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Does Australia use First Past the Post?

Australians head to the polls tomorrow to elect all 151 members of the Federal House of Representatives and 40 of their 76 Senators. Australian elections are world-renowned for their beloved ‘Democracy Sausages’ and the fact...

Posted 17 May 2019

Australia uses two preferential systems to elect their federal representatives

With first past the post, country and city voters take turns being locked out of government

Far too often, debates around electoral reform are characterised as the idea of making two pie charts match: one pie chart represents how the country voted, the other the make-up of parliament. The 2015 general...

Posted 28 Feb 2019

the way we elect MPs divides the country

How long have we used First Past the Post? You might be surprised

We’re right to be proud of the long history of parliamentary democracy in Britain. But the way we elect MPs to Westminster is a relatively new development in that history. There have been countless reforms...

Posted 11 Jan 2019

Which European countries use proportional representation?

Of the 43 countries most often considered to be within Europe, 40 use some form of proportional representation to elect their MPs. The UK stands almost alone in Europe in using a ‘one-person-takes-all’ disproportionate voting...

Posted 26 Dec 2018

Does Ireland use proportional representation?

Ireland has a long history of using proportional representation and, specifically, the Single Transferable Vote (STV). STV is the Electoral Reform Society’s preferred electoral system. Rather than one person representing everyone in a small area,...

Posted 11 Dec 2018

It’s not just the boundaries that need reviewing – it’s First Past the Post

The four national Boundary Commissions have now announced their results. If parliament accepts them, these will be the constituencies that the next general election in 2022 will be fought on. The election specialists Rallings &...

Posted 11 Sep 2018

59 years since Enid Lakeman defended fair votes in Ireland

Last weekend marked the 59th anniversary of a major event in the Society’s history and the history of the campaign for fair votes. In June 1959, Ireland held a referendum that would determine the very...

Posted 18 Jun 2018

Citizens in British Columbia are set to decide on their voting system. Here is what you should know…

Back in May 2017 I brought you the story of the British Columbian general election which had seen no party get half the seats in the Legislative Assembly of Canada’s Westernmost province, leading to a...

Posted 01 Jun 2018

Local Elections: Diverse voices are being drowned out by the undemocratic voting system in England and Wales

We are now but two weeks from the 2018 local elections. If you live in London you will have the chance to elect councillors for the first time since 2014. If you reside in the...

Posted 19 Apr 2018

Local newspapers play a key role in our democracy and their decline is concerning

“When trusted and credible news sources decline, we can become vulnerable to news which is untrustworthy.” So said the Prime Minister last week – representing fears even at the very top over the decline of...

Posted 14 Feb 2018