2025 at the ERS: Our year campaigning for changeEach year we write an Annual Review which looks back at our achievements across the last 12 months, and explains how our team have campaigned towards securing our vision for a democracy fit for the...Posted 19 Nov 2025
Minister: Put a donations cap in the Elections BillA million pounds here, a few hundred thousand there. Life-changing sums for most of us. Yet in the world of political finance, these are the figures some individuals can casually drop into party coffers. It...Posted 19 Nov 2025
How First Past the Post lets people with fringe views slip through the netBritain’s First Past the Post system was designed for a two-party age. One that pretty much everyone agrees we no longer live in. Yet even when most people voted for one of the two big...Posted 13 Nov 2025
What can the UK learn from California’s Prop 50 gerrymandering plan?A high-stakes fight is underway in the United States over redrawing the constituencies for the House of Representatives in Washington, DC. One flashpoint is California’s Proposition 50, a ballot measure that passed today. Voters have...Posted 05 Nov 2025
Why single-party governments under First Past the Post fail to get things doneFor all the talk of “strong government,” the reality of single-party rule under First Past the Post (FPTP) often looks anything but. Behind the scenes, these governments can be paralysed by internal battles, faction against...Posted 29 Oct 2025
Latest YouGov poll shows multi-party Britain breaking the voting systemIf there were a general election tomorrow, who would form the next government? It sounds like a simple question if you have access to the latest polls. But when the latest YouGov poll, released on...Posted 28 Oct 2025
Closed Lists were a misstep, cross-party STV bill would put the Senedd back on trackWales stands at an important crossroads in its democratic journey. ERS Cymru has developed a proposal to change the way we elect members of the Senedd, replacing the planned closed-list system with the Single Transferable...Posted 22 Oct 2025
Conservatives mull path back to power at Manchester conference – and the electoral systemThere was a notable shift in mood at the Conservative conference this year compared to recent ones. Until last year, the party had been in government and its conferences focused on the leaders’ speeches, while...Posted 20 Oct 2025
Electoral reform takes centre stage at Labour Party conferenceElectoral reform took centre stage, literally, at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool this year. Andy Burnham was the lead speaker at the rally calling for reform of Westminster’s voting system, hosted by colleagues in...Posted 15 Oct 2025
Is the Scottish Parliament designed to stop a majority?As we approach the next Scottish parliamentary election, there’s a familiar narrative creeping into the conversation: that the system of proportional representation used in Holyrood is somehow ‘designed to stop a majority.’ It’s a catchy...Posted 15 Oct 2025