Voting patterns in the House of Lords rubbish claims of its independence Article first published by Politics.co.uk. It is anticipated that Theresa May will appoint up to a dozen Tory peers this month – which could be joined by a handful of Labour members and some from the DUP. It is... Posted 11 Jan 2018
Referendum spending is a murky world – when it should be crystal clear Negotiations on the UK’s exit from the European Union will dominate much of the political agenda this year. But 18 months on from the Brexit referendum, questions are still being asked about whether campaigners played by... Posted 08 Jan 2018
Political parties are too reliant on big donors – and it has to change Huge swathes of the public believe big donors hold too much political sway – and yet again it has been revealed just how reliant parties are on the cash of very few. The Mirror today published research findings showing that 39% of... Posted 05 Jan 2018
Ministers are ignoring the elephant in the room when it comes to boundaries The government’s Minister for the Constitution has claimed that millions of voters living in oversized constituencies are being under-represented. Speaking about the current boundaries, Chris Skidmore MP said: “It is an affront to democracy that 27 million people are under-represented.” ... Posted 03 Jan 2018
There’s a lobbying scandal brewing in the House of Lords The House of Lords has long been a home for party donors and lobbyists. But now it turns out even those who have supposedly retired are taking advantage of the unelected House. As if the... Posted 02 Jan 2018
There’s another way of doing Brexit By Dr Alan Renwick A battle broke out in Parliament last week, as MPs across the House successfully pushed for a meaningful vote on the final Brexit deal. It was an attempt to make our... Posted 18 Dec 2017
Wales needs a stronger Senedd that’s fit for the future In 20 years of its existence – through the growth in the Assembly’s responsibilities to the expansion of the Welsh Government and its powers, one thing has changed very little: the Senedd’s capacity to scrutinise,... Posted 12 Dec 2017
From random results to Lords-a-claiming – 2017 and the Electoral Reform Society Looking back on the past year, there’s a strong sense of achievement at the issues the ERS has been able to raise – and we are equipped with stronger arguments than ever for reform. It... Posted 06 Dec 2017
An inconvenient truth – It’s time for more Assembly Members Jess Blair says the case for a larger Assembly has to be made beyond Cardiff Bay to the people it will impact. Having more Assembly Members isn’t necessarily on anyone’s Christmas list, but it should... Posted 06 Nov 2017
Caroline Lucas: A fair electoral system would tackle why people don’t vote Green Party Co-Leader Caroline Lucas at the Westminster Hall Debate on Electoral Reform If democracy is about fairly representing the views of the people, we are failing at it with first past the post. As... Posted 01 Nov 2017