Australian Senate reforms need to go further to put voters back in controlIll-thought-out plans have a habit of coming back and biting you, and it’s no different in politics. In fact, the risks of unintended consequences are even higher, as politicians on one side have an incentive...Posted 30 Apr 2019
Local elections: How voter ID trial could undermine the right to voteHere’s something you might not know about Thursday’s local elections: hundreds of thousands of potential voters are being told that unless they bring ID with them, they’ll be turned away. If rolled out nationally –...Posted 30 Apr 2019
Conservative MPs back proportional representation, arguing First Past the Post “encourages conflict and aggression”MPs from across the spectrum made the case for reforming the Commons’ ‘divisive, broken electoral system’ on Tuesday, in a Westminster Hall debate on proportional representation. The Lib Dems, Green Party, SNP, Plaid Cymru, members...Posted 26 Apr 2019
Uncontested seats mean thousands of voters will be denied their democratic rightsNext week, on Thursday, 2 May, voters in many parts of England will go to the polls to elect their local representatives. Elections will take place in urban metropolitan boroughs, unitary authorities and district councils,...Posted 25 Apr 2019
Democracy cancelled: How parties have captured hundreds of seats before local election dayLarge parts of England are effectively democracy deserts, with hundreds of thousands of potential voters denied real choice in this May’s elections. New research by the Electoral Reform Society ahead of next month’s vote shows...Posted 19 Apr 2019
Ministers can’t let themselves of the hook when it comes to tackling the social media ‘Wild West’Last week the government launched a consultation into tackling ‘online harm’. It’s the first step towards dealing with the tech barons of the new ‘wild west’. But ministers can’t let themselves off the hook just...Posted 15 Apr 2019
Why A General Election Won’t Solve The Brexit DeadlockOne piece of news got buried last week. While Labour held on to Newport West in Thursday’s by-election, the full figures reveal an interesting picture. Back in 2017 Labour and the Conservatives took nearly 92%...Posted 11 Apr 2019
Should we make voting compulsory?Elections with low-turnout are not uncommon in the UK, so it’s only natural that questions are often raised on how we can see more voters heading to the ballot box. Some argue that the key...Posted 05 Apr 2019
In a Snap Brexit Election, 16 and 17 Year-Olds Must Have the VoteYoung people are refusing to be ignored – the recent school climate strikes and campaigning on Brexit have shown that. But while they can protest outside Parliament all they want, there’s a brutal fact: they...Posted 05 Apr 2019
ERS in the Press – March 2019Brexit might be dominating the news, but the rolling constitutional crisis that we call Westminster is still up to its usual tricks. We’ve spent the last month getting press attention for some of our biggest...Posted 29 Mar 2019