How to improve voters’ confidence in democracyTom Hawthorn, Head of Policy at the Electoral Commission contributed this article for our recent report Reining in the Political ‘Wild West’: Campaign Rules for the 21st Century. Not so long ago, election campaigning was all...Posted 12 Feb 2019
Now is the time to bring our campaign rules into the 21st centuryThe Rt Hon Dame Cheryl Gillan MP contributed this piece as the forward to our report Reining in the Political ‘Wild West’: Campaign Rules for the 21st Century. Our democracy is at a critical juncture. We...Posted 11 Feb 2019
Six ways to rein in the campaign ‘Wild West’On Monday, the ERS launched a united call for change – with election regulators, campaigners, academics and MPs alike demanding a review of Britain’s political campaign laws. This week marks 15 years since the...Posted 05 Feb 2019
Reining in the political ‘Wild West’: Why we need campaign rules for the 21st centuryPolitical party campaigning has shifted dramatically online in recent years. To give just one example: political parties spent around £1.3 million on Facebook adverts during the 2015 general election. This more than doubled two years...Posted 04 Feb 2019
What is a Citizens’ Assembly?Citizens’ Assemblies are often in the news, from the assemblies that led to the referendums on equal marriage and abortion in Ireland, to the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland and local council climate assemblies. While the...Posted 24 Jan 2019
House of Lords – Let’s break open this private members’ club once and for allAs I write, Lords are pouring into The Queen’s Robing Room to select a new member to join them for life. If that sounds like the bizarre initiation ceremony of a private members’ club, you’d...Posted 23 Jan 2019
How long have we used First Past the Post? You might be surprisedWe’re right to be proud of the long history of parliamentary democracy in Britain. But the way we elect MPs to Westminster is a relatively new development in that history. There have been countless reforms...Posted 11 Jan 2019
Local government in Scotland is top-down and distant – but we can change thatIf there was once a connection between elected councillors in Scotland and the communities they supposedly represent, this has long since fallen away. City halls are often worlds apart from the communities within their apparent...Posted 01 Jan 2019
Five New Year’s resolutions ministers should be signing up toIf 2018 has shown us anything, it’s that the debates over the state of our democracy are as crucial as ever. From the Cambridge Analytica scandal to the controversial ID trials at the local elections,...Posted 31 Dec 2018
There’s a way through this Brexit gridlock which can unite the countryThe likelihood of politicians reaching a consensus on Brexit appears to be diminishing by the day – to consternation on all sides. But what if there’s another way? Parliament is split on May’s deal and...Posted 29 Dec 2018