ERS in the Press – August 2020As governments respond to the global pandemic, the issue of how voters are represented has not gone away. In fact, in many ways, it has become more salient. PR in the public eye In August,...Posted 04 Sep 2020
More democracy, less division: Labour have a new chance to back political equalityOn Tuesday, Labour’s NEC has a chance to ensure everyone's voice is heard - by backing a fair voting system for National Executive Committee elections.Posted 14 May 2020
New research: Comparing rates of electoral assent in the recent Irish and UK general electionsLuke Field is an Irish political scientist specialising in campaigns, elections, and democracy. He recently completed a Ph.D. in Political Science at University College Dublin and lectures in Politics at University College Cork. He tweets...Posted 26 Mar 2020
Ignored and unrepresented: Report reveals how Westminster’s electoral system continues to fail votersSomething is deeply wrong when over 70% of votes count for nothing. That’s what Westminster’s voting system did in December’s election, according to a damning new analysis from the ERS. Of 32 million votes cast,...Posted 02 Mar 2020
In Ireland, it actually feels like my vote makes a differenceAs part of a series on the experiences of voters in the Irish 2020 election, we wanted to speak with people who have voted with Ireland’s STV system and under Westminster’s First Past the Post...Posted 18 Feb 2020
STV allowed me to consider the candidates in greater detailAs part of a series on the experiences of voters in the Irish 2020 election, we wanted to speak with voters who have voted with Ireland’s STV system and under Westminster’s First Past the Post...Posted 16 Feb 2020
Voting with proportional representation feels much more meaningful than Westminster’s systemAs part of a series on the experiences of voters in the Irish 2020 election, we wanted to speak with people who have voted with Ireland’s STV system and under Westminster’s First Past the Post...Posted 11 Feb 2020
Ireland’s TV debates show the difference the electoral system makesOn Tuesday the 4th February, ITV’s political editor Robert Peston tweeted: The Irish leaders’ debate is really quite shocking. The three leaders have a detailed grasp of complex welfare and tax issues, they are polite...Posted 06 Feb 2020
Ireland beats the UK in satisfaction with democracyIn a new study, researchers at Cambridge University have ranked Ireland among just seven countries worldwide where more than 75% of citizens are content with democracy. This high level of satisfaction ranks Ireland fifth in...Posted 06 Feb 2020
People are rightly losing faith in politics, it’s time for democratic renewalA new report by the recently established Centre for the Future of Democracy at the University of Cambridge has found that dissatisfaction with democracy has reached an all-time global high. Westminster-style democracies (the UK, Australia,...Posted 31 Jan 2020