Three things we learnt at Lib Dem Conference After spending a long weekend at Liberal Democrat conference, I can confirm that EU berets are firmly in fashion, you should never mention the M (moderate) word in their company and there is nothing they... Posted 20 Sep 2018
TUC: A fair society needs equality in Westminster, not just the workplace The 150th Anniversary Congress of the TUC was both a celebration of the past – and a chance to look to the future of trade unions in Britain. Politics for the Many – the trade... Posted 20 Sep 2018
International Day of Democracy 2018: The changes desperately needed to give a voice to all Millions across the globe are celebrating International Day of Democracy, established in the hope of inspiring people to find ways to “invigorate democracy.” Questions over the state of our democracy are as relevant now as... Posted 15 Sep 2018
How can a party lose support but gain seats? The upside-down world of Westminster’s voting system What would you expect to happen if a party gained support in a fresh election? Most people would expect them to gain MPs. It seems obvious that a change in popular support should lead to... Posted 14 Sep 2018
It’s not just the boundaries that need reviewing – it’s First Past the Post The four national Boundary Commissions have now announced their results. If parliament accepts them, these will be the constituencies that the next general election in 2022 will be fought on. The election specialists Rallings &... Posted 11 Sep 2018
The government’s voter ID plans are ‘rearranging the deckchairs’ in the face of new threats to our democracy On May 3rd 2018, 350 people were denied a vote in their local council elections. Their crime? Not possessing the right ID. The minister hailed these trials of mandatory voter ID as a ‘success’.... Posted 11 Sep 2018
The government is wearing blinkers over Voter ID – and it’s voters who will suffer This week the Cabinet Office launched its call for councils to join a second-round of voter ID pilots, due to take place in next May’s elections. In the prospectus, ministers are keen to frame the... Posted 28 Aug 2018
The Tories should trust young people Cecilia George is a former Member of Youth Parliament for Wiltshire and wrote this piece for our pamphlet Civic Duty The Conservative Case for votes at 16 and 17. 16–year–olds are deemed mature enough to join the... Posted 25 Aug 2018
My dad would have been ready to vote at 16, and today’s young people are too Lisa Francis is the former Assembly Member for Mid and West Wales and wrote this piece for our pamphlet Civic Duty The Conservative Case for votes at 16 and 17. Last year, my dad died at the... Posted 24 Aug 2018
Citizens’ Juries could become the core of a revived local democracy Deliberative forms of democracy are certainly coming into fashion. From the Irish Citizens’ Assembly that led to the historic repeal of their constitutional ban of abortion, to that which informed the Health and Social Care... Posted 23 Aug 2018