The Reformer

Holland Netherlands

Why did the Netherlands adopt nationwide proportional representation?

The Dutch prioritised proportionality above all else when creating their system of proportional representation; choosing a single nationwide constituency and...

voter ID means that 2068745 UK citizens could be turned away from polling stations

With just weeks to go awareness of voter ID remains worryingly low

With less than six weeks to May’s local elections, the problems with the government’s rollout of their disastrous rollout of...

Just 7% support Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list

New polling shows 61% oppose Boris Johnson’s resignation peerages

Our new polling has found that just one in 14 people (7%) support Boris Johnson stuffing more peers into the...

What was AV+ the electoral system recommended by the Jenkins Report?

In their 1997 election manifesto, Labour set out a commitment to hold a referendum on the current First Past the...

Every major party uses something like the Alternative Vote to elect their leader

Why do so many parties use transferable voting for their leadership elections?

The 27th of March sees the announcement of the results of the SNP leadership election. As we wrote a few...

Central party leaders have little influence over who is elected

How do Finland’s elections work?

On Sunday 2nd April, voters in Finland will go to the polls to elect a new parliament. Finland’s parliament, known...

Proportional representation is the most popular form of democracy in the world today

How many countries around the world use proportional representation?

This article was updated in November 2025. Proportional representation is the most popular form of democracy for countries in the...

Men make up around 72 per cent of peers

How we could make the House of Lords gender equal overnight

It is a quiet scandal that 105 years after women first won the vote they are still grossly under-represented in...

The biggest reform would be changing the voting system at Westminster

What elections should the next government reform?

Last week we published a blog on UK electoral reforms since 1997 and highlighted that whilst at Westminster the fight...

Scottish Lib Dem 2023

How do we build a better Scottish democracy? (Scottish Liberal Democrat Conference)

‘Taking the Road to Renewal’, ERS Scotland presents Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP in conversation with Jonathon Shafi. In what is potentially...

Polling Station Car Park

What Electoral reforms have there been since 1997?

While the need for reforming Westminster’s First Past the Post (FPTP) voting system is getting clearer every day, outside Westminster...

Carl Andrae

How did Denmark get proportional representation?

Denmark today is home to one of the most proportional voting systems in the world, but, for a long time,...