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Welsh Government to introduce progressive electoral reforms

Last week in the Senedd, First Minister Mark Drakeford announced the Welsh Government’s plans for legislation for the next year. This covered eight new bills which the government hopes will become law. There was a...

Posted 06 Jul 2023

The row over Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list highlights why it should be the last

The recent days have seen the national focus pulled onto the House of Lords through the public row between Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson over the latter’s resignation honours list. While the spat has provided...

Posted 13 Jun 2023

Recent days have revealed the grubby horse-trading that goes on to decide who sits in the House of Lords

There is a dangerous loophole in our political financing rules

Shadowy dining clubs and millions of pounds in donations. This is the realm of ‘unincorporated associations’ one of the least-regulated areas of political finance in the UK. Last week, Politico reported that these little-known entities...

Posted 12 Jun 2023

If an association donates under 25000 a year no questions are asked

Northern Ireland’s local elections show the benefit of the Single Transferable Vote

On the 18th of May, Northern Ireland’s local elections showcased the continued successful use of the Single Transferable Vote (STV). This inclusive and proportional method stands in stark contrast to the disproportionate results witnessed in...

Posted 26 May 2023

Voters are much more likely to have a councillor they actually voted for

Hundreds of activists gather to tell MPs to Sort the System

Support for proportional representation is growing. In the past few months, we’ve seen more and more people saying it’s time for change – the result of widespread concern that Westminster politics isn’t working for ordinary...

Posted 26 May 2023

Exploring the franchise: Who can vote in UK elections?

The franchise has been in the news recently due to Labour considering plans to extend the franchise to resident EU citizens and 16 and 17 year olds. The question of who gets to vote in...

Posted 25 May 2023

The question of who gets to vote is more complicated than you might think

People were turned away from polling stations last week and they’ve told us why

One of the big stories of May’s English local elections is not the results of the vote, but about the process of voting itself. For the first time, voters in England who headed to the...

Posted 17 May 2023

Voter ID- One voter turned away is one too many

Voter ID is a ‘gerrymandering scheme’ suggests Jacob Rees-Mogg

We still don’t have the full picture of how many people were stripped of their right to vote in May’s local elections in England. We’ve long warned that this unnecessary policy would be a messy...

Posted 16 May 2023

Time for a key change? How we would reform Eurovision voting

Eurovision is upon us once again – everyone’s favourite flamboyant celebration of Europe’s musical talent. With quite a few ERS staff members being unashamed superfans, we thought it would be a great excuse to take...

Posted 12 May 2023

How can one party win all the seats in a local council election without all the votes?

In May’s 2023 local elections in England, the Liberal Democrats won 72% of the seats on Bath & North East Somerset. In Broxbourne, the Conservatives won 90% of the seats that were up for election....

Posted 11 May 2023