News and Comment

The latest news and commentary from the Electoral Reform Society.

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Maine makes history as first state to back fair votes

As the world analyses the result of the US Presidential election, there’s one result you might have missed. On Tuesday one state made a symbolic breakthrough: Maine became the first US state to scrap First...

Posted 09 Nov 2016

Maine ranked choice voting

1,000 new Peers? No thanks

“If the Lords was obstructive we would just have to create 1,000 peers.” So said Jacob Rees-Mogg MP on Thursday, following the High Court’s ruling that MPs will have a vote on the triggering of Article...

Posted 07 Nov 2016

House of Lords

Electoral reform is making waves across the Atlantic

There’s something in the air, it seems. As I write, electoral reformers in Canada and the US have a real chance of securing a fairer voting system. As US voters prepare to pick their next...

Posted 03 Nov 2016

Maine ranked choice voting

The Return of the Gerrymander

With all the media attention focusing on the upcoming American Presidential Election, it’s easy to forget that it isn’t the only election happening on that day. Voters up and down the country will be voting...

Posted 30 Oct 2016

It’s time to ‘take back control’ of money in politics

The following is a guest post from Steve Goodrich, Senior Research Officer at Transparency International UK.  The views, opinions and positions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Electoral Reform...

Posted 24 Oct 2016

A pile of cash

How to give the London Assembly the clout it needs

This week is European Local Democracy Week 2016, and to mark it, we’ve been running a series of articles on how to make the London Assembly more democratic. Today, Martin Hoscik, Editor of MayorWatch, gives his view on...

Posted 14 Oct 2016

London city hall

Time to beef up the London Assembly?

It’s fair to say that the London Assembly doesn’t get a great deal of attention – despite having a strong claim to being the hub of devolved politics in England. So for European Local Democracy Week we thought...

Posted 14 Oct 2016

london assembly