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Should I rank all the candidates in the Scottish council elections?

On Thursday 5 May, 2022, voters will go to the polls to elect councillors for each of Scotland’s 32 local authorities. This will be the fourth time that Scottish councils will be elected using a proportional system,...

Posted 25 Feb 2022

Here’s how to maximise your impact on Scotland’s local elections

Ministers just sneaked out a serious, undemocratic change to our voting system in England and Wales

The government is trying to sneakily force through plans to impose First Past the Post for Mayoral and Police and Crime Commissioner elections – a move which would cast the views of voters on the...

Posted 16 Sep 2021

First Past the Post will make it easier for unpopular or extreme candidates to slip into town halls

Conservative councillor: How the Single Transferable Vote broke open Scotland’s one-party fiefdoms

"With STV, we are trying to steal a march on other parties, while at the same time cooperating for the public good."

Posted 05 Aug 2021

The PM’s ‘Levelling Up’ agenda is another victim of Westminster’s warped electoral logic

The Prime Minister’s Levelling Up agenda – announced with great fanfare on Thursday – risks leaving swathes of the country ignored. In not very subtle terms, the PM suggested new powers would only go to ideologically-aligned parts of...

Posted 16 Jul 2021

The Levelling Up fund will look more like a Slush Fund if safe seats and non-Conservative areas are ignored

Elections 2021: Rotten boroughs are rife in England, as voters are hit by warped results

We’re already seeing a plethora of rotten results – with parties taking nearly all the seats on a fraction of the vote.

Posted 07 May 2021

A snapshot of the unfair outcomes under England’s zero-sum voting system

These government plans will hit 44m voters with less choice and a weaker voice

Millions of people went to the polls this Thursday in England and Wales to elect PCCs, plus Combined Authority mayors and the London mayor– using the Supplementary Vote system (SV).

Posted 07 May 2021

Less choice, weaker mandates and reduced accountability

2021 Elections: Millions of voters to get fair representation through PR

Over 12 million voters have a powerful voice today, with proportional representation used in Wales, Scotland and on the London Assembly.

Posted 06 May 2021

Proportional representation is now firmly established across the UK

Local one party states are a gift for cronies and lobbyists

England is likely to see swathes of ‘one-party councils’ picked next week, under England and Wales’ one-party takes all local electoral system. Spread out over a whole council area, one party can get near 100%...

Posted 30 Apr 2021

Councils dominated by single parties could be wasting as much as £2.6bn nationally a year

Who can I vote for? How do I vote? What everyone needs to know for the May elections

May sees elections for around 5,000 seats in England, votes for the Mayor of London and London Assembly, the Senedd (Welsh Parliament), the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood), and Police and Crime Commissioner elections. Holyrood and the...

Posted 23 Apr 2021

If you want to vote by proxy, your application must arrive by 5pm on 27 April

How May’s London Assembly elections will work

This May, millions of Londoners will go to the polls to vote for the Mayor and the London Assembly. The London Assembly is the political body that holds the mayor to account and scrutinises their...

Posted 07 Apr 2021