The Reformer

There’s a glaring threat facing the next General Election: the ‘missing millions’

You don’t have to opt in to your right to free speech. So why do we have to opt in...

Under STV, 71% of voters saw a candidate elected who they had given their first-preference vote t

A tale of two local by-elections: how STV produces fairer outcomes

On Thursday 3rd October, as on most Thursdays, several local authority by-elections took place throughout Britain. These by-elections occur when...

If neither get into the second round, all their votes will be wasted

London mayoral race: Will Rory Stewart’s candidacy ‘split’ the Conservative vote?

If there is one thing you can predict about politics these days, it’s that you can’t predict anything. In the...

We must ensure that online campaigning does not remain beyond the law

At our Lib Dem fringe, panelists looked at future proofing our campaigning laws

With proportional representation a long-term policy of the Liberal Democrats, we took the opportunity to discuss the wider crisis in...

The last year of political turmoil is the outcome of a system that has been failing for a long time

The current crisis has been a long time coming – and Westminster’s system is behind it

It’s easy right now to get caught up in the daily drama of politics – to focus on individuals, and...

Tokyo

How do elections work in Japan?

For the next six weeks the eyes of the world will be fixed on Japan. Ok, probably not all the...

Our constitution is just a set of gentlemen’s agreements

Why unions are getting serious about the need for political reform

A week before the court case over prorogation reached the Supreme Court, the ERS’ Dr Jess Garland told TUC Congress...

Our Democracy

How To Upgrade our Democracy – Why Citizens’ Assemblies and Local Government Reform are part of the same future (SNP fringe)

The Scottish Government says it is committed to deepening democracy in Scotland. This is vital and timely, as trust in...

House of Lords

An elected House of Lords wouldn’t just be a clone of the House of Commons

The Electoral Reform Society has long campaigned for the House of Lords to be abolished and replaced with a new...

Is there proportional representation in Scotland?

For most of the 20th century, every election in Scotland was conducted under the First Past the Post system, from...

ERS in the Press – August 2019

August saw talk of a constitutional crisis come to the fore – and it was a long time coming. The...

A general election would re-shuffle the parliamentary deck rather than solve the underlying problem

Another election under Westminster’s broken voting system is unlikely to get us out of this crisis

Back in May, our Westminster Beyond Brexit report raised a prescient question:  “Do we want a democracy that gives the...