Seven things you need to know about the local elections Blink and you’ll miss the coverage, but local elections are happening on Thursday 3 May in England. A lot has changed since these seats were last contested, in 2014. We had the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition government,... Posted 16 Apr 2018
Why Voter ID is a solution seeking a problem The government will be trialling making ID mandatory at polling stations this May. Voters in Bromley, Woking and Gosport will have to show officials their papers before being permitted to exercise their right to vote.... Posted 19 Mar 2018
Why the government’s mandatory voter ID plans are a terrible idea The Electoral Commission has launched a new campaign against electoral fraud – a laudable effort to limit this type of crime. But it also brings under the spotlight the upcoming trials of mandatory voter ID... Posted 06 Mar 2018
How will the 2017 French presidential election work? After last year’s political whirlwind, attention has turned to 2017’s elections for evidence of further shocks. Voters are going to the polls in the Netherlands, in Germany but most attention is focused on France, whose... Posted 13 Jan 2017
How Trump won the Presidency despite not winning the most votes So that sure was an election. Whatever happened in the US presidential election it was always going to be a historic moment. On Tuesday I pointed out that Donald Trump could win the Presidency even if... Posted 09 Nov 2016
How Trump could win the Presidency even if he doesn’t win the most votes It’s election day in the United States, and that means all the pageantry and spectacle one comes to expect with democracy in the world’s most powerful nation. The spectacle of a US election also reminds... Posted 08 Nov 2016
How do Conservative Party leadership elections work? (Updated for October 2024) Historically there weren’t elections for the leader of the Conservative party, but, following the machinations surrounding the appointment of Sir Alec Douglas-Home in 1963, elections among the MPs were brought in,... Posted 05 Jul 2016
Why can’t we vote online? The following is a guest blog from Jason Kitcat, who is on the Advisory Council for digital campaigners, the Open Rights Group. At first blush it’s understandable why many would think that Internet voting is a good... Posted 04 Sep 2015
Proportional Representation can build a stronger constituency link It is often said that the constituency link is a vital part of British political life; MPs represent local areas and are directly accountable to those areas for their continued careers. If MPs misbehave their... Posted 27 Jul 2015
With Proportional Representation small parties get the influence they deserve For those used to one party getting a majority of the seats (without a majority of votes) the idea that a smaller parties often get to be in government under PR can be confusing. Of... Posted 23 Jun 2015