Scotland’s Parliament still has too much First Past the PostWhen the Scottish Parliament was created, it was built to be different to Westminster. A system designed to reflect how all Scots voted, not just who comes first in each area. Scotland uses what is...Posted 25 Mar 2026
Why Holyrood’s voting system still favours larger partiesEveryone knows that First Past the Post favours the largest party. At the last Westminster election, Labour managed to turn 34% of the vote into 63% of parliament – a full 29 percentage points more....Posted 24 Feb 2026
How Sainte-Laguë could improve Scottish Parliamentary electionsScotland’s Parliament has always been better at representing the political makeup of Scotland than Westminster. A parliament where votes mattered more, where power was shared, and where the political map reflected how people actually voted....Posted 28 Jan 2026
Is the Scottish Parliament designed to stop a majority?As we approach the next Scottish parliamentary election, there’s a familiar narrative creeping into the conversation: that the system of proportional representation used in Holyrood is somehow ‘designed to stop a majority.’ It’s a catchy...Posted 15 Oct 2025
What Denmark’s Folkemødet can teach us about rebuilding trust in democracyThis summer, I visited Folkemødet, Denmark’s annual democracy festival held in the coastal town of Allinge on the island of Bornholm. It’s a place where citizens, politicians, NGOs, and businesses gather in a relaxed, open-air...Posted 01 Sep 2025
Government minister visits Dunfermline to find out about Citizens’ Assembly projectLast week, Dunfermline took another confident stride toward becoming a beacon of democratic innovation in Scotland. On Tuesday, Public Finance Minister Ivan McKee visited the Abbeyview Community Hub to meet with local councillors, Fife Council...Posted 27 Aug 2025
ERS Scottish Spring conference draws crowd in EdinburghSometimes it is useful to take some time to digest an event fully, and come to some considerations about it. A few weeks ago, on April 26th, the Electoral Reform Society Scotland collaborated with a...Posted 02 Jun 2025
Vote splitting trick won’t work with Scotland’s Single Transferable VoteOn March 7th voters in Hillhead in Glasgow will be heading to the polls for a council by-election. Among those standing are candidates from the Scottish Greens and Independent Green Voice (IGV) – plenty of...Posted 04 Mar 2024
2023 at the ERS: Party conference season reportEach year we write an Annual Report 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 30 Nov 2023
2023 at the ERS: How we’ve worked with other organisationsEach year we write an Annual Report 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 29 Nov 2023