In Wales, votes at 16 is one step closer to realityAs 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
Voter ID checks threaten to suppress voter rights ‘on industrial scale’The Windrush scandal showed what can happen when millions of people who lack ID are shut out by Government. But the announcement in the Queen’s Speech proposing mandatory voter ID checks means there’s a risk of repeating those...Posted 15 Oct 2019
The movement for an overhaul of Britain’s broken constitution is growingOn Sunday, former Brexit Secretary David Davis wrote an important piece in the Times arguing that ‘Brexit is the writing on the wall for our democracy’. He points out that recent constitutional chaos has shown...Posted 10 Oct 2019
Campaigners are stepping up calls for a ‘Constitutional Convention’ on Britain’s democracyWhichever side of the Brexit debate people are on, one feeling is clear: voters feel disenfranchised and frustrated at Westminster’s chaotic handling of the Brexit process. One result of the suspension of Parliament in September...Posted 09 Oct 2019
There’s a glaring threat facing the next General Election: the ‘missing millions’You don’t have to opt in to your right to free speech. So why do we have to opt in to our right to vote? Voting is a basic right. While not enough on its...Posted 07 Oct 2019
A tale of two local by-elections: how STV produces fairer outcomesOn Thursday 3rd October, as on most Thursdays, several local authority by-elections took place throughout Britain. These by-elections occur when a vacancy arises due to a local councillor resigning or passing away. Two of Thursday’s...Posted 04 Oct 2019
London mayoral race: Will Rory Stewart’s candidacy ‘split’ the Conservative vote?If there is one thing you can predict about politics these days, it’s that you can’t predict anything. In the space of a few months, Rory Stewart has gone from running for leadership of the...Posted 04 Oct 2019
At our Lib Dem fringe, panelists looked at future proofing our campaigning lawsWith proportional representation a long-term policy of the Liberal Democrats, we took the opportunity to discuss the wider crisis in our democracy at the Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference in Bournemouth this year. As the possibility...Posted 03 Oct 2019
The current crisis has been a long time coming – and Westminster’s system is behind itIt’s easy right now to get caught up in the daily drama of politics – to focus on individuals, and the game playing, and to forget that the current political chaos is all part of...Posted 24 Sep 2019
How do elections work in Japan?For the next six weeks the eyes of the world will be fixed on Japan. Ok, probably not all the eyes just the ones that enjoy watching rugby. This week marks the beginning of the...Posted 19 Sep 2019