Lebanon’s confessional system keeps change just out of reach Josh Dell is a writer based in London, who has led on democracy projects for organisations including Bite The Ballot and The Politics Project. His work has been published in CityMetric, Left Foot Forward, and The Sunday... Posted 02 Sep 2020
In Ireland, it actually feels like my vote makes a difference As part of a series on the experiences of voters in the Irish 2020 election, we wanted to speak with people who have voted with Ireland’s STV system and under Westminster’s First Past the Post... Posted 18 Feb 2020
Italian far-right fail to bring in First Past the Post On Thursday last week, Italy’s Constitutional Court rejected a request by the far-right League Party to hold a referendum to impose Westminster style First Past the Post (FPTP) for elections to both the Chamber of Deputies... Posted 21 Jan 2020
Canada’s election: Last call for First Past the Post? It looks like Justin Trudeau has narrowly secured his second term as Canada’s Prime Minister. But his party lost out on a majority of seats as well as the popular vote. It was a tough... Posted 23 Oct 2019
How do elections work in Japan? For the next six weeks the eyes of the world will be fixed on Japan. Ok, probably not all the eyes just the ones that enjoy watching rugby. This week marks the beginning of the... Posted 19 Sep 2019
Does Australia use First Past the Post? Australians head to the polls tomorrow to elect all 151 members of the Federal House of Representatives and 40 of their 76 Senators. Australian elections are world-renowned for their beloved ‘Democracy Sausages’ and the fact... Posted 17 May 2019
Australian Senate reforms need to go further to put voters back in control Ill-thought-out plans have a habit of coming back and biting you, and it’s no different in politics. In fact, the risks of unintended consequences are even higher, as politicians on one side have an incentive... Posted 30 Apr 2019
Which European countries use proportional representation? Of the 43 countries most often considered to be within Europe, 40 use some form of proportional representation to elect their MPs. The UK stands almost alone in Europe in using a ‘one-person-takes-all’ disproportionate voting... Posted 26 Dec 2018
How does proportional representation work in Germany? Elections to Germany’s Bundestag – Germany’s House of Commons – are held under Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMP). This electoral system seeks to combine features of Westminster style first past the post voting – in... Posted 18 Dec 2018
How the Democrats could win the popular vote but not control of the House Brenda from Bristol famously cried “not another one!” at the news that we were to hold an election in 2017, just two years since the last one. Let’s hope she doesn’t plan to move to... Posted 06 Nov 2018