ERS in the Press – September 2020 As the government continues to implement new restrictions to fight the second wave of coronavirus, the cracks in Britain’s political system continue to grow behind the curtain. In September we released new research on party... Posted 02 Oct 2020
Wales’ Parliament has long been under-resourced – it’s time to change that With just 60 elected members, Wales’ Parliament has long been under-resourced. But that problem has grown as Wales acquired more responsibilities – without the representatives needed to properly scrutinise legislation. Changes to the size of... Posted 11 Sep 2020
Could a citizens’ assembly help set out a post-pandemic recovery plan for Wales? ERS Cymru has advocated for the use of deliberative democracy and citizens’ assemblies for many years. But it’s an idea that has renewed importance when it comes to the Covid pandemic. Posted 09 Jul 2020
Welsh civil society launches ‘democracy manifesto’ for 2021 Senedd elections Civil society groups led by ERS Cymru have launched their ‘democracy asks’ for the 2021 Welsh Senedd elections, throwing down the gauntlet for Welsh parties to back real democracy for voters. Posted 06 Jul 2020
The campaign for a fairer franchise just secured a major victory 16 and 17 year olds in Wales have officially secured the right to vote for Senedd elections, after a crucial piece of legislation received Royal Assent on Wednesday. 16 and 17 year olds in Wales... Posted 15 Jan 2020
Where is proportional representation used in the UK? Westminster’s voting system is well and truly broken. The system with which we elect our MPs is struggling to produce fair and representative results. The 2017 General Election showed that, for the third time in a... Posted 05 Nov 2019
In Wales, votes at 16 is one step closer to reality As the Welsh Assembly takes a historic step towards extending voting to 16 and 17-year-olds in Wales, Daniel Priestley – Law Student at Cardiff University currently on placement with the Electoral Reform Society shares how the... Posted 17 Oct 2019
Building a stronger Senedd: Why size (still) matters Almost since its inception, there has been discussion and debate about a larger National Assembly here in Wales. Most recently, an expert panel on Assembly reform led by Professor Laura McAllister stated simply that the... Posted 19 Jul 2019
Legislation introduced to extend the right to vote to 16 and 17 year olds in Wales Devolution to Wales has meant that we do a number of things differently from other parts of the UK. From having distinct policies around tuition fees for Welsh students heading to university, to bringing forward... Posted 12 Feb 2019
Wales is leading the way in building a better democracy, Westminster should take note There’s been plenty of talk at Conservative conference of how to win back young voters. But so far there has been little policy detail. What’s happening in Wales might provide some inspiration. This Tuesday, the... Posted 02 Oct 2018