Why unions are getting serious about the need for political reform A week before the court case over prorogation reached the Supreme Court, the ERS’ Dr Jess Garland told TUC Congress delegates: “Our constitution is just a set of gentlemen’s agreements, with weak parliamentary checks and... Posted 19 Sep 2019
How To Upgrade our Democracy – Why Citizens’ Assemblies and Local Government Reform are part of the same future (SNP fringe) The Scottish Government says it is committed to deepening democracy in Scotland. This is vital and timely, as trust in democracy is at a very low ebb. In other places the response to social, economic... Posted 12 Sep 2019
Another election under Westminster’s broken voting system is unlikely to get us out of this crisis Back in May, our Westminster Beyond Brexit report raised a prescient question: “Do we want a democracy that gives the power of an absolute monarch to one party, or a government which is representative and... Posted 03 Sep 2019
200 years since the Peterloo Massacre, Westminster is still broken The events of 2019 have put the problems of Westminster’s system into sharp focus. From discussions about the Prime Minister proroguing parliament, to MPs leaving main parties to form their own (only to splinter within... Posted 16 Aug 2019
Brexit pacts: The latest desperate attempt to game a broken first-past-the-post system The decision by both Plaid Cymru and the Greens to stand down at last week’s Brecon and Radnorshire by-election has sparked a lot of talk in Westminster about political pacts. Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price... Posted 09 Aug 2019
Asking Theresa May To Show ‘Restraint’ In Her Resignation Honours Misses The Point – The Lords Is Bust When even Peers are calling for an overhaul of the House of Lords, you know the chamber is broken. A few weeks ago, the Lord Speaker’s committee – set up in response to concerns over... Posted 06 Aug 2019
ERS in the Press: July 2019 July was a busy month in Westminster before MPs headed off for the summer recess. Brexit and the Conservative leadership election dominated the headlines – and we found plenty of opportunities to keep reform of... Posted 01 Aug 2019
Local elections: How voters in England were cheated by a broken voting system Local democracy in England and Wales has long been under strain – with contests often seeing dismally low turnout, or indeed no contest taking place at all. But new research from the ERS adds fresh... Posted 30 Jul 2019
Building a stronger Senedd: Why size (still) matters Almost since its inception, there has been discussion and debate about a larger National Assembly here in Wales. Most recently, an expert panel on Assembly reform led by Professor Laura McAllister stated simply that the... Posted 19 Jul 2019
The Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland: What can be learnt from elsewhere? How do you ensure the recently-announced Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland is open and transparent while protecting the participants from hostility and excess lobbying? How do you ensure it is independent of government – but also that it... Posted 17 Jul 2019