How is the European Parliament Elected?Voters across the EU will be heading to the polls this week to elect the 751 representatives to the European Parliament (known as MEPs). Elections will be held in the UK on the 23rd of...Posted 21 May 2019
Even council leaders are uncomfortable with the ‘one party states’ of First Past the PostMay’s local elections in England showed just how unfit-for-purpose the voting system is, as voters were left with random results and warped council chambers. The elections saw big swings against the two main parties, as...Posted 16 May 2019
England’s 2019 local elections – The places where around half of voters go unrepresentedOn 2 May, thousands of people were elected to serve as councillors in local authorities across England. While a lot of attention has been given to the overall performances of political parties and independent candidates, little scrutiny...Posted 13 May 2019
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
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
With first past the post, country and city voters take turns being locked out of governmentFar too often, debates around electoral reform are characterised as the idea of making two pie charts match: one pie chart represents how the country voted, the other the make-up of parliament. The 2015 general...Posted 28 Feb 2019
What is a Citizens’ Assembly?Citizens’ Assemblies are often in the news, from the assemblies that led to the referendums on equal marriage and abortion in Ireland, to the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland and local council climate assemblies. While the...Posted 24 Jan 2019
How does proportional representation work in Germany?[Note: Germany updated their voting system for the 2025 election, and introduced new rules. You can find out about that in our article on the election] Elections to Germany’s Bundestag – Germany’s House of Commons...Posted 18 Dec 2018
Why the Brexit TV debate debacle shows party leaders must be compelled to take partThere was a story noticeably absent on the front pages on Monday: Sunday night’s Brexit TV leaders debate. That’s because – for all the valiant efforts of broadcasters, there wasn’t one. The past month has...Posted 12 Dec 2018
The TV Brexit debate tantrums show why party leaders shouldn’t be able to dictate the formatIn an age where much of what we see and read about politics is micro-targeted and atomised, TV leaders’ debates offer a rare shared event for supporters of all parties – one reason why the...Posted 03 Dec 2018