How Holyrood can close the lobbying loopholes – and stand up for transparency Scotland’s lax transparency rules are leaving voters in the dark about the scale and nature of political lobbying, a coalition of campaigners has told MSPs. The argument was made by the Scottish Alliance for Lobbying... Posted 09 Nov 2020
In both the US and Britain, millions are silenced by a broken electoral system First published in the i newspaper While President Trump looked hopefully at a path to re-election on Tuesday night, one fact offered a little consolation to Democrats: they were winning the popular vote. But in... Posted 06 Nov 2020
Teaching politics in our schools should be a necessity not an option Next year’s Senedd election will see 16 and 17 year olds in Wales be able to vote for the first time in our nation’s history. This move has the potential to be game-changing, but when... Posted 03 Nov 2020
Papers, please: Why the UK must think again before importing US-style voter ID to Britain Voting is a key cornerstone of any democratic system. Just as important are the principles underpinning it: that every vote should be equal, and every vote should count. The US elections have brought these principles... Posted 03 Nov 2020
When it comes to fair votes, the US Senate is ripe for reform If seats are ever to match votes in America, the US will need to look at the distorted Senate. While all eyes are firmly fixed on the race for the White House and, if you’re... Posted 02 Nov 2020
Four ways of electing a president – ranked from worst to best America’s presidential election is the most famous presidential election in the world. The antiquated American system of choosing a president via an electoral college is also one of the worst methods for choosing a national... Posted 02 Nov 2020
How the US’ warped Electoral College means millions of votes make no difference In the last five US elections, two presidents have been summoned to office whilst obtaining fewer votes than their opponent. For example, in 2000 George W. Bush won with four hundred thousand fewer votes than... Posted 02 Nov 2020
Could Trump win the Presidency and lose the popular vote again? There have been two ‘wrong winners’ in UK general elections over the last 70 years. In 1951, Labour got more votes than the Conservatives but the Tories won more seats. In February 1974, the position... Posted 30 Oct 2020
US election: Why 33 states have had no presidential campaign events at all FairVote’s Benjamin Oestericher explains how America’s first past the post style electoral college makes vast swathes of the country an electoral desert. This map, designed by FairVote, displays the geographic composition of 2020 campaign events... Posted 30 Oct 2020
Manifesto for Democracy: Deepening Democracy Democracy is about empowering citizens to be involved in their political system and as such embedding the voices of everyday citizens into those systems is vital to democracy that works. Without it we risk not... Posted 30 Oct 2020