News and Comment

The latest news and commentary from the Electoral Reform Society.

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How does proportional representation work?

Proportional representation (PR) is not a voting system in itself. Instead, it’s the idea that seats in parliament should reflect the proportion of votes cast; something which can be achieved through a variety of electoral...

Posted 05 Sep 2024

“If we want fairer elections where votes truly matter, we need proportional representation”

What Electoral reforms have there been since 1997?

While the need for reforming Westminster’s First Past the Post (FPTP) voting system is getting clearer every day, outside Westminster the process of reform has been slowly, but surely, going in the right direction. While...

Posted 02 Mar 2023

Polling Station Car Park

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

There are lots of options for upgrading Westminsters system

How did New Zealand get proportional representation?

Prior to 1996, MPs were elected to New Zealand’s House of Representatives using the same unrepresentative First Past The Post (FPTP) system that is used to elect MPs to the UK’s House of Commons. Since...

Posted 02 Aug 2022

New Zealand’s journey provides lessons for the UK

Germany’s 2021 election: How Germans vote

This Sunday (26th March), Germany goes to the polls to elect its national parliament – the Bundestag. With Angela Merkel stepping down as Chancellor after 16 years, this election will cause only the fifth change...

Posted 23 Sep 2021

This election marks the fifth change in Germany’s head of government in the last 50 years