The Reformer

ICO investigation

The risks of not reforming our electoral law

Martin Moore, Director of the Centre for the Study of Media, Communication and Power, and a Senior Research Fellow in...

The Cairncross Review on restoring trust in an age of fake news

The need to curb the unregulated power of tech giants is finally being recognised in the sphere of journalism and...

Legislation introduced to extend the right to vote to 16 and 17 year olds in Wales

Devolution to Wales has meant that we do a number of things differently from other parts of the UK. From...

Sanctions should deter breaches

How to improve voters’ confidence in democracy

Tom Hawthorn, Head of Policy at the Electoral Commission contributed this article for our recent report Reining in the Political ‘Wild...

Rt Hon Dame Cheryl Gillan MP

Now is the time to bring our campaign rules into the 21st century

The Rt Hon Dame Cheryl Gillan MP contributed this piece as the forward to our report Reining in the Political ‘Wild...

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Six ways to rein in the campaign ‘Wild West’

On Monday, the ERS launched a united call for change – with election regulators, campaigners, academics and MPs alike demanding...

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Reining in the political ‘Wild West’: Why we need campaign rules for the 21st century

Political party campaigning has shifted dramatically online in recent years. To give just one example: political parties spent around £1.3...

Citizens’ Assemblies are put together like a jury, so we all have an equal chance of joining

What is a Citizens’ Assembly?

Citizens’ Assemblies are often in the news, from the assemblies that led to the referendums on equal marriage and abortion...

House of Lords libary

House of Lords – Let’s break open this private members’ club once and for all

As I write, Lords are pouring into The Queen’s Robing Room to select a new member to join them for...

Voters in 1945, Holborn

How long have we used First Past the Post? You might be surprised

We’re right to be proud of the long history of parliamentary democracy in Britain. But the way we elect MPs...

Scottish local government

Local government in Scotland is top-down and distant – but we can change that

If there was once a connection between elected councillors in Scotland and the communities they supposedly represent, this has long...

Five New Year’s resolutions ministers should be signing up to

If 2018 has shown us anything, it’s that the debates over the state of our democracy are as crucial as...