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.

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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Progress must not stall here
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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House of Lords

How can someone be removed from the House of Lords?

February 4, 2026

When peers make headlines for the wrong reasons, the same question inevitably arises: how do you actually remove someone from the House of Lords? The answer reveals a troubling truth about accountability in our democracy.

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Electoral Reform in Westminster

Business leaders make the case for electoral reform

January 19, 2026

We saw a significant intervention in the debate around electoral reform last week. More than 20 business leaders, including the chairman of the Virgin Group, Peter Norris, called for Westminster to scrap the failing First Past the Post voting system after the political chaos it has contributed to in recent years.

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Latest Insights

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

This pilot will make voting more convenient and accessible
Polling Day

Early voting trials offer a promising addition to our democracy

March 12, 2026

Written by Thomas Worth While the focus has been on the 30 councils who saw their elections delayed and then...

This is about who has right to shape our laws
House of Lords

Hereditary peer ‘back door’ compromise risks undermining manifesto promise

March 9, 2026

It seems the legislative game of hide and seek around the bill to remove the hereditary peers from the Lords...

The government should not be able to instruct the people trying to referee its re-election
Campaign Regulation

Big win as government commits to restoring independence of Electoral Commission

March 4, 2026

We just saw a significant victory when it comes to ensuring the independence of our elections watchdog. It came during...

Electoral Reform in Westminster

Latest UK polling: As voters spread their support, our voting system can’t keep up

March 4, 2026

Where elections often used to be a two-horse race between Labour and the Conservatives, voters are now spreading their support...

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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...

Read more on First Past the Post's failings →

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.

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...

As the electorate increasingly fragments our system is failing to reflect our preferences
Electoral Reform in Westminster

What can the Effective Number of Parties tell us about First Past the Post?

February 19, 2026

Written by Thomas Worth The results of the 2024 General Election were the most disproportional in British political history. The...

When we don't want people to pick up an activity, we don't let them start until they are 18
Votes at 16

Why voting isn’t like drinking or smoking

January 19, 2026

I’m pretty glad that 12-year-olds aren’t allowed to drive buses. We have age restrictions on many things for pretty good...

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...

Read more on how our country works →

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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