An unenviable milestone – we must stop the bloat of our oversized second chamber This week the House of Lords hit an unenviable milestone – once again topping over 800 members following Boris Johnson’s latest round of appointments. Some barriers are meant to be broken but having 800 members... Posted 12 Feb 2021
Scotland’s ground-breaking Citizens’ Assembly has wrapped up. What’s next? Scotland’s first Citizens’ Assembly, a deliberative body made up of 100 citizens reflecting the country’s demographics, concluded in January and published its visions for the future of Scotland. Citizens’ Assemblies which aim to create ‘mini-publics’... Posted 09 Feb 2021
Bills are being proposed across the US to scrap First Past the Post Electoral reform is gaining momentum across the USA as an impressive number of state legislatures are considering reforming their local and statewide elections. So far, 30 bills to scrap First Past the Post and bring... Posted 05 Feb 2021
Finally, some clarity on England’s local elections UK ministers have finally confirmed that local elections in England will go ahead on the 6th of May, after being delayed in 2020 due to the pandemic. Here's what we know. Posted 05 Feb 2021
Activists are calling on Keir Starmer to back ambitious political reform, following a key Labour report Leading Labour figures and democracy campaigners have urged the Labour party to get behind major political reform, following the launch of a new party-commissioned roadmap for constitutional change. Posted 05 Feb 2021
ERS in the Press – January 2021 As a new year begins, but the effects of the national lockdown continue, democratic issues continue to make the headlines – as we’ve kicked off the new year continuing our calls for fairer votes and... Posted 03 Feb 2021
Why we need more than piecemeal reform of the House of Lords The House of Lords is back in the spotlight, with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown saying that replacing the House of Lords with an elected senate of the nations and regions should form part of... Posted 03 Feb 2021
What is going on with England’s May elections? This past week we’ve seen a dizzying array of conflicting reports for the government’s plans for May’s polls, with Conservative party figures suggesting delays are likely, despite official advice that plans are unchanged but ‘under... Posted 21 Jan 2021
Trump shows how First Past the Post gives the keys to extremists As the moving vans deliver the next residents of the White House into their new home, it is worth looking back on how America’s First Past the Post style political system aided Trump’s rise to... Posted 20 Jan 2021
7 democratic developments to watch out for this year What does democracy look like in a pandemic? It’s a question that came up a lot last year – and 2021 seems no different. This year could see some major developments when it comes to... Posted 18 Jan 2021