The Reformer

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...

House of Lords

What is the main purpose of the House of Lords?

Even those of you out there who have a passing knowledge of our campaigning work will know we are not...

200 years since one of the first battles for the vote, our political structures still need to change

200 years since the Peterloo Massacre, Westminster is still broken

The events of 2019 have put the problems of Westminster’s system into sharp focus.  From discussions about the Prime Minister...

Westminster's voting system is an anti-choice stitch up

Brexit pacts: The latest desperate attempt to game a broken first-past-the-post system

The decision by both Plaid Cymru and the Greens to stand down at last week’s Brecon and Radnorshire by-election has...

Clare Coatman

Thinking about standing for ERS council? Here’s Clare Coatman on why you should

Nominations for our ERS Council have just opened, and we’re looking for passionate reformers prepared to share their time, energy...

House of Lords

Asking Theresa May To Show ‘Restraint’ In Her Resignation Honours Misses The Point – The Lords Is Bust

When even Peers are calling for an overhaul of the House of Lords, you know the chamber is broken. A...

Newspapers

ERS in the Press: July 2019

July was a busy month in Westminster before MPs headed off for the summer recess. Brexit and the Conservative leadership...

In 17 councils, the party with the largest number of votes did not secure the most seats

Local elections: How voters in England were cheated by a broken voting system

Local democracy in England and Wales has long been under strain – with contests often seeing dismally low turnout, or...

Senedd Cymru Welsh Parliament

Building a stronger Senedd: Why size (still) matters

Almost since its inception, there has been discussion and debate about a larger National Assembly here in Wales. Most recently,...