How elections for the Mayor of London will work On May 6, one year after elections were supposed to be held, more than six million Londoners will be called to the polling stations to elect their mayor (alongside 25 members of the London Assembly)... Posted 01 Apr 2021
What is the House of Lords Appointments Commission? A little-known non-departmental public body, the House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC), has recently been thrust into the spotlight, following the Prime Minister’s latest round of appointments to the House of Lords (if you weren’t... Posted 12 Jan 2021
Who benefits from Westminster’s First Past the Post voting system? Westminster's voting system hurts voters. Here's how. Posted 29 Apr 2020
What does the Electoral Commission do? The Electoral Commission is an independent body established in 2001. Its mandate is limited by what is set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (PPERA) 2000 and subsequent amendments. The Electoral Commission... Posted 09 Dec 2019
What is proportional representation? Parties from across the political spectrum are lining up against Westminster’s voting system and calling for proportional representation, but what does that term mean? There are lots of different ways to decide who gets to... Posted 06 Dec 2019
How do you register to vote and when do you have to do it by? Whilst registration statistics have gone dramatically up since the date for the next general election became official, arguably the level of first-time registration may be being overstated. The statistics we are given tell us the... Posted 13 Nov 2019
What is tactical voting and why is it bad for democracy? In a Westminster election, tactical voting takes place when a voter chooses a candidate whom they wouldn’t normally support, in order to prevent another candidate from winning. For example, if you want to vote for... Posted 12 Nov 2019
What is a hung parliament? Across the country, a total of 650 Members of Parliament are elected to the Commons, with one per constituency. Under Westminster’s first past the post electoral system each MP doesn’t need to be supported by... Posted 06 Nov 2019
Where is proportional representation used in the UK? Westminster’s voting system is well and truly broken. The system with which we elect our MPs is struggling to produce fair and representative results. The 2017 General Election showed that, for the third time in a... Posted 05 Nov 2019
How do elections work in Japan? For the next six weeks the eyes of the world will be fixed on Japan. Ok, probably not all the eyes just the ones that enjoy watching rugby. This week marks the beginning of the... Posted 19 Sep 2019