Missing in Richmond: voter choice Well, the results are in. Campaigners campaigned, and voters voted. But not all was well. Because the elephant in the room in this by-election was the absence of something that should be a given in... Posted 02 Dec 2016
Building a stronger National Assembly, or why ‘We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat…’ Given the tidal waves that have rocked our politics this year, it may seem an unusual time to be discussing the need for more Assembly Members. In a year of populist shocks and rhetoric, the... Posted 01 Dec 2016
Maine makes history as first state to back fair votes As the world analyses the result of the US Presidential election, there’s one result you might have missed. On Tuesday one state made a symbolic breakthrough: Maine became the first US state to scrap First... Posted 09 Nov 2016
How Trump could win the Presidency even if he doesn’t win the most votes It’s election day in the United States, and that means all the pageantry and spectacle one comes to expect with democracy in the world’s most powerful nation. The spectacle of a US election also reminds... Posted 08 Nov 2016
Electoral reform is making waves across the Atlantic There’s something in the air, it seems. As I write, electoral reformers in Canada and the US have a real chance of securing a fairer voting system. As US voters prepare to pick their next... Posted 03 Nov 2016
Calling for ‘progressive alliances’ is brave. But it should never be necessary This article was first published at LabourList Last week, three Labour MPs did something that takes courage. In calling for Labour to stand aside in Richmond Park, they were pushing for a more collaborative form... Posted 31 Oct 2016
Forget standing down in Richmond: parties shouldn’t have to make that choice This article was published on Politics.co.uk Almost as quickly as Zac Goldsmith announced his resignation this week, talk turned to the other parties in the race: should they clear the way for a candidate with a... Posted 27 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
The ludicrousness of hereditary peer by-elections The British constitution, its parliament and its institutions are well known for its oddities and eccentricities: the space provided in the Commons cloakroom for MPs to hang their sword; the fact that all swans in... Posted 15 Sep 2016
The next four years for reform: our 2020 strategy Over the past few years, the Electoral Reform Society has gone from strength to strength. As the world’s oldest pro-democracy organisation, we have a long history of fighting to build a better democracy. And now... Posted 07 Sep 2016