Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee publish welcome electoral registration report Last week, the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee published a new report on Electoral Registration. Even though electoral registration is mandatory, millions of people are missing from the electoral register, and the ERS has... Posted 26 Mar 2024
What is a Westminster Hall debate? You may not know, but there are Parliamentary debates that occur outside of the Commons or Lords and these occur in Westminster Hall. Here’s a quick primer on some of the key features of a... Posted 22 Sep 2022
Teaching politics in our schools should be a necessity not an option Next year’s Senedd election will see 16 and 17 year olds in Wales be able to vote for the first time in our nation’s history. This move has the potential to be game-changing, but when... Posted 03 Nov 2020
Manifesto for Democracy: Education for the future Education is key to ensuring that newly enfranchised voters understand the system they can now have a voice in. That 16 and 17 year olds in Wales can now vote in Senedd elections offers us... Posted 29 Oct 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
Westminster’s voting system puts tactics above policies Chelsea Oware reflects on the research undertaken during her university placement at the ERS. General elections are prime fodder for news outlets, who tend to focus on the ‘horse race’ between the two main parties,... Posted 19 Dec 2019
What can we learn from Canada’s Leaders’ Debate Commission? This election’s televised leaders debates have taken place against a backdrop of endless rows over who should be allowed to take part, in what has become a recurring feature of our election campaigns. Arguments over... Posted 04 Dec 2019
It’s time we stopped arguing about the TV debates – and guaranteed real choice for voters Tonight’s first round of television debates has been mired in controversy. Not over policies – but the format, with the SNP and Lib Dems mounting an unsuccessful legal challenge to being excluded. It’s not necessarily... Posted 19 Nov 2019
Why we’re calling on Boris Johnson to take part in the TV debates In our fragile democracy, we need all the opportunities possible to hold public figures to account. So it’s all the more galling when one of those opportunities is stripped away. Now a broadcaster (Sky) has... Posted 26 Jun 2019
Why the Brexit TV debate debacle shows party leaders must be compelled to take part There was a story noticeably absent on the front pages on Monday: Sunday night’s Brexit TV leaders debate. That’s because – for all the valiant efforts of broadcasters, there wasn’t one. The past month has... Posted 12 Dec 2018