What’s wrong with First Past the Post? First Past the Post (FPTP) is the name for the voting system used to elect Members of Parliament (MPs) to Westminster. It’s also used in a variety of other elections across the UK, including local... Posted 07 May 2025
Why are our mayors winning on less than 30% of the vote? This past week’s mayoral elections marked a worrying milestone for democracy in England. For the first time ever, two combined authority mayors have been elected on less than 30% of the vote – with one... Posted 07 May 2025
The end of the two-party system? What the experts are saying about the 2025 local elections Since the votes cast in the local elections were counted on Friday there has been extensive debate among experts and in the media about whether we are seeing the end of the two-party system. This... Posted 07 May 2025
First Past the Post has played havoc with Canadian federal elections Earlier this year, we wrote about Justin Trudeau’s regret at failing to deliver electoral reform during his near decade as Canada’s Prime Minister, despite first coming to power with a manifesto commitment to end First... Posted 24 Apr 2025
Liberal Democrats sense growing opportunities on proportional representation as they assemble for 2025 Spring Conference The Liberal Democrats assembled in the picturesque Yorkshire town of Harrogate this weekend for their spring conference, where they discussed how to build on their success in the general election and maximise the impact of... Posted 24 Mar 2025
Another disproportional Westminster election could have profound implications for Scotland and the UK We are living through an uncertain political era. Many old certainties are shifting geopolitically and the UK has only just emerged from a chaotic Westminster parliament that saw three Prime Ministers in a year. Yet... Posted 26 Feb 2025
Exploring the proportional outcome of Germany’s 2025 Federal election With around 84.5 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous country in western Europe. A German Federal election, where representatives are elected to the Bundestag (Germany’s national parliament), is therefore always an important event. From... Posted 24 Feb 2025
Here’s the insights from our ERS members’ workshop Following the 2024 election, we set about revising our campaigning plans for the new political situation in Westminster. We’ve been talking to MPs, academics and activists, as well as listening to our membership. The support... Posted 12 Feb 2025
What voting system does the UK use for general elections? Voting systems are the methods we use to elect representatives, like MPs or local councillors. They lay out rules about the way votes are cast and counted. Which system do we use in general elections... Posted 11 Feb 2025
Current Parliament ‘least represents how the country voted of any in history’, MPs warn Last week saw MPs warning that our current Parliament “is the one that least represents how the country voted of any in history”, as the government came under increasing pressure to bring in a fairer... Posted 06 Feb 2025