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Rishi Sunak
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Conservative manifesto: Missing pledges to improve our democracy

The launch of the Conservative manifesto yesterday was conspicuously light on democratic policy with little mention by way of reforms...

Were you alive the last time your seat changed hands
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Over 100 seats haven’t changed hands for 100 years or more

We often hear that politics is unpredictable, that anything can happen in the upcoming election – but the reality is...

16 and 17 year olds already have the vote in devolved elections in Scotland and Wales
Votes at 16

Could this be the last general election that excludes 16 and 17 year olds?

At the Electoral Reform Society, we have long been advocates of extending the right to vote to 16 and 17-year-olds...

Did eight Conservative Police and Crime Commissioners win due to voting change
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Imposing First Past the Post on these roles was a mistake

The recent mayoral and Police and Crime Commissioner elections took place under a First Past the Post (FPTP) system, where...

74 councillors in Wales took their seats without a vote being cast
Welsh Local STV

First Past the Post means 100,000 Welsh voters were denied a say in the last local elections

Local elections are an important part of democracy in Wales. But did you know that thousands of voters have a...

Hi Tech robot working at a computer
Campaign Regulation

Four steps to protect our elections from AI interference

I recently co-signed a letter with a host of leading third-sector organisations, as well as consumer champion Martin Lewis and...

This election lowered the bar for politicians and raised it for voters
English Local Democracy

Local elections: A third of the vote shouldn’t make a mayor

The local and mayoral elections saw the corrosive impact First Past the Post is having on our democracy writ large....

When the results don’t look anything like how we vote, how are we supposed to hold councils to account
English Local Democracy

England’s local elections show the warped world of First Past the Post

Local people are best placed to decide the priorities of their local government. But as we say today, voters in...

These reports throw into sharp relief the daft and inexplicable inconsistencies that voter ID rules are riddled with
Voter ID

While Boris Johnson could come back with ID, many ordinary voters don’t have that luxury

News that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson was turned away from voting as he went to a polling station without...

These changes Lower the bar for politicians and raising it for voters
English Local Democracy

Voters are being treated as guinea pigs in this year’s local elections

Today, the 2nd May, millions of voters will head to the polls to elect more than 2,500 councillors, 37 police...

Voter ID is the biggest change for a really long time and that presents a massive risk
English Local Democracy

Big changes to Welsh Police and Crime Commissioner elections

Today, voters across Wales will have to show ID to vote for the first time as they head to the...

Using a passport to vote in the UK
Voter ID

Voters will be turned away at the local elections for lacking the right ID

Thursday 2nd May 2024 was a historic local election for all the wrong reasons. For the first time, voters in...