Missing, in-action: What happened to the bill to remove the Hereditary Peers?It is not often we get to indulge in the mystery genre here at the ERS; however, this blog will delve into the curious incident of the missing Hereditary Peers bill. The bill, a straightforward...Posted 25 Feb 2026
It’s a three-horse race! First Past the Post isn’t fit for purpose in Gorton and DentonThe Gorton and Denton parliamentary by-election, scheduled for Thursday 26 February, has garnered much media attention. The outcome will be closely scrutinised by commentators for what it might mean for various political parties and leaders....Posted 25 Feb 2026
Why Holyrood’s voting system still favours larger partiesEveryone knows that First Past the Post favours the largest party. At the last Westminster election, Labour managed to turn 34% of the vote into 63% of parliament – a full 29 percentage points more....Posted 24 Feb 2026
What can the Effective Number of Parties tell us about First Past the Post?Written by Thomas Worth The results of the 2024 General Election were the most disproportional in British political history. The current Labour government was elected on just 33.7% of the vote, but took 63.2% of...Posted 19 Feb 2026
Government right to reverse the decision to postpone these local electionsThe fundamental principle of democracy is that people get to regularly express their view on the politicians who make decisions that affect them. So it is welcome that the government has today reversed the decision...Posted 16 Feb 2026
Westminster’s dirty secret – what lobbying in Britain looks like and how we clean it upLobbying is a word that can be used to describe all manner of sins in Westminster. It has hit the headlines again courtesy of Peter Mandelson and his relationship to convicted paedophile Epstein. But what...Posted 12 Feb 2026
Elections bill will bring in once-in-a-generation change to voting – but misses big opportunityToday sees the first reading of the Representation of the People Bill, the government’s landmark legislation reforming how elections work. This promises to make some fundamental reforms to the way we vote, as well as...Posted 12 Feb 2026
MPs form new cross-party group aimed at wholesale Lords reformThis week, MPs and peers from across the political spectrum announced plans to form a new all-party parliamentary group on ‘wholesale’ Lords reform. The trigger was the very real sight of unelected peers using obscure...Posted 10 Feb 2026
An Elections Bill is coming – but will it include fair votes?The government is bringing in new laws to improve our elections – and this is our chance to make things better. After years of broken promises and an electoral system that has consistently left millions...Posted 05 Feb 2026
How can someone be removed from the House of Lords?When peers make headlines for the wrong reasons, the same question inevitably arises: how do you actually remove someone from the House of Lords? The recent cases of Lord Mandelson and Baroness Mone have thrust...Posted 04 Feb 2026