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Scotland’s multi-party system can never be represented by First Past the Post

At the close of the polls on Thursday, people in Scotland will have faced 10 opportunities to vote in the last eight years. Of these elections and referendums, the general election is the only completely...

Posted 08 Jun 2017

Fighting for fair votes around the world – lessons from the Global Greens Congress

Proportional representation has been a longstanding campaign of the Greens. But not just here in the UK – democratic reform is often a key plank of Green platforms. So it was fascinating to see leaders...

Posted 07 Apr 2017

Building a stronger National Assembly, or why ‘We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat…’

Given the tidal waves that have rocked our politics this year, it may seem an unusual time to be discussing the need for more Assembly Members. In a year of populist shocks and rhetoric, the...

Posted 01 Dec 2016

After Brexit, it’s time for a bigger, stronger Senedd

‘May you live in interesting times’ goes the old Chinese curse. And few could deny that we do: Brexit, a party system in flux, and a constitution in tumult all mark new times for the...

Posted 29 Nov 2016

Electoral reform is making waves across the Atlantic

There’s something in the air, it seems. As I write, electoral reformers in Canada and the US have a real chance of securing a fairer voting system. As US voters prepare to pick their next...

Posted 03 Nov 2016

A better voting system for the London Assembly

This week is European Local Democracy Week 2016, and to mark it, we’re running a series of articles on how to make the London Assembly more democratic. For the first article in the ‘Building a Better...

Posted 10 Oct 2016

ERS Quiz UKIP’s Leadership Candidates on Democratic Reform

UKIP’s leadership election is in full swing, with the results announced on the 16thSeptember. At the ERS, we’re running Q&As with the leadership candidates for UKIP – as well as the Labour Party, which...

Posted 06 Sep 2016

ERS Quiz the Green Party Leadership Candidates on Democratic Reform

The Green Party of England & Wales’ leadership (and Deputy Leadership) election is in full swing, with voting open until the 25th August. At the ERS, we’re running Q&As with all the leadership and deputy leadership candidates...

Posted 02 Aug 2016

8 things last week’s elections tell us about Britain’s changing politics

Last week’s ‘Super Thursday’ of elections was gold-dust for democracy lovers. It saw elections in Wales and London for their Assemblies, in Scotland for the Holyrood Parliament, in councils across England, in England and Wales for the...

Posted 10 May 2016

Why the SNP are Scotland’s new predominant party

On Wednesday, ERS Scotland launched a major new report, One Party To Rule Them All: Does Scotland Have A Predominant-Party Problem?. That concept of a “predominant-party system” – popularised by the political scientist Giovanni Sartori –...

Posted 20 Apr 2016