Our Board

The Board of the Society has ultimate responsibility for its governance and administration.

The Board consists of 15 members, 12 elected every other year by the membership using the Single Transferable Vote. Up to three members of the Board can then be co-opted. The current Board was elected in 2021.

Board Members are the legal Directors of the company, with collective responsibility for ensuring that the organisation is legally compliant. The Board, in conjunction with senior staff, sets the Society’s strategic direction, ensures accountability for the Society’s performance and that the Society’s financial affairs are managed with probity and integrity.

Members of the Board elect three of their group to act as Officers and one to act as the Chair.

About the Board

The Board is the Electoral Reform Society’s governing body.

The Board meets four times a year. It is made up of 12 members who are elected every other year and serve for a two-year term. All fully paid-up members are allowed to stand for election and to vote. A further three can be co-opted on to the Board.

What do Board members do?

The Board provides creative challenge and independent scrutiny on issues such as strategy, planning and business performance and it works with the senior staff team to ensure that high standards of governance are upheld.

The Board meets 4 times a year in central London (expenses are reimbursed). Members of the Board are also the Directors of the company, with collective responsibility for ensuring that the organisation is legally compliant. The Board:

  • Establishes the Society’s strategic direction and aims, in conjunction with the senior staff;
  • Ensures accountability for the Society’s performance;
  • Ensures that the Society is managed with probity and integrity.

How do the Board members get elected?

There are 12 places on the Board, and elections take place every two years with all seats on the Board up for election. Candidates are voted in by the Single Transferable Vote (STV) method.

Why get involved?

Board members have a central role to play in deciding the key priorities for the Society.

It’s an important job and we need members with the right balance of ideas, skills, and experience. This is a special opportunity – available only to members – to help shape the Society’s agenda and to inject energy and enthusiasm into the job of building a better democracy in Britain.

What skills and experience do I need?

Board members can bring invaluable experience and perspectives from all walks of life.

As the governing body of a rapidly expanding national campaign and research organisation, the Board needs active and engaged members – particularly those with some of the following attributes:

  • Accountancy or financial management skills
  • Experience of leading or working on high-profile campaigns
  • Experience of working in politics
  • Media, press or marketing experience
  • Knowledge, understanding and commitment to the not-for-profit sector
  • Experience of a governance role
  • Strategic vision and sound, independent judgement
  • Human resources qualifications and/or experience at a senior level
  • Experience in business development and/or fundraising

The Electoral Reform Society Board

Lynn HendersonLynn Henderson
Chair

Lynn is a senior national officer at the Public and Commercial Services Union, the UK’s largest trade union for government workers where she heads up the Organising, Campaigning, Equalities and Learning teams.  Lynn also chairs Politics for the Many – the trade union campaign for electoral reform and is the chair of the project board of the Jimmy Reid Foundation, a think tank for radical political thinking, based in Scotland.

Amy DoddAmy Dodd
Vice Chair – Management 

Amy previously served on the Board and was chair of the Electoral Reform Society from 2012-2016. She has worked in politics on everything from local election campaigns to national referendums, including helping to lead the Labour Yes to AV campaign. Amy has also worked for many years in international development, focusing on how to mobilise the resources needed to finance a fairer, greener and better future for all. Her experience includes leading a policy and advocacy network of UK organisations advocating for more and better aid, in think tanks and, currently, as Global Policy Director for development economics at the ONE Campaign.

Caroline OsborneCaroline Osborne
Deputy Chair – Campaigns and Research

Caroline has been working in the democracy sector since 2018 and has been with Labour For a New Democracy since the campaign launched. She has always been passionate about electoral reform – after years of campaigning on other issues she was delighted to be able to join the campaign for the one issue that she believes is the starting point for a society that works for all of us.

Caroline is an active Labour member and has stood as a candidate in local elections on numerous occasions. She has held roles within my CLP including Chair and Equalities Officer. She is a committed trade unionist holding roles of branch equalities officer and South East regional committee rep.

Victor ChamberlainVictor Chamberlain
Honorary Treasurer

Victor previously served on the Council between 2017-21. Victor is a local councillor in the London Borough of Southwark and has served as the Leader of the Opposition since 2022. Victor has a decade of experience as a local councillor in London and Manchester and serves as a Board Member at the Local Government Association. Victor is the Head of Communications for a Council owned housing development company in East London. Victor has previously worked for the Liberal Democrats’ association of councillors, parliamentary party and party HQ.

Kezia Dugdale

Kezia is a Professor of Practice at the University of Glasgow and Director of the John Smith Centre, a non-partisan organisation which exists to make the positive case for politics and public service through the promotion of civilised debate and high-quality research. It also seeks to support people with the talent – but not the means – to access politics and public life.

Before joining the Centre, Kezia was a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Lothians region for eight years, during which she led her party through four national elections and the EU referendum. Beyond her working life, she is on the board of social transformation charity Sistema Scotland and the housing charity Shelter UK and the Oversight Board of The Promise, an organisation driving change for care-experienced young people.

