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Cross-party figures unite to call for transparency in ‘Wild West’ online campaigning

Political figures across the spectrum have backed our calls for reform of Britain’s ‘wild west’ election campaign rules following the launch of our latest report.

Posted 25 Sep 2020

Conservative, Labour, SNP, Green and Lib Dem figures back our calls

Paying the price of First Past the Post – Towns Fund millions spent on marginal seats

There is no better way of finding out which voters matter under Westminster’s warped electoral system than looking at where your taxes are funnelled to. The government’s £3.9bn Towns Fund was heralded as the way...

Posted 25 Sep 2020

The areas they choose had an average majority of just 3,000

ERS reveals the scale of secretive online campaigning during last year’s election

Democracy in the Dark – our new report commissioned from two of the UK’s leading election finance academics reveals a major rise in online spending during the 2019 general election – with little transparency over...

Posted 24 Sep 2020

The Citizen’s Assembly of Scotland can help shape our post-Covid future

Scotland’s first Citizens’ Assembly met last week for the first time since March. Like many social events and workplaces, the deliberative body, made up of 100 citizens reflecting Scotland’s demographics, has moved online after being...

Posted 23 Sep 2020

Covid-19 has moved the assembly to the forefront of Scottish government thinking

Campaigners unite to urge Labour party to back proportional representation

A major new project has been launched to encourage the Labour party to back proportional representation.

Posted 22 Sep 2020

Britain’s voter registration system is leaving millions on the sidelines

They’ve been called the ‘missing millions’: over 9 million eligible people in Great Britain are currently not on the electoral roll.

Posted 18 Sep 2020

Hereditary peer by-elections have been paused. They should be scrapped entirely

The House of Lords just keeps getting bigger. Following the PM’s appointment of 36 new unelected peers, each week sees more introduced to a chamber that is bursting at the seams. The Lords themselves have...

Posted 18 Sep 2020

Aristocrats are guaranteed representation in our parliament

It is possible to hold elections in a pandemic, but we have to start planning for them now

This is a guest article from Sarah Birch, Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Economy, King’s College London. Elections are by their nature complex logistical exercises. During a pandemic, holding an election will be...

Posted 15 Sep 2020

It will require rigorous advance planning, costing and communication

What can we learn from the UK Climate Assembly?

The UK’s first nationwide citizens’ assembly on climate change came to a close this week, with the launch of its final report setting out 50 recommendations on how the UK should reach net zero by...

Posted 11 Sep 2020

Wales’ Parliament has long been under-resourced – it’s time to change that

With just 60 elected members, Wales’ Parliament has long been under-resourced. But that problem has grown as Wales acquired more responsibilities – without the representatives needed to properly scrutinise legislation. Changes to the size of...

Posted 11 Sep 2020