The Reformer

CAER at Tory Conf 2023 PR ERS

Responding to Labour’s Plans for Electoral Reform (Conservative Conference)

Conservative Action for Electoral Reform (CAER) are hosting an event at this year’s Conservative Party Conference on the Conservative’s response...

Voting should be about Westminster clearly hearing the voice of the electorate

The Mid Bedfordshire by-election shows how First Past the Post warps our politics

It finally happened. After weeks of speculation and, more latterly, mounting criticism, Nadine Dorries officially resigned her seat in Mid...

It bears repeating that patronage is a bad idea

Resignation honours are the worst, but all patronage is bad

The fact that Liz Truss’s short-term premiership can result in lifetime appointments to the house of House of Lords has...

64 per cent of adults would have liked to have had the vote at 16

Voters trusted themselves to vote at 16 – let’s expand the franchise

Do you think you should have been able to vote from 16? New research commissioned by The Body Shop and...

The UK’s shortest-serving prime minister is getting ready to hand out life-long jobs

Liz Truss’ resignation honours could be a turning point for reform

News reports this weekend revealed that Liz Truss’s controversial honours list is making its way through the vetting process with...

Prospective MPs shouldn’t have to move house if they want a realistic chance of entering parliament

First Past the Post locks many talented people out of politics

This week, Politics Home reported that Regional Tories Are Snubbing Parachuted MP Candidates In Favour Of “Local Champions”. It seems...

First Past the Post hands a small group of voters disproportionate power

Where are the policies for renters? First Past the Post keeps the focus on homeowners

With the current cost-of-living crisis and soaring interest rates, mortgages and mortgage holders are all anybody can talk about, including...

In 2023 the global proportion of women parliamentarians just was 26 point 5 percent

Proportional representation helped women get elected in 2022

In January 2023, the global proportion of women parliamentarians just was 26.5%, indicating that there’s a way to go before...

ERS Rules tennis

Should the ERS look at the rules for… Tennis?

As tennis players line up for the Wimbledon semi-finals, and candidates hit the doorstep for multiple by-elections, we’ve been thinking...

There is a long history of honours list scandals

How honourable are honours lists?

Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list caused quite a kerfuffle between the House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) and the current...

The Government needs to scrap this ill thought through and unnecessary scheme

Now we know at least 14,000 were blocked from voting, voter ID should be scrapped

On the 23rd June, the Electoral Commission published their provisional report on the rollout of voter ID. One figure stands...

Welsh Government to introduce progressive electoral reforms

Last week in the Senedd, First Minister Mark Drakeford announced the Welsh Government’s plans for legislation for the next year....