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The danger of choosing a voting system that works for you today

We all have a party we lean toward. Maybe we’ve stuck with them for decades, maybe our loyalties shift with the times. But when it comes to how we elect our parliament, our choices shouldn’t...

Posted 08 Oct 2025

Distorting mirror of first past the post

First Past the Post could catapult Reform UK into government

A new YouGov MRP poll, published on 26 September 2025, provides another snapshot of the chaotic democratic outcomes being caused by First Past The Post (FPTP) in our era of multi-party politics. Although only a...

Posted 02 Oct 2025

Small changes in support result in wildly different outcomes

Strong support for fair votes and jubilant mood at Lib Dem Conference

I have just returned from a very sunny weekend in Bournemouth at the annual Liberal Democrat conference. As is usually the case at the Liberal Democrats annual meeting, the mood was jubilant. With 72 MPs,...

Posted 30 Sep 2025

Why Electoral Commission independence matters

This week, a new report from Spotlight on Corruption highlighted the impact of Electoral Commission independence to the UK’s democratic standing. The report lays bare just how far the UK has slipped since ministers were given...

Posted 30 Sep 2025

The Commission must be accountable to Parliament as a whole - not the government of _the day

How many votes did Labour get in 2024?

On election night in 2024, the headlines celebrated a Labour landslide. Crowds cheered, pundits predicted a bold new direction, and the idea of a strong majority government dominated the conversation. But as the confetti settled,...

Posted 25 Sep 2025

Labour won a commanding majority, even though two-thirds did not vote for the party

Councillors keep winning with less than a third of the vote – what can England and Wales learn from Scotland?

Each week, usually on a Thursday, a number of local council by-elections take place around Britain. As with UK parliamentary by-elections, these take place when a representative either resigns or dies and there is a...

Posted 23 Sep 2025

MPs suggest National Commission on Electoral Reform

In our increasingly fragmented and volatile political environment, the case for electoral reform becomes clearer every day. And as the political landscape changes, so too will the route to our objective of a fairly elected...

Posted 11 Sep 2025

National Commission on Electoral Reform terms of reference

Norway’s election shows how multi-party politics doesn’t have to mean random results

Norway went to the polls on 8 September for their general election. The Scandinavian country has now used proportional representation for over 100 years and the outcome of the election is a prime example of...

Posted 10 Sep 2025

Proportional Representation means voters get what they ask for

MPs vote to cut short First Past the Post’s imposition on Mayors

On 2 September 2025, the House of Commons held the second reading of the English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill. While the bill covers many areas, one of the clauses is something we have been...

Posted 03 Sep 2025

This bill has the opportunity to not just repair the damage, but improve on what we had

What Denmark’s Folkemødet can teach us about rebuilding trust in democracy

This summer, I visited Folkemødet, Denmark’s annual democracy festival held in the coastal town of Allinge on the island of Bornholm. It’s a place where citizens, politicians, NGOs, and businesses gather in a relaxed, open-air...

Posted 01 Sep 2025