Surprising Conservative leadership vote shows that voting systems matter James Cleverly must have thought he was in with a chance of winning the leadership of the Conservative Party, in the lead, as he was, on the last vote of Conservative MPs. But, the ballots... Posted 09 Oct 2024
Freebies are just the tip of the Iceberg when it comes to money in politics The recent cacophony surrounding ‘freebies’ given by Labour party donors to Labour MPs since 2019 is just the latest in a long stream of financial scandals coming out of Westminster. It’s not just an issue... Posted 09 Oct 2024
Gwynedd consultation backs STV with nearly three quarters in favour There was some fantastic news out of Gwynedd last week, as Cyngor Gwynedd released the results of its consultation on whether to change the voting system used at local elections. The results weren’t even close,... Posted 08 Oct 2024
What are the benefits of Citizens’ Assemblies, and should they be used more? At the ERS, we’ve long campaigned for more involvement of citizens in the decisions that affect them. For politics to work for people like us, it needs to include people like us. Too often, public... Posted 03 Oct 2024
General Election result prompts renewed electoral reform debate at Conservative Party conference The Conservative conference this year was dominated by the leadership contest, with the four remaining candidates making their pitches to MPs and members this week in Birmingham. Meanwhile, at the fringe events there was a... Posted 02 Oct 2024
Former New Zealand PM praises ‘very stable’ PR at Labour Conference Despite the downcast weather in Liverpool this week there was an upbeat mood at the Labour conference as the party celebrated its second best election result in its history and a return to government. Yet... Posted 26 Sep 2024
Jubilation and strong support for electoral reform at the Liberal Democrat’s 2024 conference There was a jubilant atmosphere at the Liberal Democrat conference this week. The number 72 – the number of MPs the party now has – was everywhere. It appeared in every speech, to raucous applause,... Posted 18 Sep 2024
Which UK political parties support proportional representation? The results of the 2024 election are just the latest indicator of our broken electoral system, with a troubling mismatch between votes and seats, and a staggering 57.8% voters left unrepresented. If the UK had... Posted 18 Sep 2024
What to expect from the upcoming Senedd Reforms The Welsh Parliament is going through a raft of changes ahead of the 2026 Senedd elections. Here’s all you need to know: Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024 On the 24th of June, the... Posted 18 Sep 2024
16,000 people were blocked from voting in the general election, it’s time to scrap voter ID The scale of the impact that voter ID had on the recent general election has been laid bare today by a report from the Electoral Commission, which makes for concerning reading for those who care... Posted 10 Sep 2024