Imposing First Past the Post on these roles was a mistake The recent mayoral and Police and Crime Commissioner elections took place under a First Past the Post (FPTP) system, where people are able to put just one ‘X’ on their ballot – choosing only one... Posted 15 May 2024
Local elections: A third of the vote shouldn’t make a mayor The local and mayoral elections saw the corrosive impact First Past the Post is having on our democracy writ large. Not only did we witness its continued distorting effect on local council elections, with a... Posted 08 May 2024
Big changes to Welsh Police and Crime Commissioner elections Today, voters across Wales will have to show ID to vote for the first time as they head to the polls to elect four Police and Crime Commissioners, covering North Wales, Dyfed Powys, Gwent and... Posted 02 May 2024
Analysis: Police and Crime Commissioners and the Supplementary Vote The re-run of May’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) election in Wiltshire and Swindon takes place on the 19th August, after the winning candidate was disbarred due to a historical driving conviction. The original election... Posted 19 Aug 2021
We can’t let the government force a broken system on important elections This week, Home Secretary Priti Patel laid out new plans as part of a review into the role of Police and Crime Commissioners. The move would see the current preference-based Supplementary Vote (SV) system replaced... Posted 19 Mar 2021
Making it easier for unpopular candidates to become Mayors turns back the clock These are deeply concerning plans to change our elections. Posted 18 Mar 2021
The Conservatives just pledged to take our democracy back decades Yesterday Theresa May launched the Conservatives’ manifesto. There was a lot of talk about ‘moving forwards’. But one pledge stuck out as doing the exact opposite. Theresa May has pledged to impose (or in the manifesto’s... Posted 19 May 2017
8 things last week’s elections tell us about Britain’s changing politics Last week’s ‘Super Thursday’ of elections was gold-dust for democracy lovers. It saw elections in Wales and London for their Assemblies, in Scotland for the Holyrood Parliament, in councils across England, in England and Wales for the... Posted 10 May 2016
Electoral Commission slams Police and Crime Commissioner elections It’s Official! Everyone (apart from the Home Office) who has looked at the elections for police and crime commissioners (PCCs) say they should never be allowed to happen that way again. At the Electoral Reform... Posted 19 Mar 2013
16 days and counting to an election no one’s heard of… Another day, another disaster. We now hear that £350,000 worth of ballot papers are headed for the shredder. The farce that is the Police and Crime Commissioner Elections is continuing to thrill audiences across the country.... Posted 30 Oct 2012