Elections bill will bring in once-in-a-generation change to voting – but misses big opportunityToday sees the first reading of the Representation of the People Bill, the government’s landmark legislation reforming how elections work. This promises to make some fundamental reforms to the way we vote, as well as...Posted 12 Feb 2026
MPs form new cross-party group aimed at wholesale Lords reformThis week, MPs and peers from across the political spectrum announced plans to form a new all-party parliamentary group on ‘wholesale’ Lords reform. The trigger was the very real sight of unelected peers using obscure...Posted 10 Feb 2026
How can someone be removed from the House of Lords?When peers make headlines for the wrong reasons, the same question inevitably arises: how do you actually remove someone from the House of Lords? The recent cases of Lord Mandelson and Baroness Mone have thrust...Posted 04 Feb 2026
First weekend of Dunfermline New City Assembly lays a fantastic foundationDunfermline, Scotland’s ancient capital, feels like the ideal place to explore new ways for communities to influence decisions. This weekend saw the first meeting of the Dunfermline New City Assembly — a project close to...Posted 26 Jan 2026
Local election delays: It’s unacceptable to treat voters like a bureaucratic inconvenienceElections are a crucial part of the democratic process. Citizens have the right to expect a regular opportunity to express a view about who should exercise power in their name, at all levels of government....Posted 22 Jan 2026
Business leaders make the case for electoral reformWe saw a significant intervention in the debate around electoral reform last week. More than 20 business leaders, including the chairman of the Virgin Group, Peter Norris, called for Westminster to scrap the failing First...Posted 19 Jan 2026
British public strongly back caps on donations to political partiesPolling published in the last few weeks reveals that the British public are worried about the influence of money in politics, with a majority wanting to see the introduction of caps on donations to political parties. A Survation poll, conducted between 9-11...Posted 13 Jan 2026
The top 5 most-read ERS articles from 2025As the year draws to an end, we’ve had a look through the stats to see which of our articles were the most popular with you, our supporters. So if you missed them the first...Posted 17 Dec 2025
Latest peerages mean government has replaced the hereditary peers – before they’ve even left the LordsKeir Starmer himself not long ago described the wholly unelected and grossly bloated House of Lords as ‘indefensible’. Nothing has changed since then so it was deeply disappointing to see even more peers being stuffed...Posted 11 Dec 2025
How First Past the Post turns politics into tribal warfarePoll after poll and headline after headline in the U.K may leave you with the impression of a country more divided than ever. This is never more obvious than in the seemingly daily polling notifications....Posted 10 Dec 2025