Conservatives mull path back to power at Manchester conference – and the electoral systemThere was a notable shift in mood at the Conservative conference this year compared to recent ones. Until last year, the party had been in government and its conferences focused on the leaders’ speeches, while...Posted 20 Oct 2025
Electoral reform takes centre stage at Labour Party conferenceElectoral reform took centre stage, literally, at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool this year. Andy Burnham was the lead speaker at the rally calling for reform of Westminster’s voting system, hosted by colleagues in...Posted 15 Oct 2025
Is the Scottish Parliament designed to stop a majority?As we approach the next Scottish parliamentary election, there’s a familiar narrative creeping into the conversation: that the system of proportional representation used in Holyrood is somehow ‘designed to stop a majority.’ It’s a catchy...Posted 15 Oct 2025
The danger of choosing a voting system that works for you todayWe all have a party we lean toward. Maybe we’ve stuck with them for decades, maybe our loyalties shift with the times. But when it comes to how we elect our parliament, our choices shouldn’t...Posted 08 Oct 2025
First Past the Post could catapult Reform UK into governmentA new YouGov MRP poll, published on 26 September 2025, provides another snapshot of the chaotic democratic outcomes being caused by First Past The Post (FPTP) in our era of multi-party politics. Although only a...Posted 02 Oct 2025
Strong support for fair votes and jubilant mood at Lib Dem ConferenceI have just returned from a very sunny weekend in Bournemouth at the annual Liberal Democrat conference. As is usually the case at the Liberal Democrats annual meeting, the mood was jubilant. With 72 MPs,...Posted 30 Sep 2025
Why Electoral Commission independence mattersThis week, a new report from Spotlight on Corruption highlighted the impact of Electoral Commission independence to the UK’s democratic standing. The report lays bare just how far the UK has slipped since ministers were given...Posted 30 Sep 2025
Councillors keep winning with less than a third of the vote – what can England and Wales learn from Scotland?Each week, usually on a Thursday, a number of local council by-elections take place around Britain. As with UK parliamentary by-elections, these take place when a representative either resigns or dies and there is a...Posted 23 Sep 2025
MPs suggest National Commission on Electoral ReformIn our increasingly fragmented and volatile political environment, the case for electoral reform becomes clearer every day. And as the political landscape changes, so too will the route to our objective of a fairly elected...Posted 11 Sep 2025
Norway’s election shows how multi-party politics doesn’t have to mean random resultsNorway went to the polls on 8 September for their general election. The Scandinavian country has now used proportional representation for over 100 years and the outcome of the election is a prime example of...Posted 10 Sep 2025