ERS Live: Where next for English local governance? Following the publication of our latest research report Democracy Made in England, last week we hosted our latest #ERSLive event, in which an expert panel discussed the question, ‘where next for English local government?’ for... Posted 29 Mar 2022
What is a combined authority and what is a metro mayor? Local government in England comes in many different formats, unitary, district and county councils all cover different parts of the country. In recent years, mayoral combined authorities have become an established part of the English... Posted 24 Mar 2022
For local democracy to flourish our representatives need the power to deliver New ERS research finds over two-thirds of councillors feel they lack the powers to represent the needs of their local community. Local government is at the front line of our democracy. It’s the closest level... Posted 10 Mar 2022
Democracy Made in England: Where Next for English Local Government? In the context of the changing nature of UK governance, England remains an anomaly. While the centres of power in the rest of the UK have shifted away from Westminster over the last two decades,... Posted 09 Mar 2022
Elections 2021: Rotten boroughs are rife in England, as voters are hit by warped results We’re already seeing a plethora of rotten results – with parties taking nearly all the seats on a fraction of the vote. Posted 07 May 2021
Looking back at a decade of proportional representation for local elections in Scotland "When we now come to use Westminster’s one-person-takes-all system in Scotland, it seems perverse and unwieldly." Posted 04 May 2020
Deepening democracy with Scotland’s Local Democracy Bill Democracy isn’t static, it is a process. It isn’t always simple or easy, and today it is being tested under the strain of a crisis of trust, one which affects political institutions, the public square... Posted 30 Mar 2020
Local elections: How voters in England were cheated by a broken voting system Local democracy in England and Wales has long been under strain – with contests often seeing dismally low turnout, or indeed no contest taking place at all. But new research from the ERS adds fresh... Posted 30 Jul 2019
England’s 2019 local elections – The places where around half of voters go unrepresented On 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
Local Elections 2018: Six things your local council decides on How much do you know about your local council – what it does, how it’s spending the council tax you pay each month, and how you can affect the decisions it makes? As if often the case with politics, the answer isn’t straightforward. In... Posted 26 Apr 2018