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.

Local democracy

New law restores fairer voting system for mayoral elections

April 30, 2026

On 29 April 2026, the English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill received Royal Assent. This means that it has passed all stages of its parliamentary progress, through the House of Commons and House of Lords and has become law, as the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act.

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Voters rights restored! Back up choices for mayors to return
House of Lords

Hereditary peers have left the Lords for the last time

April 30, 2026

Sometimes change arrives with fanfare. Sometimes it arrives quietly, after years of argument, delay and unfinished business.

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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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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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Latest Insights

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

Better local services need better local elections
Local democracy

Why we need to change the way we elect our councillors in England and Wales

April 28, 2026

Discussions around changing the voting system often refer to Westminster, yet the same problems that stifle the government of the...

Local democracy

England’s previous local elections show what’s wrong with our voting system

April 27, 2026

Time and time again, England’s local elections repeatedly produce results that simply don’t reflect how people vote. If you live...

Holyrood’s voting system wants you to be represented in Parliament
ERS Scotland

How Scotland’s Holyrood elections work will work this May

April 23, 2026

The 2024 General Election in Scotland was a one-sided affair. Scottish Labour won 35.3% of the vote in Scotland and...

Compulsory voting would treat the symptoms not the cause
Polling Day

We should fix our voting system, not force people to use it

April 23, 2026

This week, the Telegraph has published an article debating the merits of compulsory voting. Partly inspired by the approaching first...

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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.

Better local services need better local elections
Local democracy

Why we need to change the way we elect our councillors in England and Wales

April 28, 2026

Discussions around changing the voting system often refer to Westminster, yet the same problems that stifle the government of the...

Holyrood’s voting system wants you to be represented in Parliament
ERS Scotland

How Scotland’s Holyrood elections work will work this May

April 23, 2026

The 2024 General Election in Scotland was a one-sided affair. Scottish Labour won 35.3% of the vote in Scotland and...

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...

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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 🇺🇸
Jill Rutter, Chris Hipkins and Darren Hughes at Labour Conference 2024
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Former New Zealand PM praises ‘very stable’ PR at Labour Conference

September 26, 2024

Despite the downcast weather in Liverpool this week there was an upbeat mood at the Labour conference as the party...

New Zealand’s journey provides lessons for the UK
Electoral Reform in Westminster

How did New Zealand get proportional representation?

August 2, 2022

Prior to 1996, MPs were elected to New Zealand’s House of Representatives using the same unrepresentative First Past The Post...

Polling Station
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Barriers to entry: How do electoral thresholds work?

September 3, 2021

A common feature of many Party List PR systems is an electoral threshold – a pre-set bar that parties have...

Parliament House
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Does PR mean coalitions? As New Zealand shows – it’s all down to the voters

October 20, 2020

The New Zealand Labour party are celebrating a landslide win, with 49 percent of the vote and enough MPs to...

Parliament House
Polling Day

Early voting doesn’t have to mean long queues

October 15, 2020

Two news stories stood out this week. As early voting opened in some US states, images of voters queuing all...

New Zealand MMP song
Electoral Reform in Westminster

New Zealand’s MMP electoral system: how does it work?

October 14, 2020

New Zealand actor Jack Buchanan explains how MMP works in this music video created in partnership with the New Zealand...

Parliament House
Electoral Reform in Westminster

New Zealand election: Citizens make the most of fair votes

September 27, 2017

Saturday saw New Zealand go to the polls for its eighth election since they ditched the broken first past the...

Parliament House
Electoral Reform in Westminster

How PR ‘completely transformed’ New Zealand politics: Metiria Turei, Green Party co-leader

April 6, 2017

In 1996, New Zealand introduced the Mixed Member Proportion (MMP) voting system – a mixed FPTP and proportional list voting...

Kiwi Laser
Electoral Reform in Westminster

The New Zealand Flag Referendum

August 18, 2015

For many years the New Zealand flag has been the subject of much debate. Adopted when New Zealand was still...

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