ERS in the Press – Coverage we’ve secured in the GE campaign You might have noticed that there’s a general election approaching. Whilst the date of the election may have taken us all a little by surprise, the ERS communications team were ready to go and making... Posted 25 Jun 2024
Candidate selections reflect the barriers for women in politics Last week, all UK political parties confirmed which candidates they were standing in each constituency for the 2024 general election. Including independents, a total of 4,515 candidates will be fighting for a seat in the... Posted 20 Jun 2024
New polling finds three quarters of public say politics needs to improve significantly Last week we had extremely concerning news about the state of our democracy. A significant study by the National Centre for Social Research found more people ‘than ever before’ ‘almost never’ trust the British government... Posted 20 Jun 2024
Manifestos outside the big two parties: Putting democracy on the agenda Last week we looked at the sections of the Labour and Conservative manifestos that touched on democracy-related issues. This week, we turn our attention to the other parties that are standing candidates in virtually all... Posted 19 Jun 2024
What does a super-majority mean and is it something we should worry about? In the last week, the current defence secretary, Grant Shapps, has been appearing in the news to warn about the supposed dangers of a Labour ‘super-majority’. He told Times Radio “You don’t want to have... Posted 18 Jun 2024
Labour manifesto: Encouraging first steps – but we need to address rock bottom trust in politics This week we had startling and deeply concerning news about the state of our democracy. A study from the National Centre for Social Research concluded that: ‘All in all, it appears that people’s trust in... Posted 13 Jun 2024
Conservative manifesto: Missing pledges to improve our democracy The launch of the Conservative manifesto yesterday was conspicuously light on democratic policy with little mention by way of reforms desperately needed to strengthen our democracy. Voter ID Policy The Conservatives made only one proposal... Posted 13 Jun 2024
Over 100 seats haven’t changed hands for 100 years or more We often hear that politics is unpredictable, that anything can happen in the upcoming election – but the reality is that hundreds of seats across the country haven’t changed hands in decades. While the MP... Posted 03 Jun 2024
Imposing First Past the Post on these roles was a mistake The recent mayoral and Police and Crime Commissioner elections took place under a First Past the Post (FPTP) system, where people are able to put just one ‘X’ on their ballot – choosing only one... Posted 15 May 2024
Where is Single Transferable Vote used in the UK? Whilst First Past the Post is used for Westminster elections in the UK, it’s not the only way we elect people to office in the UK. Other voting systems have a long history and are... Posted 29 Mar 2024