The TV Brexit debate tantrums show why party leaders shouldn’t be able to dictate the format In an age where much of what we see and read about politics is micro-targeted and atomised, TV leaders’ debates offer a rare shared event for supporters of all parties – one reason why the... Posted 03 Dec 2018
ERS in the Press – November 2018 Here is just a highlight of the coverage our campaigns have received in the press this month. MPs call for end to ‘political gender gap’ at Westminster We coordinated the media for the Centenary Action Group’s campaign... Posted 30 Nov 2018
Why are there Bishops in the House of Lords? When most people think of Bishops they imagine a man or woman saying prayers in a cathedral, not making the laws that govern all of us. But there are Bishops today who sit in the... Posted 29 Nov 2018
The future of Welsh democracy? Interviews with Welsh leadership candidates In just a few week’s time Wales will have its next First Minister in place, with a three way race currently being fought by Mark Drakeford, Vaughan Gething and Eluned Morgan. In all the coverage... Posted 20 Nov 2018
A so-called by-election is showing the Lords up as a disaster for democracy Here’s a strange fact, a week ahead of the centenary of women’s right to stand for Parliament: 90 seats in the Palace of Westminster are effectively reserved for men. Voting has just begun for the... Posted 15 Nov 2018
We know the gender pay gap – what about the political gender gap? Next Wednesday we’ll mark 100 years since Parliament passed legislation enabling women (over 21) to become MPs for the first time. Sadly, since that landmark legislation, there has been a grand total of just 491... Posted 15 Nov 2018
Foreign influence, not voter fraud, is the biggest threat to our democracy “Do we need to start messaging ‘widespread reports of election fraud’, so we are positively set up for the recount regardless of the final number?” wrote one Republican businessman earlier this year. “Yes” came the... Posted 12 Nov 2018
The threat of dark money goes beyond Brexit Two and a half years on from the EU referendum, the result is still being discussed and debated. Arguably more important though is another story: whether the rules of the game are bust. The weekend... Posted 07 Nov 2018
How the Democrats could win the popular vote but not control of the House Brenda from Bristol famously cried “not another one!” at the news that we were to hold an election in 2017, just two years since the last one. Let’s hope she doesn’t plan to move to... Posted 06 Nov 2018
Lords lost in stasis as fake reforms go nowhere Politics is often dominated by disagreements, but one thing almost everyone agrees on is this: the House of Lords is too big. At 800 members, we have the largest second chamber in the world. So... Posted 02 Nov 2018