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Why the Senedd’s new recall system might hurt accountability

Last week, the Senedd’s Standards of Conduct Committee published a report recommending the introduction of a recall procedure, allowing voters to remove and replace Members of the Senedd (MSs) who have seriously breached the Code...

Posted 05 Feb 2025

How Trudeau missed the opportunity for electoral reform in Canada

At the beginning of 2025, the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced his decision to resign. He will stay in office until March 2025, when the Liberal Party selects a new leader, who will also...

Posted 29 Jan 2025

How are peers appointed to the House of Lords?

The House of Lords is the second chamber of our Parliament. Before bills become laws, they must pass through the House of Lords, and Lords themselves play a key role in scrutinising public policy. That...

Posted 29 Jan 2025

There are multiple routes into the House of Lords and they are all undemocratic

Here’s how we’ve briefed MPs ahead of the Westminster debate on proportional representation

On 30th January, MPs will be meeting in Parliament to debate proportional representation – a welcomed and vital opportunity to discuss a fairer and more representative democracy for all. Support for electoral reform within Parliament...

Posted 28 Jan 2025

We have provided MP with our research - Emphasising how the voting system is letting down voters.

Listen to our conversation with Mark Drakeford MS on Welsh democracy

Back at Welsh Labour party conference in November, ERS Cymru hosted an ‘in conversation’ with Mark Drakeford MS where he reflected on the past, the present and the future of Welsh democracy. In a wide...

Posted 16 Jan 2025

How would proportional representation work in the UK?

Proportional Representation (PR) is the idea that seats in parliament should closely match votes cast in an election. A system that’s perfectly proportional would mean that if a political party received one third of the...

Posted 16 Jan 2025

Under PR you could expect to see parliaments which more accurately reflect votes cast in a general election

The Government is finally reviewing the unnecessary and unfair Voter ID rules

Voter ID has risen back up the political agenda after the Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, last week confirmed the government is going to “look at” whether to scrap the requirements. Since 2023, people have...

Posted 14 Jan 2025

in a modern democracy we should be removing barriers and expanding access to voting

This year’s General Election left millions of voices unheard

We have all heard the outcome of the 2024 general election, the surprises and the predictable outcomes, but digging under the surface there’s a surprising story to tell about the millions of voters who were...

Posted 19 Dec 2024

The rise of multi-party voting at UK general elections

With votes for parties, and independent candidates, other than Labour and the Conservatives reaching a historic high of 42.6%, the 2024 General Election saw a significant shift towards multi-party voting. The combined Labour and Conservative...

Posted 19 Dec 2024

Why are voters switching parties more than ever?

We recently published our in-depth report on the 2024 General Election, A System Out of Step. Our polling during the General Election not only revealed the extent of tactical voting under our electoral system, but also...

Posted 19 Dec 2024