Scotland’s local democracy is not an optional extraThe experience of the covid-19 crisis has served to underline and strengthen the case ERS Scotland has long been making for a revamped local democracy. The work undertaken in recent years – alongside a range...Posted 14 Jan 2021
It’s time to put deliberation at the heart of Scottish politicsLast Saturday the final session of the Citizen’s Assembly of Scotland concluded. The assembly, the largest deliberative event in Scotland’s history brought together ordinary people to deliberate over the issues that will shape Scotland. As...Posted 12 Dec 2020
Building a better democracy – 2020 and the Electoral Reform SocietyIt’s hard to think of a more troubling year in living memory. But the public health crisis has, perhaps counter-intuitively, put issues of democracy at the forefront. The election may feel like a distant memory,...Posted 07 Dec 2020
As the Scottish Government closes the ‘dark ads’ loophole, Westminster must follow suitFor too long now, online political campaigning in Britain has gone effectively unregulated – to the benefit of well-funded, secretive groups, and to the detriment of voters. Despite the rapid rise of online political ads as a campaign tool, governments...Posted 29 Oct 2020
The Citizen’s Assembly of Scotland can help shape our post-Covid futureScotland’s first Citizens’ Assembly met last week for the first time since March. Like many social events and workplaces, the deliberative body, made up of 100 citizens reflecting Scotland’s demographics, has moved online after being...Posted 23 Sep 2020
Scotland’s loophole ridden lobbying laws are in need of an urgent upgradeWealth and power can get people access and influence that normal citizens can only imagine. It is, after all, why lobbying is a multi-million pound industry. That's why transparency is so vital.Posted 17 Aug 2020
Looking back at a decade of proportional representation for local elections in Scotland"When we now come to use Westminster’s one-person-takes-all system in Scotland, it seems perverse and unwieldly."Posted 04 May 2020
Deepening democracy with Scotland’s Local Democracy BillDemocracy isn’t static, it is a process. It isn’t always simple or easy, and today it is being tested under the strain of a crisis of trust, one which affects political institutions, the public square...Posted 30 Mar 2020
Could the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland change how politics is done for good?A new way of doing democracy is being trialled in Scotland – and the ERS is at the heart of it. Since October, over 100 members of the Scottish public have been meeting regularly to...Posted 20 Mar 2020
9 things you need to know about the 2019 General ElectionYou probably heard a lot about the number of seats parties won (and lost) in December’s General Election. What was less prominent was just how poorly the results reflected how people actually voted. The ERS...Posted 24 Dec 2019