News and Comment

The latest news and commentary from the Electoral Reform Society.

Around the World | Current Affairs Commentary | Developments at the ERS | Your Questions Answered | Case Studies

View by category

View by date

Britain’s campaign laws leave our elections open to fake news and manipulation

December’s election was the third Westminster election in four years. Each one of those has highlighted a growing crisis facing the UK’s electoral politics. In an article published by The Guardian, Cambridge Analytica whistle-blower Brittany...

Posted 29 Jan 2020

Parties and third-party campaigners spent around £5.9 million on Facebook

Westminster’s voting system puts tactics above policies

Chelsea Oware reflects on the research undertaken during her university placement at the ERS. General elections are prime fodder for news outlets, who tend to focus on the ‘horse race’ between the two main parties,...

Posted 19 Dec 2019

With PR, we might hear less about tactics and more about policy

Thousands have signed our petition for proportional representation since the warped election

Over 50,000 people have signed the Electoral Reform Society’s petition calling for proportional representation for Westminster elections, after last week’s warped results. Thursday’s election set alarm bells ringing when the government won a large majority...

Posted 16 Dec 2019

14,513,247 voters didn’t vote for their MP

When millions of voters are systematically ignored, it’s time for an overhaul at Westminster

One thing was clear before a single result came in on Thursday night. The voting system is not just bust – it’s bankrupt. A huge amount of time was given this election to talk about...

Posted 16 Dec 2019

A 1% increase in the Conservatives’ vote share led to a landslide

Westminster’s voting system is bankrupt. It’s time for proportional representation

Millions of voters unrepresented. An unjust majority on a minority of the vote. And nearly one in three forced to vote ‘tactically’. Westminster’s voting system is not just bust. It’s bankrupt, decrepit, discredited. We’ve been...

Posted 13 Dec 2019

How the 2019 election results could have looked with proportional representation

Ever wondered how the 2019 General Election result would have come out with a form of proportional representation? The Single Transferable Vote (STV) is a form of proportional representation used in Northern Ireland for all...

Posted 13 Dec 2019

Three ways Westminster’s voting system has skewed the election – before a single vote is cast

Though we are still a couple of days away from knowing the outcome of the general election, the campaign has already exposed the worst flaws of the First Past the Post (FPTP) voting system. In...

Posted 10 Dec 2019

In many parts of the UK there isn’t much of a contest this election

Introducing the ERS General Election Results Hub

Every general election, sites like the BBC, Guardian and Telegraph present live updates of the general election results as they roll in. Yet, despite having the data in front of you, it’s often hard to see the warping effect of our broken...

Posted 09 Dec 2019

14 Million Voters Are In Seats That Haven’t Changed Hands Since WW2. Here’s Why

Nearly 14 million voters are in seats that have not changed party hands since the Second World War, according to new research by the Electoral Reform Society. Taking into account equivalent predecessor seats, some seats have...

Posted 09 Dec 2019

Huge parts of this country are effectively competition-free zones

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