House of Lords reform: Independence, expertise and a strange case of false logic The argument that independence and expertise exist in abundance amongst our current peers is now being cited as a key reason against reforming the House of Lords. If preserving these features is a core argument against reform,... Posted 15 Mar 2012
No more excuses: Why gender matters in politics What would society be like if four out of five parliamentarians were women? Maybe we’d be failing on men’s health; or the armed forces (as 9 in 10 recruits are still men), or on the... Posted 07 Mar 2012
Asking the important questions about a Scottish independence referendum The likelihood of Scotland voting in a referendum on independence was something most Scots had accepted would occur at some stage before the next Scottish Parliament election in 2016. We talked about it in passing,... Posted 07 Feb 2012
“Aren’t you a bit small to be our Police and Crime Commissioner?” Jane Basham was the Labour PCC candidate for Suffolk “Nearly toppled the establishment…” …..Is what colleagues have said after my performance in the recent Police and Crime Commissioner elections. I stood as the Labour Party... Posted 22 Nov 2011
Interests aside – what’s right for Wales? The Electoral Reform Society Wales launched our new report today analysing the results of the Welsh Assembly Elections in May 2011. The report shows what the results could have looked like had they been conducted... Posted 22 Nov 2011
Is Scottish Democracy failing to realise dream of devolution? The Electoral Reform Society Scotland recently held an event to launch our report examining the “remarkable” results of the May 2011 Scottish Parliamentary election. Under the heading ‘A health check’, report co-author; Professor Curtice, examined the potential... Posted 18 Nov 2011
Women in Parliament: Time for an equal say The level of women’s representation in politics is an important signifier of a healthy democracy. Yet in the UK only 22 per cent – or 1 in 5 – members of the Westminster Parliament are women. This... Posted 25 Oct 2011
Does First Past the Post actually mean voters can ‘Kick the bastards out’? We hear time and again of the way First Past the Post lets voters ‘kick the bastards out’ – a colourful reference to the perceived ease with which voters can turf out one government and neatly replace it... Posted 31 Aug 2010
2010 General Election Results In contrast to 2005, the electoral system did not produce a House of Commons majority for a party whose support lay in the mid-30 per cent range; the Conservatives fell short in 2010 while Labour,... Posted 19 May 2010
The 2010 General Election – An Unusual Election The 2010 election was an unusual election, to say the least. It saw a number of unique and interesting features of the campaign and the result: The 2010 campaign was the first to feature direct,... Posted 07 May 2010