Inside the backbench burial ground of Private Members’ BillsMost of the legislation that Parliament passes is introduced and backed by the government. But for thirteen Fridays in each parliamentary session, backbenchers steer the agenda. For those days, Private Members’ Bills have precedence over...Posted 31 Oct 2018
Don’t miss the deadline – make sure you’re registered to voteIn May 2018, there will be elections for all 32 London boroughs, 35 metropolitan boroughs, 74 district/boroughs, and 20 unitary authorities around England. But thousands of people aren’t on the register and won’t be able...Posted 10 Apr 2018
Doubts over turnout figures could have serious implicationsTurnout is a vital measure for understanding our relationship with politics, whether it be low or high. If people do not vote, it tells us they are being failed by politics. If people do vote in large numbers, then it can be argued the Government which emerges after an...Posted 19 Jan 2018
Closing the registration generation gapYoung voters are in the spotlight this election. Significant gaps in current polling have been explained by differences in how pollsters are measuring youth turnout. Younger electors are also behind the surge in electoral registration....Posted 06 Jun 2017
The drop in attainers on the electoral roll should worry us allWith a week to go before the cut off for registering to vote for the general election on June 8th, our research has shown that the proportion of school leavers on the electoral roll dropped...Posted 17 May 2017
Deadline Day: Our Voter Registration System Needs An OverhaulOn the evening of the 7th June last year – just a couple of weeks before the EU referendum – the website to register to vote crashed. Cue havoc, thousands of disappointed and angry people, and...Posted 13 Apr 2017
Good news on the registration deadline – now let’s fix the systemYesterday, we won a small but significant victory. After a technical error shut down the voter registration website just before the midnight deadline on Tuesday, around 50,000 people were denied the ability...Posted 09 Jun 2016
It’s time to talk about automatic voter registrationToday is the deadline to register to vote in the EU referendum. In most of Europe, that concept would be considered strange. Every election we see the same thing: a huge rush to register to...Posted 07 Jun 2016
Time for a Registration RevolutionToday is National Voter Registration day, launched by our friends at Bite the Ballot. Voter registration is an integral part of our democracy. If you’re not registered you can’t vote. Electoral boundaries are now also drawn based...Posted 05 Feb 2016
Cash for registration?The Cabinet Office last week announced a ‘further’ £9.8m of spending to promote voter registration. Some £6.8m is being allocated to local authorities, depending on their levels of under-registration. And up to £2.5m will be used...Posted 13 Jan 2015