A future Labour government would be right to use Citizens’ Assemblies This morning it was revealed in The Times that Sue Gray, Keir Starmer’s Chief of Staff and former leading Civil Servant, is considering the use of Citizens’ Assemblies. Gray made the comments by referring to... Posted 19 Feb 2024
Why an elected second chamber won’t lead to gridlock Looking across the Atlantic at America’s Senate, it’s clear why concerns are often expressed that an elected second chamber may challenge the primacy of the House of Commons and at the extreme end, result in... Posted 19 Feb 2024
How many hung parliaments has the UK had? Westminster’s First Past the Post (FPTP) system often results in some parties gaining far more seats than their vote share deserves. But there is no guarantee that this un-earned ‘bonus’ always means one party gets... Posted 14 Feb 2024
As more peers are crammed in the Lords, the public support elected members Late on Friday, the Government slipped out its latest honours list, which will add 13 new peers to the already-heaving House of Lords. Among the newly-ennobled are the usual clutch of party donors and advisors.... Posted 13 Feb 2024
ERS reveals constituencies with the most potential missing voters – is yours on the list? Analysis by the Electoral Reform Society has revealed that an estimated 8.2 million eligible voters are missing from the electoral register in England, Scotland and Wales. If moved onto the register this huge figure has... Posted 07 Feb 2024
Change to London mayoral elections complicates thinking for independent candidates Over the weekend The Sun reported on rumours that Paul Scully MP, the former Conservative Minister for London, was considering running as an independent candidate for London mayor. We can’t comment on whether these Tory... Posted 05 Feb 2024
What is a Senate of the Regions and Nations? Over the years many parties and groups have suggested ideas for reform of the House of Lords. Recently, the Labour party has suggested that the House of Lords should be replaced with a ‘Senate of... Posted 01 Feb 2024
New Senedd Bill is an investment in Welsh democracy Yesterday in the Senedd, the First Minister, Mark Drakeford, said “democracy only flourishes if you tend the garden to which it is sowed”. He was speaking in a statement around the recent publication of the... Posted 31 Jan 2024
What is the role of the House of Lords and could it do more? While the House of Lords is often in the press, it’s often due to the things its members should not be doing, rather than the work it does do. The chamber though has an important... Posted 29 Jan 2024
Electoral Commission chair calls out government on voter ID and finance loopholes In a recent, wide-ranging, interview with the Financial Times, John Pullinger, the chair of the Electoral Commission, expressed concerns about the government’s voter ID scheme and the threat to the Commission’s independence contained in the... Posted 25 Jan 2024