News and Comment

The latest news and commentary from the Electoral Reform Society.

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Should the ERS look at the rules for… Tennis?

As tennis players line up for the Wimbledon semi-finals, and candidates hit the doorstep for multiple by-elections, we’ve been thinking about how useful sporting analogies are when it comes to politics. As, when you think...

Posted 14 Jul 2023

ERS Rules tennis

What elections should the next government reform?

Last week we published a blog on UK electoral reforms since 1997 and highlighted that whilst at Westminster the fight for electoral reform continues, the progress of reform across the UK increased and voters are...

Posted 08 Mar 2023

The biggest reform would be changing the voting system at Westminster

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

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

Jersey’s new electoral system has first outing

Two years ago, the Electoral Reform Society looked at the island of Guernsey’s new voting system where voters had to choose up to 38 candidates in a single island-wide ‘thirty-eight past the post’ election. But...

Posted 23 Jun 2022

Jersey 2022 even a simplified plurality system will still lead to unfair, distorted results

Does proportional representation lead to higher turnout?

A healthy democracy requires healthy levels of democratic participation – the most crucial element of which is turnout at general elections. But Britain has one of the lowest turnout rates in the west – a...

Posted 10 Feb 2022

More people will bother voting if they feel that their vote won't be wasted