Five New Year’s resolutions ministers should be signing up to If 2018 has shown us anything, it’s that the debates over the state of our democracy are as crucial as ever. From the Cambridge Analytica scandal to the controversial ID trials at the local elections,... Posted 31 Dec 2018
Time is running out in this Centenary year – why are the government waiting to tackle the ‘political gender gap’? In November, the Electoral Reform Society helped coordinate an unprecedented coalition of campaigners and politicians in calling for government action on the ‘political gender gap’. Marking the centenary of women’s right to stand for Parliament,... Posted 14 Dec 2018
We know the gender pay gap – what about the political gender gap? Next Wednesday we’ll mark 100 years since Parliament passed legislation enabling women (over 21) to become MPs for the first time. Sadly, since that landmark legislation, there has been a grand total of just 491... Posted 15 Nov 2018
How the new Welsh party leaders can make a difference on diversity Has there ever been such a time of change in Welsh politics? By the end of this year there is a chance that none of the parties in the Assembly will have the same leader... Posted 15 Aug 2018
There’s an easy way to tackle the ‘political gender gap’ – what’s the government waiting for? It’s no news that British politics has a big problem with gender diversity. Just a third of MPs and councillors are women. Established prejudices need challenging, social media trolls need stopping and there must be... Posted 02 Jul 2018
Four ways Westminster’s politics needs fixing this Democracy Week Monday marks the start of the first ‘National Democracy Week’ – the government’s initiative to encourage democratic participation. It has been established on the premise that “regardless of who we are or where we are... Posted 29 Jun 2018
One simple change could take us much closer to gender equality in politics There can be no doubt that in order to see more women elected to our political institutions, political parties need to stand more women candidates. Yet there is no official information on the diversity of... Posted 04 Apr 2018
How Westminster’s voting system is holding back gender equality In the centenary month of women securing the franchise, looking back on the politics of previous decades throws up some grim reminders of discrimination. Take just one: when Janet Fookes was first elected to represent... Posted 13 Feb 2018
Five reforms still needed to ensure women are fairly represented in politics The Representation of the People Act 1918 was undoubtedly a significant step forward for women’s rights and democracy. It gave the to vote to around 8.5 million women previously disenfranchised and abolished almost all property restrictions on men. One hundred years later and both... Posted 06 Feb 2018
100 years after women won the right to vote, there’s still a long way to go 2018 marks one hundred years since a major landmark in the history of our democracy – the first time women in the UK had the right to vote. The Suffrage movement saw women organise and... Posted 17 Jan 2018