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.

Electoral Reform in Westminster

Frontrunners declaring for proportional representation crystallises the growing support in the Labour Party

June 3, 2026

We have seen a number of events in recent days that have crystallised the long build-up of momentum in the Labour Party for proportional representation. Firstly, over the weekend, Andy Burnham, who, if he wins the Makerfield by-election, is considered the frontrunner to be the next Labour leader, restated his support for scrapping First Past the Post (FPTP) for Westminster and moving to a proportional system.

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Support for proportional representation has been steadily growing in Labour
English Local Democracy

Voters in English local elections deserve better than First Past the Post

May 12, 2026

The votes from last week’s local council elections across England have now been counted, and one thing is clear: First Past the Post is yet again failing to reflect voters’ views on who should run their local council. People vote in local elections because they want to shape what happens where they live.

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English 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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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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Latest Insights

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

parliaments that truly represented how the country voted
Electoral Reform in Westminster

The difference between proportional and preferential voting systems – and why it matters

June 11, 2026

When is an electoral reform not proportional? That question matters because support for scrapping First Past the Post is growing,...

Electoral Reform in Westminster

Polling Breakdown: What did the UK polls say in May 2026?

June 4, 2026

At the start of May, many eyes were looking towards the elections taking place across large areas of England, as...

Electoral Commission data reveals why we need a donations cap
Money in Politics

Two individuals account for a third of all political donations in latest release

June 4, 2026

This week the Electoral Commission released data on political donations received in the first quarter of 2026, revealing exactly why we need a full donations...

Proportional representation is about giving voters control over their neighbourhoods
English Local Democracy

A council with no overall control isn’t the same as one with proportional representation

June 3, 2026

May’s English local elections ended one-party dominance in over 30 councils, with 64 of the 136 councils now under no...

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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.

parliaments that truly represented how the country voted
Electoral Reform in Westminster

The difference between proportional and preferential voting systems – and why it matters

June 11, 2026

When is an electoral reform not proportional? That question matters because support for scrapping First Past the Post is growing,...

Proportional representation is about giving voters control over their neighbourhoods
English Local Democracy

A council with no overall control isn’t the same as one with proportional representation

June 3, 2026

May’s English local elections ended one-party dominance in over 30 councils, with 64 of the 136 councils now under no...

Better local services need better local elections
English 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...

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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 🇺🇸
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...

Photo of Golden Gate Bridge, California. Text overlay:
Electoral Reform in Westminster

What can the UK learn from California’s Prop 50 gerrymandering plan?

November 5, 2025

A high-stakes fight is underway in the United States over redrawing the constituencies for the House of Representatives in Washington,...

Kamala Harris with a US flag, text overlay reads: “Winner-take-all voting makes most Americans nervous spectators and symbolic participants in their choice of leaders”
Electoral Reform in Westminster

What Kamala Harris’ nomination means for the American party system

August 22, 2024

Rob Richie is the co-founder and senior advisor to FairVote, a sister organisation to the Electoral Reform Society. FairVote is...

Major American cities adopt Proportional Representation
Electoral Reform in Westminster

A wave of cities across the United States switch to fair voting systems

November 11, 2022

This week’s big electoral story is America’s midterm elections and the failure of the predicted ‘Red Wave’ to materialise. However,...

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...

Preferential voting has become the US' most popular and most bipartisan reform idea
Devolution

As New Yorkers vote in their first preferential primary, in the UK it is under threat

June 25, 2021

Voters in New York City were able to participate in their first preferential voting (called Ranked Choice Voting or RCV...

Five US cities scrap First Past the Post and bring in preferential voting
Campaign Regulation

These US states voted to make elections fairer

November 13, 2020

In the past two weeks, the flaws of the US electoral system have become plain for all to see. As...

Using a passport to vote in the UK
Voter ID

Papers, please: Why the UK must think again before importing US-style voter ID to Britain

November 3, 2020

Voting is a key cornerstone of any democratic system. Just as important are the principles underpinning it: that every vote...

Statue of Liberty
Electoral Reform in Westminster

When it comes to fair votes, the US Senate is ripe for reform

November 2, 2020

If seats are ever to match votes in America, the US will need to look at the distorted Senate. While...

America polling station
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Four ways of electing a president – ranked from worst to best

November 2, 2020

America’s presidential election is the most famous presidential election in the world. The antiquated American system of choosing a president...

Bush and Trump both won elections with fewer votes than their opponent
Electoral Reform in Westminster

How the US’ warped Electoral College means millions of votes make no difference

November 2, 2020

In the last five US elections, two presidents have been summoned to office whilst obtaining fewer votes than their opponent....

Trump
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Could Trump win the Presidency and lose the popular vote again?

October 30, 2020

There have been two ‘wrong winners’ in UK general elections over the last 70 years. In 1951, Labour got more...

America polling station
Electoral Reform in Westminster

US election: Why 33 states have had no presidential campaign events at all

October 30, 2020

FairVote’s Benjamin Oestericher explains how America’s first past the post style electoral college makes vast swathes of the country an...

America polling station
Electoral Reform in Westminster

How the Democrats could win the popular vote but not control of the House

November 6, 2018

Brenda from Bristol famously cried “not another one!” at the news that we were to hold an election in 2017,...

Maine ranked choice voting
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Maine makes history as first state to back fair votes

November 9, 2016

As the world analyses the result of the US Presidential election, there’s one result you might have missed. On Tuesday...

Trump
Electoral Reform in Westminster

How Trump could win the Presidency even if he doesn’t win the most votes

November 8, 2016

It’s election day in the United States, and that means all the pageantry and spectacle one comes to expect with...

Statue of Liberty
English Local Democracy

PR across the pond: the push for fair votes in the US

October 11, 2016

This week is European Local Democracy Week 2016, and to mark it, we’re running a series of discussion articles on how...

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