How did Denmark get proportional representation? Denmark today is home to one of the most proportional voting systems in the world, but, for a long time, elections to the Danish Folketing took place using First Past the Post. So why and... Posted 01 Mar 2023
Are there whips in the House of Lords? From 1990s TV series House of Cards to James Graham’s play This House, the role of the Whip in British politics has long been a source of fascination. While much is said of Whips in... Posted 17 Feb 2023
Why did Belgium adopt proportional representation? In 1899, Belgium became the first country in the world to adopt a proportional system for national elections. At that point, it had primarily been the preserve of theoretical debate, with only a handful of... Posted 01 Feb 2023
What are the alternatives to First Past the Post? Westminster’s First Past the Post system means we don’t get a parliament that fully represents the voting public. Millions of people can support one party and get a single MP, while a few hundred thousand... Posted 19 Jan 2023
How did Switzerland get proportional representation? In the early 1890s, a handful of Swiss cantons (states) held the first public elections in Europe to truly use proportional representation (PR). The success of these early votes meant that over the next few... Posted 06 Jan 2023
The 9 best politics Twitter accounts to follow for fans of elections Becoming more informed in politics can be daunting. There’s so much information to consume and it comes at you so fast that it’s easy to become intimidated and give up. Here are some of the... Posted 09 Dec 2022
Voter ID that you can use in UK elections – and how to get it For 2023’s local elections, all voters will need to bring a form of photographic identification to vote. The government has now confirmed in secondary legislation which photo IDs will be accepted, in a list which... Posted 22 Nov 2022
Why does the Northern Ireland Assembly keep collapsing? In 1998, the Good Friday Agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement, was reached by multi-party consensus to bring an end to the violence in Northern Ireland and establish the current political system. Unlike the... Posted 04 Nov 2022
What is a Ten Minute Rule bill? One of the most exciting parts of Westminster proceedings is the Ten Minute Rule bill. Here’s a quick outline of some of the key features of this sort of Bill. A Ten Minute Rule bill... Posted 27 Oct 2022
What is a Private Members’ bill? One of the most noteworthy ways that MPs can push their agendas is through the Private Members’ Bill. Here’s a quick analysis on some of the key features of Private Members’ Bill. Private Members’ bills... Posted 20 Oct 2022