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The latest news and commentary from the Electoral Reform Society.

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Is there proportional representation in France?

Apart from the UK, France is the only other European democracy not to use some form of proportional representation for its state-wide elections (Here’s a list of voting systems used at the state-level in Europe)....

Posted 07 Mar 2019

ERS in the Press – February 2019

Another wild month in politics – from crucial Brexit votes to the apparent disintegration of Britain’s party structures. Throughout, we’ve been pointing at the elephant in the room: the crumbling state of Britain’s democracy and...

Posted 28 Feb 2019

With first past the post, country and city voters take turns being locked out of government

Far too often, debates around electoral reform are characterised as the idea of making two pie charts match: one pie chart represents how the country voted, the other the make-up of parliament. The 2015 general...

Posted 28 Feb 2019

Scotland needs new institutions to transform our local communities

Can you remember a time you were talking with someone and the response you got back meant that it was blatantly obvious that they hadn’t understood what you were saying? You try again, but again...

Posted 27 Feb 2019

Scotland's councils are too big and too distant

As Westminster struggles with party splits, electoral reform is back in the debate

You don’t have to listen hard to hear Westminster’s party system creaking and crumbling. This past two weeks has drawn back the curtain on an undeniable reality: the structures underpinning Parliament’s politics are falling apart....

Posted 26 Feb 2019

Moving targets: What is the technical future of political campaigning?

Josh Smith, Senior Researcher at the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media, Demos Targeted online advertising has produced a fundamental shift in the ways in which political campaigns are conducted. The ability to divide...

Posted 20 Feb 2019

Brexit has drawn back the curtain on Britain’s unwieldy coalitions

In one sense, the formation of The Independent Group on Monday came to many as a shock to the system. But in another sense, it simply reflected a long-term reality. Britain’s parties are unwieldy coalitions,...

Posted 19 Feb 2019

A new Office for Responsible Technology

Jacob Ohrvik-Stott, Researcher for Doteveryone, an independent think tank championing responsible technology for a fairer future, contributed this piece for our report Reining in the Political ‘Wild West’: Campaign Rules for the 21st Century. The...

Posted 19 Feb 2019

Reining in the tech giants – ICO’s Steve Wood in conversation with the ERS

Steve Wood, ICO Deputy Commissioner (Policy) – In conversation with the ERS Head of Communications, Josiah Mortimer for our report Reining in the Political ‘Wild West’: Campaign Rules for the 21st Century. Josiah (ERS): Do you feel...

Posted 18 Feb 2019

Increasing the resilience of our democracy against misinformation

Cassie Staines, Senior Policy Officer at the independent fact-checking charity Full-Fact contributed this piece to our report Reining in the Political ‘Wild West’: Campaign Rules for the 21st Century. There is a moral panic about ‘fake news’...

Posted 17 Feb 2019