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

We live in a country where each constituency has a single MP. Yet for most people this means the MP who “represents” them in parliament doesn’t share their politics, didn’t win a majority of the...

Posted 15 Jan 2026

The majority of people are represented by an MP they didnt want

British public strongly back caps on donations to political parties

Polling published in the last few weeks reveals that the British public are worried about the influence of money in politics, with a majority wanting to see the introduction of caps on donations to political parties. A Survation poll, conducted between 9-11...

Posted 13 Jan 2026

Lords-a-delaying? How our unelected chamber is stalling for time

It’s beginning to look a lot like… a hold up? In recent months, several government bills have been facing extended scrutiny in the House of Lords. While careful examination of legislation is an important part...

Posted 16 Dec 2025

Latest peerages mean government has replaced the hereditary peers – before they’ve even left the Lords

Keir Starmer himself not long ago described the wholly unelected and grossly bloated House of Lords as ‘indefensible’. Nothing has changed since then so it was deeply disappointing to see even more peers being stuffed...

Posted 11 Dec 2025

The Prime Minister has created 96 new peers in total

How First Past the Post turns politics into tribal warfare

Poll after poll and headline after headline in the U.K may leave you with the impression of a country more divided than ever. This is never more obvious than in the seemingly daily polling notifications....

Posted 10 Dec 2025

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

2025 at the ERS: Our work in Scotland and Wales

Each year we write an Annual Review which looks back at our achievements across the last 12 months, and explains how our team have campaigned towards securing our vision for a democracy fit for the...

Posted 09 Dec 2025

2025 at the ERS: Our research making the case for democratic reform

Posted 05 Dec 2025

Legislative battles are renewing the focus on Westminster’s unelected upper chamber

A common argument from defenders of the unelected Lords is that ministers should dedicate the entirety of their time to bread and butter policies that more immediately impact voters. The implicit basis here is that...

Posted 04 Dec 2025

We need a donation cap, but how much should it be?

In the UK today, there is still no legal limit on how much a single donor can give to a political party each year. That simple fact shapes our politics in profound ways. When unlimited...

Posted 04 Dec 2025