A chance to do Welsh local elections differently While the Wales Act’s passing earlier this year didn’t come without its challenges, the legislation does mean that a range of new powers will soon be devolved to Wales, including those over elections. This ultimately... Posted 11 Oct 2017
Wales tears down barriers to democracy as England fortifies them Last week Wales has shown just what devolution can do: allow new ways of doing democracy. On Tuesday the Welsh government launched a consultation that has the potential to be a game-changer when it comes... Posted 27 Jul 2017
Democracy, Diversity and English Devolution The excitement of the general election aside, it’s important to remember that there are other important elections coming up – ones that have gone largely under the national radar. As well as important local elections... Posted 19 Apr 2017
Local democracy in Scotland needs all of us Here’s a fact for you: a quarter of Scots in a recent BMG poll for the ERS said they would rather finish the ironing than go and vote in a council election. While our commitment to neat... Posted 12 Dec 2016
How to give the London Assembly the clout it needs This week is European Local Democracy Week 2016, and to mark it, we’ve been running a series of articles on how to make the London Assembly more democratic. Today, Martin Hoscik, Editor of MayorWatch, gives his view on... Posted 14 Oct 2016
Time to beef up the London Assembly? It’s fair to say that the London Assembly doesn’t get a great deal of attention – despite having a strong claim to being the hub of devolved politics in England. So for European Local Democracy Week we thought... Posted 14 Oct 2016
It’s time to rebalance the powers of the London Mayor and Assembly This week is European Local Democracy Week 2016, and to mark it, we’re running a series of articles on how to make the London Assembly more democratic. For the first two articles in the ‘Building a... Posted 13 Oct 2016
PR across the pond: the push for fair votes in the US This week is European Local Democracy Week 2016, and to mark it, we’re running a series of discussion articles on how to make the London Assembly more democratic. Yesterday we published our first piece in the series,... Posted 11 Oct 2016
A better voting system for the London Assembly This week is European Local Democracy Week 2016, and to mark it, we’re running a series of articles on how to make the London Assembly more democratic. For the first article in the ‘Building a Better... Posted 10 Oct 2016
A Mayor for the Bucharest of Us Bucharest, Romania’s largest city and capital, has had a rocky four years since the 2012 local elections. The city is governed by a city-wide mayor and general council, and divided into six pizza-slice shaped sectors... Posted 07 Jun 2016