What can we learn from 2026’s English local electionsThis week we’ve been delving into the English local election results to understand what’s happening behind the headlines, and the picture that is emerging is a mixed one. Whilst the general talk is about winners...Posted 14 May 2026
Local election delays: It’s unacceptable to treat voters like a bureaucratic inconvenienceElections are a crucial part of the democratic process. Citizens have the right to expect a regular opportunity to express a view about who should exercise power in their name, at all levels of government....Posted 22 Jan 2026
Councillors keep winning with less than a third of the vote – what can England and Wales learn from Scotland?Each week, usually on a Thursday, a number of local council by-elections take place around Britain. As with UK parliamentary by-elections, these take place when a representative either resigns or dies and there is a...Posted 23 Sep 2025
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
Why all local councils should be elected with proportional representationIf you live in England, you might be casting a vote for a councillor in a local election this May – and with your vote, expressing your desire for how you’d like your local services...Posted 08 Apr 2025
First Past the Post again set to produce random results at English local electionsWith four weeks to go before English local authority elections, which will be held on 1 May 2025, this week saw the announcement of candidates for each of the divisions or wards where local councillors...Posted 03 Apr 2025
English devolution and local government reorganisation highlight need for PR at local levelAngela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government, has announced the latest stage of the UK government’s plans for devolution and local government re-organisation within England. Six...Posted 11 Feb 2025
Listen to our conversation with Mark Drakeford MS on Welsh democracyBack at Welsh Labour party conference in November, ERS Cymru hosted an ‘in conversation’ with Mark Drakeford MS where he reflected on the past, the present and the future of Welsh democracy. In a wide...Posted 16 Jan 2025
How can one party win all the seats in a local council election without all the votes?In May’s 2023 local elections in England, the Liberal Democrats won 72% of the seats on Bath & North East Somerset. In Broxbourne, the Conservatives won 90% of the seats that were up for election....Posted 11 May 2023