The ludicrousness of hereditary peer by-electionsThe British constitution, its parliament and its institutions are well known for its oddities and eccentricities: the space provided in the Commons cloakroom for MPs to hang their sword; the fact that all swans in...Posted 15 Sep 2016
This boundary review risks skewing our democracy. It’s time to think againIt’s fair to say the boundary review has caused a stir. Why? Let’s start with the whole basis of this shakeup. The boundary redrawing is being conducted on the basis of registered electors – rather than the actual...Posted 14 Sep 2016
Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith Quizzed on Democratic ReformThe Labour leadership election is in full swing, with the vote closing on Wednesday 21st September. At the ERS, we’re running Q&As with the leadership candidates for the Labour Party. On Tuesday we published our Q&A with...Posted 07 Sep 2016
The next four years for reform: our 2020 strategyOver the past few years, the Electoral Reform Society has gone from strength to strength. As the world’s oldest pro-democracy organisation, we have a long history of fighting to build a better democracy. And now...Posted 07 Sep 2016
ERS Quiz UKIP’s Leadership Candidates on Democratic ReformUKIP’s leadership election is in full swing, with the results announced on the 16thSeptember. At the ERS, we’re running Q&As with the leadership candidates for UKIP – as well as the Labour Party, which...Posted 06 Sep 2016
Referendums are in vogue – so let’s get them rightReferendums are becoming increasingly popular, internationally and domestically. Since the first UK referendum in 1975, the UK has held three nationally, and 11 in UK countries or English regions, with even more at a local...Posted 05 Sep 2016
Doing referendums differentlyThere’s no denying it: referendums have become a central feature of our politics. So it’s about time we started thinking seriously about how we should run them. Since 2011 we have had two UK-wide referendums...Posted 01 Sep 2016
‘The Alternative’: Creative thinking for reformersIt’s only by working together that we can achieve the change we need. So it’s great to see that a healthy conversation has started on how to do this even better in the years ahead....Posted 25 Aug 2016
Electoral Reform in Parliament againTwo of our issues are back in the House of Commons this week as Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, will be presenting her ‘Electoral Reform (Proportional Representation and Reduction of Voting...Posted 18 Aug 2016
The House of Lords needs more than tinkeringLords reform is back on the agenda. And given the frequency of scandals we see in the upper chamber, that’s no surprise. A couple of weeks ago, we revealed that David Cameron’s 189 appointments to...Posted 17 Aug 2016