How many peers are there in the House of Lords – and how many does it need?One of the unique features of our currently second chamber, apart from it being unelected and still partially based on inherited titles, is that its membership is huge. At over 800 peers in total, not...Posted 21 Dec 2023
Why independent candidates win with the Single Transferable VoteCurrently, there are 14 independent MPs in the House of Commons, which might seem to suggest Independent candidates can win under First-Past-The-Post (FPTP). But these MPs are only independent because they were suspended from their...Posted 01 Nov 2023
Proportional representation helped women get elected in 2022In January 2023, the global proportion of women parliamentarians just was 26.5%, indicating that there’s a way to go before we have equal numbers of men and women in parliament around the world. While quotas...Posted 27 Jul 2023
Exploring the franchise: Who can vote in UK elections?The franchise has been in the news recently due to Labour considering plans to extend the franchise to resident EU citizens and 16 and 17 year olds. The question of who gets to vote in...Posted 25 May 2023
Time for a key change? How we would reform Eurovision votingEurovision is upon us once again – everyone’s favourite flamboyant celebration of Europe’s musical talent. With quite a few ERS staff members being unashamed superfans, we thought it would be a great excuse to take...Posted 12 May 2023
How can one party win all the seats in a local council election without all the votes?In May’s 2023 local elections in England, the Liberal Democrats won 72% of the seats on Bath & North East Somerset. In Broxbourne, the Conservatives won 90% of the seats that were up for election....Posted 11 May 2023
Why did the Netherlands adopt nationwide proportional representation?The Dutch prioritised proportionality above all else when creating their system of proportional representation; choosing a single nationwide constituency and a very low threshold. This is different to most countries which try to balance local...Posted 01 Apr 2023
What was AV+ the electoral system recommended by the Jenkins Report?In their 1997 election manifesto, Labour set out a commitment to hold a referendum on the current First Past the Post (FPTP) voting system. This referendum was never called, however the Labour Party, with support...Posted 27 Mar 2023
Why do so many parties use transferable voting for their leadership elections?The 27th of March sees the announcement of the results of the SNP leadership election. As we wrote a few weeks ago, the SNP uses the Alternative Vote to elect their leader – and they’re...Posted 24 Mar 2023
How do Finland’s elections work?On Sunday 2nd April, voters in Finland will go to the polls to elect a new parliament. Finland’s parliament, known locally as the Eduskunta, contains exactly 200 MPs. 199 of these are elected by Party...Posted 20 Mar 2023