Chris Finlayson

Chris previously served on the ERS Board from 2015-2019, having a long-standing interest in political and electoral reform, and having been an active supporter of the Society’s campaigns of recent years. In life, he is a Senior Lecturer at Aberystwyth University, and an enthusiastic supporter of the great progress being made with STV in Wales at both local and national levels.

Chris is politically independent and a non-partisan advocate for the end of the thoroughly outdated and failed concept of FPTP. He is a strong supporter of democratic reform of the House of Lords; striving to help keep such reform further up the agenda, both in terms of the Society’s aims, and in wider lobbying.

Frances FoleyFrances Foley

Frances is the Deputy Director of Compass, where she works on strategy, alliance-building, organising and growing the organisation. She has a background in citizens’ assemblies and participatory democracy and has been involved in democratic reform campaigns for over a decade. She has a particular interest in how organising at ground level can link up with national campaigns, and how we can energise and enable people to build power at the local level, to give people a different experience of what democracy can be.

Christopher GrahamChristopher Graham

Christopher served as UK Information Commissioner from 2009 to 2016. From 2000 to 2009, he was Director-General of the Advertising Standards Authority, and Chair of the European Advertising Standards Alliance, 2003 – 2005. Non-Executive Director of Electoral Reform Services Ltd (2002 – 2009) and Senior NED from 2017 until the sale of the business in 2018.

Chris joined to BBC as a News Trainee in 1973 and worked in News and Current Affairs in both Radio and TV. He was Managing Editor, News Programmes, 1992 – 4, and served as BBC Secretary, 1996 – 1999. He was elected to Liverpool City Council at the age of 21 and twice stood for Parliament. He was founding chair of Capacity: The Public Services Lab LLP, 2016 – 2019.

David GreenDavid Green

Retired from branch banking, David has been involved with the electoral reform movement since the early 70s. He is an independent-minded liberal and runs the supervote.org.uk website which sets out the case for electoral reform from a unique viewpoint and promotes STV as “Voter PR” as distinct from party PR systems. He can be contacted by email via david.green@supervote.org.uk

Kirsten de KeyserKirsten de Keyser

Proportionality in any form of election process is fundamental to fairness. And fairness is fundamental to a healthy society. That’s why the Electoral Reform Society essentially holds the key to our future as a progressive, democratic country.

As a television producer of several decades, I have a good grasp of how to get our message onto the media agenda. As a Dane, to me, PR is simply how voting is done. As a Green Party activist and candidate, I campaign hard for root and branch reform of our parliamentary system. My efforts will be even more effective as a member of the ERS Board.

Pablo JohnPablo John

Pablo is Senior Policy and Projects Manager at Asthma Lung UK, where he directs the Taskforce for Lung Health – the largest ever coalition of organisations interested in respiratory. Before then he worked in the renewable energy industry and for Alex Sobel MP (Chair of Electoral Reform APPG). Pablo also serves on the Steering Groups of Politics for the Many and the Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform. Outside of electoral reform he is a disability rights activist as Vice-Chair of Scope’s Youth Assembly.

Sandy MartinSandy Martin

Sandy is a Suffolk County Councillor where he is Labour spokesperson for transport and the environment.  He is also Chair of the Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform and a member of the Socialist Environment and Resources Association Executive.  He served as MP for Ipswich 2017-2019 and Shadow Minister for Waste & Recycling 2018 – 2019.

 

Shaun RobertsShaun Roberts

Shaun is Director of Campaigns & Digital at Unlock Democracy. Unlock campaigns for a vibrant, inclusive democracy that puts power in the hands of the people. He has over 30 years campaign experience in UK politics, both as a volunteer and professional. He worked for both political and non-profit organisations during that time.

He has also worked on elections in both the US and Africa. Outside of work, Shaun was recently elected as a local Councillor on Central Bedfordshire Council. Shaun believes that electoral reform is the single biggest change we can make to fix politics in the UK.

Stephen SadlerStephen Sadler

Stephen is a chartered accountant and has held various board-level positions in publicly listed and privately owned companies, mainly in the technology and property markets. He has extensive strategy and governance experience in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors.

Outside of work, Stephen is committed to providing opportunities for young people in sport and is a coach and Senior Independent Director at Wiltshire Cricket Ltd.

Shavanah TajShavanah Taj

Shavanah Taj is Wales TUC’s first BME General Secretary. She joined Wales TUC in February 2019 from the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), where she had been Welsh Secretary since 2013.  Shavanah is a graduate of the TUC Organising Academy 2002. Prior to this she worked in retail, call centres and the third sector. Shavanah is a passionate campaigner and activist for equity and social justice. She is a board member for the Bevan Foundation, the People’s Health Trust, patron of Show Racism the Red Card and member of the independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales. Shavanah is a visible advocate for workers’ rights, often appearing on TV, Press, giving advice and evidence to Welsh Ministers and Committees, contributing speeches at round table debates and protest marches. Key areas of expertise include worker voice, fair work, anti-racism, human rights, women’s rights and climate justice.