News and Comment

The latest news and commentary from the Electoral Reform Society.

Around the World | Current Affairs Commentary | Developments at the ERS | Your Questions Answered | Case Studies

How would proportional representation work in the UK?

Proportional Representation (PR) is the idea that seats in parliament should closely match votes cast in an election.  A system that’s perfectly proportional would mean that if a political party received one third of the...

Posted 16 Jan 2025

Under PR you could expect to see parliaments which more accurately reflect votes cast in a general election

The top 5 most-read ERS articles from 2024

As the year draws to an end, we’ve had a look through the stats to see which of our articles were the most popular with you, our supporters. So if you missed them the first...

Posted 18 Dec 2024

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”

The top 5 most-read ERS articles from 2023

Every year we have a look through the stats to see which of our articles were the most popular with readers in the year coming to a close. So if you missed them the first...

Posted 14 Dec 2023

2023 most read

Hundreds of activists gather to tell MPs to Sort the System

Support for proportional representation is growing. In the past few months, we’ve seen more and more people saying it’s time for change – the result of widespread concern that Westminster politics isn’t working for ordinary...

Posted 26 May 2023

Leading politicians

How do Finland’s elections work?

On Sunday 2nd April, voters in Finland will go to the polls to elect a new parliament. Finland’s parliament, known locally as the Eduskunta, contains exactly 200 MPs. 199 of these are elected by Party...

Posted 20 Mar 2023

Central party leaders have little influence over who is elected