Amid a shrinking Commons, let’s stand up for the backbencherThis article was first published on Politics.co.uk A steady rise in independent-minded MPs has been a positive feature of Westminster life in recent years. Parliament has always had its share of mavericks and their ranks...Posted 18 Nov 2016
Cutting the number of MPs will have consequences. Let’s get this rightThis article was first published in the Times You might have forgotten about it, but the government’s boundary review – the redrawing of the area that your MP represents – is still going ahead, and it’s happening alongside a...Posted 17 Nov 2016
How Trump won the Presidency despite not winning the most votesSo that sure was an election. Whatever happened in the US presidential election it was always going to be a historic moment. On Tuesday I pointed out that Donald Trump could win the Presidency even if...Posted 09 Nov 2016
Maine makes history as first state to back fair votesAs 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
How Trump could win the Presidency even if he doesn’t win the most votesIt’s election day in the United States, and that means all the pageantry and spectacle one comes to expect with democracy in the world’s most powerful nation. The spectacle of a US election also reminds...Posted 08 Nov 2016
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
Electoral reform is making waves across the AtlanticThere’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
Calling for ‘progressive alliances’ is brave. But it should never be necessaryThis article was first published at LabourList Last week, three Labour MPs did something that takes courage. In calling for Labour to stand aside in Richmond Park, they were pushing for a more collaborative form...Posted 31 Oct 2016
The Return of the GerrymanderWith 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
Forget standing down in Richmond: parties shouldn’t have to make that choiceThis article was published on Politics.co.uk Almost as quickly as Zac Goldsmith announced his resignation this week, talk turned to the other parties in the race: should they clear the way for a candidate with a...Posted 27 Oct 2016