News and Comment

The latest news and commentary from the Electoral Reform Society.

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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

With growing support for more parties, voters are demanding more choice

New rules see Mayors elected without majority support

Coverage of the local elections has been dominated by punditry over what the results mean for next year’s general election and the government’s controversial voter ID scheme, which saw countless people turned away from casting...

Posted 10 May 2023

A backward step for local democracy

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

41 percent of England’s population now live in areas with some form of mayoral devolution deal