News and Comment

The latest news and commentary from the Electoral Reform Society.

Around the World | Current Affairs Commentary | Developments at the ERS | Your Questions Answered | Case Studies

View by category

View by date

Voter ID list gives few options for younger voters

Long-awaited details of the government’s voter ID scheme have now finally been released including details of which IDs will be accepted at the polling station. With no alternatives for voters who turn up on the...

Posted 11 Nov 2022

Don’t miss one of Scotland’s leading political experts in new annual lecture

ERS Scotland is hosting the inaugural State of Scottish Democracy lecture next week. The event takes place on Thursday 17th November, in Govan’s Pearce Institute, and will be addressed by Professor James Mitchell. The idea...

Posted 11 Nov 2022

We’re calling for an inquiry into failing voter ID implementation

Long before the Elections Act was passed last year, we warned about the issues that implementing photographic voter ID requirements would cause. From ensuring access to the free form of ID was easy for the...

Posted 04 Nov 2022

Infrastructure and Projects Authority Successful delivery of the project appears to be unachievable

Life-time appointments to Lords should not be handed out as rewards for failure

A seat in the House of Lords is a lifetime appointment to make our laws, not a gift to be handed out by a prime minister as they head out the door. Yet the prime...

Posted 01 Nov 2022

Will Liz Truss release a resignation honours list after just 44 days in office

Cash-strapped councils to spend £1.3 million on 40,000 mirrors as part of voter ID scheme

A parliamentary question has revealed yet more details of the government’s expensive scheme to demand ID at polling stations. Luke Pollard MP asked the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities how many mirrors would...

Posted 01 Nov 2022

Ministers are finding solutions to the problems their own ID policy has created

We need to reform our voting system to end the chaos of First Past the Post

As Liz Truss prepares to leave Downing Street, it’s clear where stability lies in the UK. Far from providing ‘Strong and Stable Government’, Britain’s First Past the Post political system has given us three prime...

Posted 21 Oct 2022

First Past the Post has given us three prime ministers in three months

The ERS team at a historic Labour Conference

The campaign for fair votes recently achieved a historic victory when Labour Party Conference voted for a manifesto commitment to proportional representation for general elections. This is a massive moment for democracy in the UK....

Posted 05 Oct 2022

Darren’s Diary - Behind the scenes at Labour Conference

Labour Party conference backs proportional representation

In a historic vote, Labour Party Conference has voted for a manifesto commitment to proportional representation for general elections. This is a massive moment for democracy in the UK. Now all major parties, bar the...

Posted 27 Sep 2022

A massive moment for democracy in the UK

Long running survey finds majority support proportional representation

The publication of the latest findings from the long-running British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey this week saw a record-breaking high in public support for electoral reform. Since 1983, the following question has been included on...

Posted 23 Sep 2022

Only 44 percent want to retain the current electoral system

Electoral Commission report calls for better political education in Wales

The Electoral Commission report on May 2022’s local elections in Wales, published yesterday, highlights that the extension of the franchise is only the first step in ensuring the participation of new groups of voters in...

Posted 22 Sep 2022