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Parliament can make or remove any law with a simple majority vote
Electoral Reform in Westminster

What does a super-majority mean and is it something we should worry about?

In the last week, the current defence secretary, Grant Shapps, has been appearing in the news to warn about the...

Keir Starmer
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Labour manifesto: Encouraging first steps – but we need to address rock bottom trust in politics

This week we had startling and deeply concerning news about the state of our democracy. A study from the National...

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...

The extension of transparency requirements is a welcome addition to political campaigning
Campaign Regulation

Digital imprints: what are they and why are they useful?

This general election will be the biggest we’ve seen yet for online campaigning. It’s an area where the ERS, along...

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...

Pursuing Parity webinar

#ERSLive – Pursuing Parity: Examining Gender Quotas Across Electoral Systems

Following the publication of our new report Pursuing Parity, we want to share the findings with you in a discussion with...

The Senedd
Welsh Parliament

Senedd expansion is a pivotal moment for devolution

Something historic happened yesterday, something good. What happened in the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) was the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections)...

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
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....