A future Labour government would be right to use Citizens’ Assemblies This morning it was revealed in The Times that Sue Gray, Keir Starmer’s Chief of Staff and former leading Civil Servant, is considering the use of Citizens’ Assemblies. Gray made the comments by referring to... Posted 19 Feb 2024
As more peers are crammed in the Lords, the public support elected members Late on Friday, the Government slipped out its latest honours list, which will add 13 new peers to the already-heaving House of Lords. Among the newly-ennobled are the usual clutch of party donors and advisors.... Posted 13 Feb 2024
ERS reveals constituencies with the most potential missing voters – is yours on the list? Analysis by the Electoral Reform Society has revealed that an estimated 8.2 million eligible voters are missing from the electoral register in England, Scotland and Wales. If moved onto the register this huge figure has... Posted 07 Feb 2024
Change to London mayoral elections complicates thinking for independent candidates Over the weekend The Sun reported on rumours that Paul Scully MP, the former Conservative Minister for London, was considering running as an independent candidate for London mayor. We can’t comment on whether these Tory... Posted 05 Feb 2024
New Senedd Bill is an investment in Welsh democracy Yesterday in the Senedd, the First Minister, Mark Drakeford, said “democracy only flourishes if you tend the garden to which it is sowed”. He was speaking in a statement around the recent publication of the... Posted 31 Jan 2024
Electoral Commission chair calls out government on voter ID and finance loopholes In a recent, wide-ranging, interview with the Financial Times, John Pullinger, the chair of the Electoral Commission, expressed concerns about the government’s voter ID scheme and the threat to the Commission’s independence contained in the... Posted 25 Jan 2024
Constitutional Commission on the Future of Wales’s report is a welcome contribution Last Friday, after two years of work, the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales presented its final report at the Senedd. It recognises the urgent need to improve Welsh democracy and we welcome... Posted 25 Jan 2024
First past the post distorts public opinion on small boats Last week’s YouGov MRP poll showing Labour on course for a 1997-style general election victory created a big splash. In addition to asking about people’s general election voting intention, YouGov asked respondents about their views... Posted 22 Jan 2024
Changing boundaries shouldn’t change election results For the past 30 years, political scientists Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher have been investigating how new boundaries will impact the political makeup of Parliament. Whenever new constituency maps are designed, they estimate what the... Posted 16 Jan 2024
The UK’s shortest serving PM hands out peerages to friends and supporters In the days between Christmas and New Year, the government tried to quietly slip out some bad news – it hoped many people would be too distracted by remnant cheeseboards and left-over Turkey to notice... Posted 02 Jan 2024