Articles and Insights

Accessible commentary and insights from the Electoral Reform Society on the issues shaping our democracy.

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How do Conservative Party leadership elections work?

(Updated for October 2024) Historically there weren’t elections for the leader of the Conservative party, but, following the machinations surrounding the appointment of Sir Alec Douglas-Home in 1963, elections among the MPs were brought in,...

Posted 05 Jul 2016

Tories don’t use First Past the Post to elect their leader. It’s one rule for us and one for them

Brexit and our broken electoral system

This is a guest blog, originally published by Noel Longhurst. The opinions expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Electoral Reform Society. Ever since the result of the EU...

Posted 01 Jul 2016

We can do referendums better in the UK. Here’s how.

This article was first published by Times Red Box Last week’s referendum raised some serious questions about the nature of the democracy we have – and the type we want to create. Unlike other countries,...

Posted 30 Jun 2016

One day left to get clued up about your #EUref vote

The below is an open letter to voters for the last day before the referendum by a number of organisations who have been pushing for a better referendum debate. Voting requires confidence and a decent,...

Posted 22 Jun 2016

Let’s not settle for a low #EUref turnout

It’s generally a fool’s game to predict poll turnout. But there are some signs which can give you a clue. One is how likely people they are to say they’ll vote. Today – with a...

Posted 16 Jun 2016

The public are switched off by #EUref ‘big beasts’

The past few months have seen the campaigns – perhaps understandably – wheel out the ‘big beasts’ from the various parties in an attempt to bring people over. But polling by BMG Research which we...

Posted 10 Jun 2016