News and Comment

The latest news and commentary from the Electoral Reform Society.

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Taking advantage of the Greek electoral law

Greece will return to the polls on September 20th. This is the third nationwide poll this year, after an earlier election in January and a referendum in June. It is also the fourth general election...

Posted 21 Aug 2015

Greek temple

What is the Scotland Bill?

The Scotland Bill was no surprise when it was announced in the Queens Speech. In the lead up to the Scottish independence referendum vote last September and following a particular cliff-edge poll, unionist parties became very...

Posted 12 Jun 2015

Did Proportional Representation put the Nazis in power?

Probably the first time many of us heard of Proportional Representation (PR) was in a school classroom studying the Second World War.  For some people this may have been the last time they heard about other voting...

Posted 05 Jun 2015

Military defeat, revolutions and regular coup attempts played a major role

The 2015 general election – A system in crisis

It’s official: this election was the most disproportionate in UK history. We’ve just released our new report on the May 7th General Election, A Voting System in Crisis. And it makes for worrying reading for fans of...

Posted 01 Jun 2015

Election Cancelled – The Curse of Uncontested Seats

There has been a shocking increase in the number of uncontested seats in some English councils up for election this May. The Eden District Council in Cumbria has already declared 21 of its 38 available...

Posted 01 May 2015

A sectarian voting system

The announcement by the two main unionist parties in Northern Ireland that they have entered into an electoral pact for the up-coming general election highlights a major problem with our electoral system. The idea that parties step...

Posted 20 Mar 2015

The ailing dragon – healing Welsh democracy

There’s a crisis of confidence in politics, which cannot be allowed to continue. After countless scandals and inquiries, people are left thinking that politics isn’t working for them. The Hansard Society’s audit of political engagement found that...

Posted 09 Jul 2014