What is a hung parliament? Across the country, a total of 650 Members of Parliament are elected to the Commons, with one per constituency. Under Westminster’s first past the post electoral system each MP doesn’t need to be supported by... Posted 06 Nov 2019
Three issues that need tackling this General Election Let’s use this election as a chance to re-build democracy on stronger and fairer foundations As the UK prepares for its next general election in December, it is important to revise what needs to be... Posted 05 Nov 2019
Where is proportional representation used in the UK? Westminster’s voting system is well and truly broken. The system with which we elect our MPs is struggling to produce fair and representative results. The 2017 General Election showed that, for the third time in a... Posted 05 Nov 2019
Could social media warp the next General Election? Facebook recently triggered a major public debate by changing its rules on posts by political campaigners. Previously these had been open to ‘fact-checking’ by trusted organisations. However, the new decision means the site will not... Posted 29 Oct 2019
Canada’s election: Last call for First Past the Post? It looks like Justin Trudeau has narrowly secured his second term as Canada’s Prime Minister. But his party lost out on a majority of seats as well as the popular vote. It was a tough... Posted 23 Oct 2019
Meet the new ERS Council After a well-contested election, the Electoral Reform Society have a new Council to govern the Society for the next two years. Nearly 850 members took part, with 50 candidates standing for the 12 seats available.... Posted 22 Oct 2019
Scotland’s Citizens’ Assembly: What can it do to be a success? This piece is a guest post from Conor Black. Conor is a former student of the University of Glasgow who wrote his MRes dissertation on ‘Mini-Publics in the Deliberative System’. The first meeting of the... Posted 22 Oct 2019
Why our next General Election will be an unfair lottery Over the past century, our society and democracy have been transformed almost beyond recognition. As voting habits have changed, one thing becoming increasingly clear: Westminster’s voting system of First Past the Post fails time and... Posted 21 Oct 2019
Dark ads and dodgy donors: How the Queen’s Speech missed a chance to protect our democracy There was a conspicuous silence in the Queen’s Speech on Monday. Despite announcing a bill to protect ‘electoral integrity’ (by making it harder for us all to vote), there was inaction on updating Britain’s outdated... Posted 18 Oct 2019
In Wales, votes at 16 is one step closer to reality As the Welsh Assembly takes a historic step towards extending voting to 16 and 17-year-olds in Wales, Daniel Priestley – Law Student at Cardiff University currently on placement with the Electoral Reform Society shares how the... Posted 17 Oct 2019