ERS in the Press: March 2021The warping effects of First Past the Post were in the news again this month, with the Times’ Patrick Maguire penning a piece on the ‘one-party fiefdoms’ that plague our politics. Darren Hughes, responded with...Posted 15 Apr 2021
Welsh democracy is under threat, we need more members of the Senedd now more than everJust a few short weeks out from the Senedd elections and it’s clear that the election campaign has now hit full swing. With polls suggesting some uncertainty parties are already setting out their stalls on...Posted 09 Apr 2021
New polling reveals just how powerless people feel over WestminsterTwo-thirds of the public feel powerless over decision making and feel that they have little or no opportunities to influence decisions made at Westminster’, according to new Savanta ComRes polling. In a week that has...Posted 09 Apr 2021
Only real local democracy can rebuild our communitiesThe last twelve months have changed the way many of us think about our everyday lives. The lockdowns necessitated by the pandemic have made the world feel smaller and turned many people’s minds to a...Posted 09 Apr 2021
It’s time for candidates to ‘play fair’ and back overhaul of UK’s outdated election rulesThe Fair Play Pledge, a major initiative involving several democratic organisations, was formally launched this Wednesday to highlight the need for open and transparent campaigning for the May election period. Next month thousands of candidates...Posted 09 Apr 2021
How May’s London Assembly elections will workThis May, millions of Londoners will go to the polls to vote for the Mayor and the London Assembly. The London Assembly is the political body that holds the mayor to account and scrutinises their...Posted 07 Apr 2021
England is blighted by local one party statesEngland is blighted by local one-party states: areas where it too often feels like only one party can win, where parties control nearly all the seats – and where scrutiny is a shadow of what...Posted 01 Apr 2021
Join Jackie Weaver and democracy groups as we launch the Fair Play PledgeThis May sees a huge round of elections in Britain – from Holyrood to Cardiff Bay, the London Assembly and local elections in big swathes of England. Thousands of candidates will be standing – and...Posted 01 Apr 2021
How elections for the Mayor of London will workOn May 6, one year after elections were supposed to be held, more than six million Londoners will be called to the polling stations to elect their mayor (alongside 25 members of the London Assembly)...Posted 01 Apr 2021
Local communities must be the foundation on which we build Scotland’s recoveryThe pandemic has given us a fresh insight into what we already knew about Scotland’s communities; people will sacrifice their time and resources to aid their neighbours. But that sense of community cannot be taken...Posted 26 Mar 2021