Why are our mayors winning on less than 30% of the vote?This past week’s mayoral elections marked a worrying milestone for democracy in England. For the first time ever, two combined authority mayors have been elected on less than 30% of the vote – with one...Posted 07 May 2025
The end of the two-party system? What the experts are saying about the 2025 local electionsSince the votes cast in the local elections were counted on Friday there has been extensive debate among experts and in the media about whether we are seeing the end of the two-party system. This...Posted 07 May 2025
Are we going to see Mayors elected with even lower levels of public support in 2025?Four Combined Authority mayors will be elected on 1 May 2025, but changes to the rules could see mayors taking power with little public support locally. Voters are going to the polls in the following...Posted 24 Apr 2025
Rishi Sunak’s resignation peerages will do nothing to help collapsing trust in politicsTen months after the last government ended, it is still able to stuff yet more peers into the grossly oversized House of Lords. On Friday, Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list was published, ennobling seven Conservative...Posted 15 Apr 2025
Friday 11th April should be the last time electors had to actively register to voteThe deadline to register to vote in the local elections on 1 May was 11 April. Last February we estimated that 8.2 million voters were missing or incorrectly registered on the electoral roll across England,...Posted 13 Apr 2025
Leading lord makes open threat to government in last ditch attempt to save hereditary peersFor weeks now we have watched the bill to remove the 88 remaining hereditary peers make slow progress through the House of Lords. Only last week did the legislation finish committee stage, but not before...Posted 08 Apr 2025
Why the next Senedd could be the least representative of women everThe Senedd hit the headlines back in 2003 when it became the first legislature in the world to reach 50:50 gender parity between men and women. It was a proud moment for our country and...Posted 08 Apr 2025
House of Lords spends forty hours debating themselvesLast night at 10.20PM, the committee of the whole House of Lords on the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill was finally adjourned. There were five days of committee, close to 150 amendments put forward,...Posted 02 Apr 2025
We should extend the vote to 16- and 17-year-olds, here’s whyThe Government was elected on a manifesto promise to “increase the engagement of young people in our vibrant democracy by giving 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all elections.” We agree, and here’s...Posted 02 Apr 2025
It’s not just hereditary peers that are ‘hard to justify’ – It’s the whole unelected chamberBefore Labour won the 2024 general election, the Labour leader in the House of Lords hinted that if Labour were to take power, we could finally see an end to the 92 hereditary peers in...Posted 30 Mar 2025