Should we make voting compulsory?Elections with low-turnout are not uncommon in the UK, so it’s only natural that questions are often raised on how we can see more voters heading to the ballot box. Some argue that the key...Posted 05 Apr 2019
In a Snap Brexit Election, 16 and 17 Year-Olds Must Have the VoteYoung people are refusing to be ignored – the recent school climate strikes and campaigning on Brexit have shown that. But while they can protest outside Parliament all they want, there’s a brutal fact: they...Posted 05 Apr 2019
ERS in the Press – March 2019Brexit might be dominating the news, but the rolling constitutional crisis that we call Westminster is still up to its usual tricks. We’ve spent the last month getting press attention for some of our biggest...Posted 29 Mar 2019
Binary indicative votes were never going to achieve a consensusThis is an expanded version of a letter from our Senior Director, Willie Sullivan, that was published in the Times on March 29th. When MPs voted to take control of the order paper in an...Posted 29 Mar 2019
While MPs debate our democratic future, another aristocrat takes a seat in Parliament for lifeOn Wednesday – while elected MPs debated Britain’s future – the results came out for the latest in a series of bizarre House of Lords ‘by-elections’. The vote – to fill the vacant seat following...Posted 28 Mar 2019
Future Voices: Delivering on a Parliament that works for Wales (Welsh Labour Fringe)With the 20th anniversary of the Assembly upon us, how should it evolve further to become a parliament that delivers for the people of Wales? Speakers include: Huw Irranca-Davies, AM for Ogmore Shavanah Taj, PCS...Posted 28 Mar 2019
New figures demolish the government’s argument for mandatory voter IDThe government’s case for excluding voters who lack ID is getting weaker by the day. Last week the Electoral Commission released its latest round of statistics on voter fraud for 2018. The numbers were revealing....Posted 26 Mar 2019
Money could flood into British politics under planned lawThe Overseas Electors Bill, which returned to the Commons last week, has a sound purpose – to end the current limit on how long Britons can live abroad and still be able to vote. But,...Posted 25 Mar 2019
Local citizens’ assemblies could break our political deadlock – but the government have vetoed themLast summer, ministers announced genuinely exciting plans for piloting ‘deliberative democracy’ across the UK. The plan was to use a series of citizens’ assemblies to engage people with politics, to tackle complex and contested topics,...Posted 22 Mar 2019
These three peers should not be allowed to stand in the way of democracyIn a week dominated by Brexit, it’s easy to forget that there are other topics still on the political agenda. While our MPs once again grapple over just what kind of Brexit would ‘take back...Posted 15 Mar 2019