Darren Hughes, Chief Executive
This has been a seismic year for British politics. We have witnessed a huge change election, but also one that was the most disproportional in the history of the UK. That has thrown a spotlight onto our failing First Past the Post electoral system like never before – a system that is clearly creaking under the weight of shifting voter behaviour.
The ERS was able to play a key role in the days after the election in framing the political narrative as it was one of the first organisations to call this as the most disproportional election on record and make the case for urgent electoral reform. It is clear from the results that people in the UK are already voting as if we have PR: this was the first election where four parties garnered over 10% of the vote, and five parties over 5%.
Our work on the election helped to establish the problem with our electoral system in the minds of the public, political class and media, which is a crucial step in the advancement of PR.
A new government means new opportunities, and the ERS is now gearing up to campaign to repair the damage done to our democracy in recent years as well as to modernise and strengthen it for future generations.
The job of the ERS now is to prepare for such a moment as well as to campaign to bring it about.
The general election also highlighted the damage that has been done to our electoral process in recent years, with thousands of people yet again being turned away from polling stations due to a lack of accepted ID. Scandal and cronyism surrounding the House of Lords has also been a persistent theme throughout the year, corroding trust in our politics still further.
That work has already started with the government bringing in legislation to remove the hereditary peers from the Lords, something the ERS has long campaigned for.
Away from Westminster, there has been significant progress on electoral reform in the devolved nations. In Wales, ERS Cymru has been instrumental in helping secure reforms such as an expansion of the Senedd, which will see it come into line with the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly, as well as the introduction of Automatic Voter Registration, which will enfranchise hundreds of thousands of Welsh voters. ERS Cymru has also led on the campaign to have Welsh Councils move to STV.
Likewise, in Scotland, the ERS was deeply involved in the Building a Local Scotland campaign to reform the nation’s democratically stretched council system. Our team in Scotland has also been working on a pioneering citizen’s assembly in Dunfermline aimed at increasing citizens’ participation in the running of their city.
This year saw the ERS’s membership grow again to 7,200, with a particular surge just after the historically disproportionate general election. This is the highest number of members the ERS has had in the two decades we have records for. We have also seen impressive growth in the number of supporters, with 180,000 people now receiving regular updates on our work into their inboxes.
It is to the members I want to pay particular thanks, as none of this would be possible without their support. The contributions they make enable the work we do and the progress we have made. Their passion for democratic fairness fortifies our efforts and is a testament to how deep the desire runs is for a better politics in this country.
I’d also like to record my thanks to the staff team who have worked so hard this year on multiple campaigns and research projects to pursue the Society’s objectives. Through our communications strategy and members and supporters engagement work the team have really broaden and deepened our presence and I appreciate their dedication and enthusiasm to our cause. Thanks are due too to members of the ERS Board who volunteer their time and expertise to the governance of the Society. Their support, challenge and goodwill make the ERS stronger.
Lynn Henderson, Chair
As I come to the end of my first year of as the Chair of the Society, I look back on what has been another significant and turbulent year in British politics.
The ERS turned 140 this year, a momentous milestone. While the political landscape today is utterly transformed from when the Society was founded in January 1884, the importance of its foundational mission remains undimmed: to fight for a democracy that better represents the people it serves. This year we saw a vivid illustration of how much still remains to be done as the UK witnessed its most disproportional general election on record.
The is evidence now that the public mood is shifting, with work from the National Centre for Social Research showing this year that 53% of people now support electoral reform. It is clear the case for PR is advancing and that is down in no small part to the ERS and partner organisations making such a clarion and passionate case for it in recent years.
I would like to put on record my thanks to the ERS staff, whose passion and hard work has shaped the national debate on electoral reform and also won concrete reforms to strengthen and repair our democracy across the country.
Finally, I would also like to pay particular thanks to the members and supporters of the ERS. The Society’s strength comes from the thousands of people who support our work with contributions, but also by signing petitions, sharing our posts and making the case for a fairer democracy every day in their communities.
I look forward to working with you all in the year ahead as we continue to build new alliances for democratic reform and make a compelling case for change.
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As momentum builds for electoral reform, your support is more important than ever. Members support our work in parliament, in the press and at conferences like this one – making the case, and backing it up – for how we can fix Westminster’s broken system.
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