Articles and Insights

Accessible commentary and insights from the Electoral Reform Society, on the issues shaping our democracy.

Featured Articles Latest Insights Polling & Public Opinion The Basics of First Past the Post Speaking up for Voters How our Country Works Global Perspectives

Featured Articles

The main stories selected by the Electoral Reform Society's team.

Money in Politics

Government to cap overseas donations and stop crypto donations

March 25, 2026

Today we welcomed the review by Philip Rycroft into countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics. The review rightly identifies a loss of trust in our democratic system and processes, and the importance of securing our democracy from those who seek to undermine it.

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The government must go further and bring in a cap on how much all donors can give to a party
Electoral Reform in Westminster

We were asked to address MPs on the Representation of the People Bill committee

March 19, 2026

This week MPs sitting on the Representation of the People Bill committee took evidence before the bill starts committee stage – the line-by-line examination of the legislation. Expert witnesses are called to give evidence at this stage to assist the committee with examining and improving the bill as it goes through parliament.

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House of Lords

The end of the Hereditary Peerage: A long campaign and an important victory

March 11, 2026

We saw a big victory last night as the bill to remove the last hereditary peers from the House of Lords finally passed. The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill means the remaining 84 hereditary peers will no longer have the automatic right to sit in the upper chamber for life, influencing the laws we all live under, purely due to who their parents were.

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Electoral Reform in Westminster

The Representation of the People Bill moves democracy forward – but more progress is needed

March 5, 2026

At the Electoral Reform Society, we believe democracy is never a finished project. Something so hard won requires constant attention, updating and improvement if it is to remain healthy.

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Latest Insights

The latest articles and insights from the Electoral Reform Society's team.

There is only a 15-point gap between the 1st and 5th placed parties
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Polling breakdown from March 2026: Latest polls see continued fragmentation

April 2, 2026

Since February 2025, we at the Electoral Reform Society have been collecting data on UK general election voting intention polls...

Wales has 16 new constituencies, each one electing six Members of the Senedd
ERS Cymru

There is a new way of voting at the Senedd election this May. How does it work?

April 2, 2026

Whatever happens in May, the next Senedd election is set to be historic. For instance, recent polling has pointed to...

9.1% of voting age Americans lack ready access to a document proving citizenship
Voter ID

While the UK is making voting more accessible, the US is cracking down

April 2, 2026

Currently, the UK is reassessing our restrictive voter ID laws. The Representation of the People Bill, if passed, would see...

The case for examining First Past the Posts role is growing
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Former Prime Minister John Major questions the ‘validity’ of First Past the Post

April 1, 2026

There has been a significant intervention in the debate around electoral reform recently, in the guise of former Prime Minister...

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Polling & Public Opinion

Analysis of the latest polling from the Electoral Reform Society's research department.

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The Basics of First Past the Post

Discover how we are let down by the way we elect MPs to Westminster.

The majority of people are represented by an MP they didnt want
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Why First Past the Post leaves most of us without voice in parliament

January 15, 2026

We live in a country where each constituency has a single MP. Yet for most people this means the MP...

Why reach out when you can win a majority on just 30 percent of the vote
Electoral Reform in Westminster

How First Past the Post turns politics into tribal warfare

December 10, 2025

Poll after poll and headline after headline in the U.K may leave you with the impression of a country more...

First Past the Post doesn’t care how narrow or extreme a party’s agendas is
Electoral Reform in Westminster

How First Past the Post lets people with fringe views slip through the net

November 13, 2025

Britain’s First Past the Post system was designed for a two-party age. One that pretty much everyone agrees we no...

The real fights aren’t across the floor of the Commons but inside the ruling party itself
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Why single-party governments under First Past the Post fail to get things done

October 29, 2025

For all the talk of “strong government,” the reality of single-party rule under First Past the Post (FPTP) often looks...

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Speaking up for Voters

Read the latest articles from the Electoral Reform Society's spokespeople

Darren Hughes

Chief Executive

Jessica Garland

Director of Policy and Research

Jessica Blair

ERS Cymru Director

Willie Sullivan

Senior Director, Campaigns and Scotland

How Our Country Works

Discover how power functions in the UK.

Wales has 16 new constituencies, each one electing six Members of the Senedd
ERS Cymru

There is a new way of voting at the Senedd election this May. How does it work?

April 2, 2026

Whatever happens in May, the next Senedd election is set to be historic. For instance, recent polling has pointed to...

