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What can the Effective Number of Parties tell us about First Past the Post?

Written by Thomas Worth The results of the 2024 General Election were the most disproportional in British political history. The current Labour government was elected on just 33.7% of the vote, but took 63.2% of...

Posted 19 Feb 2026

As the electorate increasingly fragments our system is failing to reflect our preferences

Government right to reverse the decision to postpone these local elections

The fundamental principle of democracy is that people get to regularly express their view on the politicians who make decisions that affect them. So it is welcome that the government has today reversed the decision...

Posted 16 Feb 2026

Any decision to postpone elections must be a last resort

Westminster’s dirty secret – what lobbying in Britain looks like and how we clean it up

Lobbying is a word that can be used to describe all manner of sins in Westminster. It has hit the headlines again courtesy of Peter Mandelson and his relationship to convicted paedophile Epstein. But what...

Posted 12 Feb 2026

When it comes to politics sunlight is the best disinfectant

Elections bill will bring in once-in-a-generation change to voting – but misses big opportunity

Today sees the first reading of the Representation of the People Bill, the government’s landmark legislation reforming how elections work. This promises to make some fundamental reforms to the way we vote, as well as...

Posted 12 Feb 2026

The Representation of the People Bill should live up to its name and scrap First Past the Post

MPs form new cross-party group aimed at wholesale Lords reform

This week, MPs and peers from across the political spectrum announced plans to form a new all-party parliamentary group on ‘wholesale’ Lords reform. The trigger was the very real sight of unelected peers using obscure...

Posted 10 Feb 2026

It is a crisis confronting our democracy that can't be ignored

An Elections Bill is coming – but will it include fair votes?

The government is bringing in new laws to improve our elections – and this is our chance to make things better. After years of broken promises and an electoral system that has consistently left millions...

Posted 05 Feb 2026

How can someone be removed from the House of Lords?

When peers make headlines for the wrong reasons, the same question inevitably arises: how do you actually remove someone from the House of Lords? The recent cases of Lord Mandelson and Baroness Mone have thrust...

Posted 04 Feb 2026

How Sainte-Laguë could improve Scottish Parliamentary elections

Scotland’s Parliament has always been better at representing the political makeup of Scotland than Westminster. A parliament where votes mattered more, where power was shared, and where the political map reflected how people actually voted....

Posted 28 Jan 2026

D’Hondt often over-rewards parties that have already done well

First weekend of Dunfermline New City Assembly lays a fantastic foundation

Dunfermline, Scotland’s ancient capital, feels like the ideal place to explore new ways for communities to influence decisions. This weekend saw the first meeting of the Dunfermline New City Assembly — a project close to...

Posted 26 Jan 2026

I’m quietly optimistic about what lies ahead

Local election delays: It’s unacceptable to treat voters like a bureaucratic inconvenience

Elections are a crucial part of the democratic process. Citizens have the right to expect a regular opportunity to express a view about who should exercise power in their name, at all levels of government....

Posted 22 Jan 2026