Democracy cancelled: How parties have captured hundreds of seats before local election dayLarge parts of England are effectively democracy deserts, with hundreds of thousands of potential voters denied real choice in this May’s elections. New research by the Electoral Reform Society ahead of next month’s vote shows...Posted 19 Apr 2019
ERS in the Press – March 2019Brexit might be dominating the news, but the rolling constitutional crisis that we call Westminster is still up to its usual tricks. We’ve spent the last month getting press attention for some of our biggest...Posted 29 Mar 2019
Local citizens’ assemblies could break our political deadlock – but the government have vetoed themLast summer, ministers announced genuinely exciting plans for piloting ‘deliberative democracy’ across the UK. The plan was to use a series of citizens’ assemblies to engage people with politics, to tackle complex and contested topics,...Posted 22 Mar 2019
Citizens’ Juries could become the core of a revived local democracyDeliberative forms of democracy are certainly coming into fashion. From the Irish Citizens’ Assembly that led to the historic repeal of their constitutional ban of abortion, to that which informed the Health and Social Care...Posted 23 Aug 2018
Four ways Westminster’s politics needs fixing this Democracy WeekMonday marks the start of the first ‘National Democracy Week’ – the government’s initiative to encourage democratic participation. It has been established on the premise that “regardless of who we are or where we are...Posted 29 Jun 2018
How Scottish campaigners are helping local communities take back powerLevels of local representation in Scotland are the lowest in Europe – leaving many feeling powerless. But now campaigners are hoping to change that. Back in 2016, research for Electoral Reform Society Scotland revealed 76...Posted 05 Jun 2018
When getting the most votes isn’t enough – England’s 2018 local electionsLast week’s local elections were a textbook lesson in why we need to change the way we elect our local councils. From the wrong party winning, to councils with zero scrutiny, using Westminster’s voting system...Posted 09 May 2018
Revealed: How mandatory voter ID risks locking out legitimate votersRepresentative democracies rely on people being able to participate in free and fair elections. That is why each time an election comes around the Electoral Reform Society and likeminded campaigners encourage as many people as...Posted 30 Apr 2018
Local Elections 2018: Six things your local council decides onHow much do you know about your local council – what it does, how it’s spending the council tax you pay each month, and how you can affect the decisions it makes? As if often the case with politics, the answer isn’t straightforward. In...Posted 26 Apr 2018
Local Elections: Diverse voices are being drowned out by the undemocratic voting system in England and WalesWe are now but two weeks from the 2018 local elections. If you live in London you will have the chance to elect councillors for the first time since 2014. If you reside in the...Posted 19 Apr 2018