Articles and Insights

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

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A civil referendum

The chances of Scotland having a high-quality and inclusive debate about independence just got significantly higher. The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) has given charities and voluntary organisations the green light to campaign during...

Posted 26 Jul 2013

The Supersized House of Lords

The House of Lords Reform Bill is gone. But the House of Lords remains unsustainable. At the heart of this problem is the chamber’s scope for growth. The House of Lords is already the largest Second...

Posted 16 Jun 2013

House of Lords

From Councillors to MPs

The relationship between performance in local and national elections has not received the attention it deserves.  Pundits will endlessly speculate on what a hammering at midterm means for a sitting government’s prospects. Polls are compared,...

Posted 15 Jun 2013

More pantomime than serious debate

Balanced and informative media is vital for a good democracy. The BBC’s decision to invite controversial politicians to participate in a Question Time panel in Edinburgh and overlook two of Scotland’s elected parties was greeted with...

Posted 14 Jun 2013

Lobbying: Recall and Registers are no silver bullets

The lobbying scandal is yet more evidence of the corrupting power of money in our politics. But as ministers fall over themselves to look decisive, it’s time for a reality check. The Government doesn’t seem...

Posted 03 Jun 2013

1.25: A small price to pay for a proper debate.

Today we’ve welcomed news that BBC Scotland is to set aside an extra £5 million for dedicated coverage of the 2014 Independence Referendum. We are now looking at a team of 50 tasked with providing coverage and...

Posted 22 May 2013

Time to end the deadlock on party funding

Today a new bill lands in parliament, courtesy of Labour’s Alan Whitehead, Lib Dem Lord Tyler and Conserative Andrew Tyrie. It deserves attention – because it offers a sensible, cross party approach to party funding....

Posted 16 May 2013

Would you back ‘None of the Above’?

Following the county council elections we’ve been hearing a lot about ‘None of the Above’. The IPPR recently flagged None of the Above – or NOTA – as a part of their plan to boost youth...

Posted 14 May 2013

Ballot Papers

Where are my leaflets?

“How could I make a decision? I didn’t receive any leaflets” That seemed to be a common complaint from the 2013 County Council Elections. We’ve conducted a string of interviews for local radio where many...

Posted 13 May 2013

Four good reasons to oppose recall

Governments rarely receive praise for inaction – but that is precisely the right move on recall. In today’s Queen’s Speech there was no reference to the pledge to legislate for recall. This is a system...

Posted 08 May 2013