The Reformer

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Covid-19 has moved the assembly to the forefront of Scottish government thinking
Citizens' Assemblies

The Citizen’s Assembly of Scotland can help shape our post-Covid future

Scotland’s first Citizens’ Assembly met last week for the first time since March. Like many social events and workplaces, the...

Labour for a New Democracy
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Campaigners unite to urge Labour party to back proportional representation  

A major new project has been launched to encourage the Labour party to back proportional representation. 

Voter Registration

Britain’s voter registration system is leaving millions on the sidelines

September 18, 2020

They’ve been called the ‘missing millions’: over 9 million eligible people in Great Britain are currently not on the electoral roll.  

Aristocrats are guaranteed representation in our parliament
House of Lords

Hereditary peer by-elections have been paused. They should be scrapped entirely

The House of Lords just keeps getting bigger. Following the PM’s appointment of 36 new unelected peers, each week sees...

ERS online meeting

2020 Conference and AGM

The 2020 online conference featured a presentation and Q&A session on the Society’s work in 2020, followed by a keynote...

It will require rigorous advance planning, costing and communication
Electoral Reform in Westminster

It is possible to hold elections in a pandemic, but we have to start planning for them now

This is a guest article from Sarah Birch,  Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Economy, King’s College London. Elections...

Citizens' Assemblies

What can we learn from the UK Climate Assembly?

September 11, 2020

The UK’s first nationwide citizens’ assembly on climate change came to a close this week, with the launch of its...

ERS Cymru

Wales’ Parliament has long been under-resourced – it’s time to change that

September 11, 2020

With just 60 elected members, Wales’ Parliament has long been under-resourced. But that problem has grown as Wales acquired more...

Electoral Reform in Westminster

ERS in the Press – August 2020

September 4, 2020

As governments respond to the global pandemic, the issue of how voters are represented has not gone away. In fact,...

Abolishing the Electoral Commission would be a dangerous backwards step
Campaign Regulation

Our elections watchdog needs strengthening, not scrapping

You’d think given the rising tide of disinformation, dodgy donations and dark ads online, the government might be getting serious...

Lebanon
Electoral Reform in Westminster

Lebanon’s confessional system keeps change just out of reach

Josh Dell is a writer based in London, who has led on democracy projects for organisations including Bite The Ballot...

House of Lords

Revealed: The true cost of Britain’s silent peers

There are many perks to being a member of the House of Lords. While many peers do work hard, it...