Local elections: A third of the vote shouldn’t make a mayor The local and mayoral elections saw the corrosive impact First Past the Post is having on our democracy writ large. Not only did we witness its continued distorting effect on local council elections, with a... Posted 08 May 2024
England’s local elections show the warped world of First Past the Post Local people are best placed to decide the priorities of their local government. But as we say today, voters in England and Wales have very little impact on who sits in their local council chambers.... Posted 03 May 2024
Voters are being treated as guinea pigs in this year’s local elections Today, the 2nd May, millions of voters will head to the polls to elect more than 2,500 councillors, 37 police and crime commissioners, 10 metro mayors, 1 MP (by-election in Blackpool South) and London Assembly... Posted 02 May 2024
Big changes to Welsh Police and Crime Commissioner elections Today, voters across Wales will have to show ID to vote for the first time as they head to the polls to elect four Police and Crime Commissioners, covering North Wales, Dyfed Powys, Gwent and... Posted 02 May 2024
Victory as Ceredigion joins Powys and Gwynedd with STV consultation There was fantastic news for voters coming out of Ceredigion last week, as their County Council voted YES to a public consultation on scrapping First Past the Post for their elections and bringing in the... Posted 25 Mar 2024
Vote splitting trick won’t work with Scotland’s Single Transferable Vote On March 7th voters in Hillhead in Glasgow will be heading to the polls for a council by-election. Among those standing are candidates from the Scottish Greens and Independent Green Voice (IGV) – plenty of... Posted 04 Mar 2024
Change to London mayoral elections complicates thinking for independent candidates Over the weekend The Sun reported on rumours that Paul Scully MP, the former Conservative Minister for London, was considering running as an independent candidate for London mayor. We can’t comment on whether these Tory... Posted 05 Feb 2024
24 years ago the Greater London Authority Act gained royal assent This weekend (11th November) marks the 24th anniversary of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 gaining royal assent. The Greater London Authority, comprising the Mayor of London and the London Assembly, was first elected in... Posted 10 Nov 2023
First Past the Post in mayoral elections means less choice and a weaker voice This week, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said he is facing his ‘toughest election yet’ but why is that? When Labour have a national polling majority of somewhere in the region of 20... Posted 02 Nov 2023
Why independent candidates win with the Single Transferable Vote Currently, there are 14 independent MPs in the House of Commons, which might seem to suggest Independent candidates can win under First-Past-The-Post (FPTP). But these MPs are only independent because they were suspended from their... Posted 01 Nov 2023