Reform for Eurovision?Eurovision is upon us once again with everyone’s favourite celebration of Europe’s questionable musical talent. Certain traditions will no doubt hold: certain acts will be flamboyantly silly, Britain will score badly and after it is...Posted 24 May 2012
An important victory for voters, but no time for complacencyIn the wake of the pomp and pageantry of the Queen’s speech last week, a victory for the voter emerged from the Cabinet Office in the form of the Electoral Registration and Administration Bill. Last...Posted 16 May 2012
Asking a different question on the anniversary of AVA year ago the Yes campaign was soundly defeated in the AV referendum. Bad timing, an imperfect alternative and an opposition willing to fight dirty all worked in favour of First Past the Post, and...Posted 06 May 2012
140,000 reasons for reform:Next week voters across 21 of Wales’ 22 unitary authorities will head to the polls to decide the political make-up of their local councils. Voters will express a view on where they want to see...Posted 26 Apr 2012
Asking the important questions about a Scottish independence referendumThe likelihood of Scotland voting in a referendum on independence was something most Scots had accepted would occur at some stage before the next Scottish Parliament election in 2016. We talked about it in passing,...Posted 07 Feb 2012
Is Scottish Democracy failing to realise dream of devolution?The Electoral Reform Society Scotland recently held an event to launch our report examining the “remarkable” results of the May 2011 Scottish Parliamentary election. Under the heading ‘A health check’, report co-author; Professor Curtice, examined the potential...Posted 18 Nov 2011