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A tram in portugal
Electoral Reform in Westminster

As Portugal heads to the polls – how do Portuguese elections work?

Portugal is holding a snap election at the end of the month after parliament rejected the budget proposed by António...

Senior MPs tell government evidence has simply not been good enough
Campaign Regulation

Even senior MPs agree the government needs to pause and rethink the 2022 Elections Bill

Earlier this week, the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs (PACAC) select committee published the final report of...

With First Past the Post extreme candidates simply join mainstream parties
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Does First Past the Post stop extremists getting into parliaments?

If you listen to supporters of first past the post, you might be forgiven for thinking that British voters are...

Opposition held safe seats can be easily ignored
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Levelling Down: First Past the Post’s impact on regional inequality

Looking at just national disproportionality hides far more damning realities of how First Past the Post (FPTP) distorts the votes...

Voter ID will be the nail in the coffin for democracy and MP’s integrity
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Dominic Grieve is just the latest conservative to call for a halt to the 2022 Elections Bill

While the Elections Bill is not expected to return to parliament until the new year, opposition is still growing against...

The government remains opposed to these common sense proposals
House of Lords

A Labour Peer is trying to abolish hereditary peers (again)

There is overwhelming support for reform but Friday once again showed there is little chance of it succeeding. On Friday...

Almost all MPs with a majority of their income from 2nd jobs have majorities bigger than 17,000
Electoral Reform in Westminster

We must end the link between safe seats and second jobs

The most revealing type of political scandal is not the one where rules have been broken, but the ones where...

Democratise to Decarbonise Protest
Citizens' Assemblies

COP26 shows we need to democratise to decarbonise

In the run up to the COP26 climate change conference, a coalition of leading democracy organisations joined together on a...

The smaller the constituency, the less proportional the results
Electoral Reform in Westminster

What is the ideal number of MPs per constituency in proportional representation?

When choosing a proportional voting system, one of the most important decisions is the number of MPs each constituency elects...

The Senedd
ERS Cymru

Labour and Plaid Cymru deal is a big step forward for Wales’ democracy

This week saw a historic moment in Wales. Standing on the steps of the Senedd on Monday afternoon, Welsh First...

As long as we have First Past the Post there is little voters can do about it
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Hefty majorities become hefty bank balances with MPs’ outside jobs

As the second jobs scandal engulfs Westminster, the same line keeps being rolled out by government figures: If voters didn’t...

Within Europe semi-open lists are the norm
Electoral Reform in Westminster

What’s the difference between open and closed list proportional representation?

When discussing proportional voting systems, or voting systems in general, we usually talk about how they allocate seats to political...