We need to shift the balance closer to 50:50, to allow the ‘top-up’ to do its job.
ERS Scotland

Scotland’s Parliament still has too much First Past the Post

March 25, 2026

When the Scottish Parliament was created, it was built to be different to Westminster. A system designed to reflect how...

Candidates need to be able to communicate with voters
Campaign Regulation

Is it possible to opt out of political leaflets through the letterbox?

March 19, 2026

Written by Thomas Worth In the months leading up to elections, voters are often inundated with all sorts of literature...

Scotland should look again at how its parliament is elected
Scottish Parliament

Why Holyrood’s voting system still favours larger parties

February 24, 2026

Everyone knows that First Past the Post favours the largest party. At the last Westminster election, Labour managed to turn...

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Global Perspectives

Discover how countries around the world run their elections.

All 🌍 Australia 🇦🇺 Austria 🇦🇹 Belgium 🇧🇪 Brazil 🇧🇷 Canada 🇨🇦 Denmark 🇩🇰 Estonia 🇪🇪 Fiji 🇫🇯 Finland 🇫🇮 France 🇫🇷 Germany 🇩🇪 Greece 🇬🇷 Guernsey 🇬🇬 Hungary 🇭🇺 India 🇮🇳 Ireland 🇮🇪 Italy 🇮🇹 Jamaica 🇯🇲 Japan 🇯🇵 Jersey 🇯🇪 Latvia 🇱🇻 Lebanon 🇱🇧 Malta 🇲🇹 Netherlands 🇳🇱 New Zealand 🇳🇿 North Korea 🇰🇵 Norway 🇳🇴 Poland 🇵🇱 Portugal 🇵🇹 Romania 🇷🇴 Slovenia 🇸🇮 South Africa 🇿🇦 Sweden 🇸🇪 Switzerland 🇨🇭 Turkey 🇹🇷 United States of America 🇺🇸
First Past the Post has randomly thrown up parliaments that bear little resemblance to how Canadians voted
Electoral Reform in Westminster

First Past the Post has played havoc with Canadian federal elections

April 24, 2025

Earlier this year, we wrote about Justin Trudeau’s regret at failing to deliver electoral reform during his near decade as...

Electoral Reform in Westminster

How Trudeau missed the opportunity for electoral reform in Canada

January 29, 2025

At the beginning of 2025, the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced his decision to resign. He will stay in...

The party that came 4th in the vote came second in seats
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Quebec’s 2022 election reveals error of not scrapping first past the post

October 5, 2022

Back in 2018 we reported on the excitement in Quebec which was set for a move from First Past the Post (FPTP)...

other countries have powerful regional representatives, Britain remains the odd-one-out
House of Lords

How are the members of upper houses chosen around the world?

January 27, 2022

Many countries use a bicameral political system – meaning that they have two chambers in their parliament. These parliaments are...

This is the fourth post-war Canadian election and second in a row with a wrong winner
Electoral Reform in Westminster

First Past the Post has failed to give the most popular Canadian party the most seats

September 22, 2021

Minority government on 32% of the vote is one thing, but it is another when it isn’t even the most...

Canadian Election
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Canada’s election: Last call for First Past the Post?

October 23, 2019

It looks like Justin Trudeau has narrowly secured his second term as Canada’s Prime Minister. But his party lost out...

Electoral Reform in Westminster

Ontario and Québec look towards electoral reform

October 29, 2018

We’ve covered the exciting moves towards fair votes in British Columbia and Prince Edward Island – two Canadian provinces looking...

Canadian Election
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Voting opens in British Columbian electoral reform referendum

October 22, 2018

Attempts at electoral reform in British Columbia (B.C.) – Canada’s westernmost and third most populous province – date back more...

Canadian Election
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Is First Past the Post on its way out in Canada?

October 18, 2018

Around the world, countries that inherited a Westminster style of government from their former colonial rulers have been, one by...

Canadian Election
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Electoral reform returns to the agenda in British Columbia

May 18, 2017

British Columbia, Canada’s most Western province, has often been the site of electoral reform intrigue. In the run-up to the...

Maine ranked choice voting
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Electoral reform is making waves across the Atlantic

November 3, 2016

There’s something in the air, it seems. As I write, electoral reformers in Canada and the US have a real...

Canadian Election
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Canada heads to the polls

October 19, 2015

Of all the former colonies to which Britain has left behind the Westminster model of democracy perhaps none so obviously...

Canadian Election
House of Lords

The Canadian Senate – A second-rate second chamber

August 3, 2015

In the current debate about Lords reform it can often be tempting to look for easy solutions which broadly keep...

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