The Reformer

Electoral systems play a big role in the number of women elected

Euro elections show how Westminster’s first past the post holds back women

Elections to the European Parliament take place today across the UK. As we’ve talked about in a previous blog post,...

Each member state decides the details of the system used to elect their MEPs

How is the European Parliament Elected?

Voters across the EU will be heading to the polls this week to elect the 751 representatives to the European...

Local leaders need a strong challenge, regardless of which party they come from

Even council leaders are uncomfortable with the ‘one party states’ of First Past the Post

May’s local elections in England showed just how unfit-for-purpose the voting system is, as voters were left with random results...

200 years on from the Peterloo Massacre, it’s time to revive the campaign for a real democracy.

‘This is What Democracy Looks Like’: Why campaigners are gathering in Manchester 200 years on from the Peterloo Massacre

Nearly 200 years ago, thousands of working people gathered on St Peter’s Field in Manchester with a simple demand: political...

A new all-party group has been launched to update Britain’s ‘wild west’ election campaign rules

As we get closer to the European elections, here’s a worrying fact: our elections are currently wide open to foreign...

England’s 2019 local elections – The places where around half of voters go unrepresented

On 2 May, thousands of people were elected to serve as councillors in local authorities across England. While a lot of attention...

The plans to save Westminster are a missed opportunity to re-build our democracy

Yesterday the government has published its long-awaited Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Bill setting out its plans to repair the...

A small, but important, victory for voters

Imprints – finally some action to update our analogue laws for the digital age

In a victory for voters; campaigners; academics; the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee; and the Electoral Commission, among many...

Citizen-led decision making was brought up again and again in fringes and on the conference floor

SNP delegates pack out ERS Scotland fringes

On Sunday at SNP spring conference, delegates showed their interest in a deliberative and local democracy by packing out 2...

Voter ID Required

Local elections: How voter ID trial could undermine the right to vote

Here’s something you might not know about Thursday’s local elections: hundreds of thousands of potential voters are being told that...

Conservative MPs back proportional representation, arguing First Past the Post “encourages conflict and aggression”

MPs from across the spectrum made the case for reforming the Commons’ ‘divisive, broken electoral system’ on Tuesday, in a...

Uncontested seats mean thousands of voters will be denied their democratic rights

Next week, on Thursday, 2 May, voters in many parts of England will go to the polls to elect their...