The threat of dark money goes beyond Brexit Two and a half years on from the EU referendum, the result is still being discussed and debated. Arguably more important though is another story: whether the rules of the game are bust. The weekend... Posted 07 Nov 2018
Lords lost in stasis as fake reforms go nowhere Politics is often dominated by disagreements, but one thing almost everyone agrees on is this: the House of Lords is too big. At 800 members, we have the largest second chamber in the world. So... Posted 02 Nov 2018
Four countries where First Past the Post is dead and buried As a Halloween treat, we thought we’d have a spooky stroll around the graveyard of First Past the Post. Around the world, voters in country after country, tired of it’s tricks, have chosen to bury... Posted 31 Oct 2018
Inside the backbench burial ground of Private Members’ Bills Most of the legislation that Parliament passes is introduced and backed by the government. But for thirteen Fridays in each parliamentary session, backbenchers steer the agenda. For those days, Private Members’ Bills have precedence over... Posted 31 Oct 2018
Lords are lobbying – our second chamber is leaving us open to foreign interference A story last week showed the House of Lords for what it really is: a lobbyist’s paradise. As revealed by The Times, a series of peers have financial interest in Russia. Some of these have... Posted 29 Oct 2018
Ireland and blasphemy: Another landmark day for deliberative democracy It sometimes seems that Ireland is having referendums every week – and today voters there are once again heading to the polls, almost exactly five months since their historic vote to repeal the country’s constitutional... Posted 26 Oct 2018
4 things wrong with the latest ‘reform’ claims from the House of Lords… If a new proclamation is to be believed, the UK’s unelected second chamber is apparently ‘on course’ to reduce in size, ‘within the timeframe set out’ in a report by a House of Lords committee... Posted 25 Oct 2018
Why we can’t leave our democracy at the whim of tech giants like Facebook Another vote is never far away. But even outside of election time, campaigning rumbles on. Each day, a lot of cash is spent influencing political debate. These days though, that’s not just people delivering leaflets... Posted 25 Oct 2018
We can’t leave political transparency to the whim of big tech firms: it’s time for a campaign overhaul When an election is just around the corner, there are several tell-tale signs: politicians incessantly visiting factories, thousands of signs strapped to lampposts, and tensions mounting at the dinner table. And there are the flyers.... Posted 23 Oct 2018
Votes for 16 and 17 year olds in Scotland, Wales… and overseas? What connects people with Irish, Kiribatian or New Zealand passports? They can all vote in UK general elections if they have (or don’t need) leave to remain in the UK. Who votes in UK elections... Posted 17 Oct 2018