Our staff are based in offices in London, Cardiff and Edinburgh.
If you would like to contact a member of the team please email ers@electoral-reform.org.uk. For press enquiries please contact the media office.
Darren Hughes Chief Executive
Darren joined the Electoral Reform Society in 2012 as Director of Campaigns and Research, in 2014 Darren became Deputy Chief Executive, then Chief Executive in 2017. Originally from New Zealand, he was elected to the House of Representatives at age 24 and served across three parliaments. During that time he was a government minister; an opposition shadow minister; a party whip; and in addition to portfolio responsibilities such as transport; infrastructure; social development and employment; and education was deputy leader and then shadow leader of the House. New Zealand has had proportional representation for around 20 years and Darren is a firm believer in its ability to represent people more fairly and for the culture of politics to change more positively.
Dr Jess Garland Director of Research and Policy
Jess is responsible for the Society’s policy and research. A former Senior Political Adviser to a Shadow Cabinet Minister, Jess has several years experience working in Westminster. She has a PhD in Politics from the University of Sussex and holds a Research Masters (MRes) in Government, Policy and Politics from Birkbeck, University of London and a BA (Hons) in Philosophy from UCL. Jess has particular expertise in political participation and political party organisation research.
Ian Simpson Research Officer
Ian specialises in the analysis of election, survey and polling data. He holds a Research Masters (MRes) in Politics from Goldsmiths, University of London and a BA (Hons) in Politics from the University of Essex. Ian spent nearly a decade at the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), primarily working on the British Social Attitudes survey.
Thea Ridley-Castle Research and Policy Officer
Thea works within the Research team contributing to the Society’s research and policy outputs. She has a background in international social research and holds an MSc in Gender, Development and Globalisation from the London School of Economics, a MA (SocSci) in Politics and Geography from the University of Glasgow and an MRS Advanced Certificate in Market and Social Research.
Mike Wright Head of Communications
Mike oversees communications at the ERS. He is a former journalist and correspondent who worked at the Telegraph and Mirror as well as other titles. He has previously covered politics extensively from general elections and national referendums to local mayoral elections, as well as leading campaigns that have successfully brought about changes in legislation.
Hannah Camilleri Communications Officer
Hannah helps to run the day-to-day communications of the ERS. She is a former political communications and campaigns assistant and has worked on numerous successful election campaigns at both the local and national level. Her background is in international human rights law as well as social justice campaigning.
Doug Cowan Head of Digital
Doug manages the society’s digital output across campaigns, membership and fundraising. He holds an MA (Hons) in Politics from the University of Edinburgh and a Diploma in Professional Digital Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing
Lizzie Lawless Membership and Digital Officer
Lizzie oversees the ERS’s membership scheme and manages members’ subscription administration. She holds a degree in Politics from Royal Holloway, University of London, and is a PRINCE2 Registered Practitioner.
Kate West Chief Operating Officer
Kate is experienced in financial, operational and HR management. She was previously Head of Operations at political think tank Demos, where she led a two-year programme of internal restructuring. Kate has worked for local and national government, including the Charity Commission, where she worked alongside the Board and Directors to ensure high standards of governance. Kate was on the Board of Wikimedia UK until 2019. She is a Trustee of Humanists UK and Chair of Governors for Woodlea Primary School in Surrey.
Matthew Bogle Office Manager
Matt manages the office and building management in London and supports operations across the Electoral Reform Society. Matt has over 13 years of experience in the education & politics sector and enjoys assisting with event management and hospitality here at ERS.
Willie Sullivan Senior Director, Campaigns and Scotland
Willie Sullivan is a campaigner and works for the Electoral Reform Society as the Senior Director. He is particularly interested in the question of power. Who has it, what they are doing with it, and then how do we create and/or change the institutions of society to share power most fairly.
Phil Connor Campaigns Officer
Phil is an experienced campaigner and organiser who has worked in the democratic reform sector since 2007. His previous roles include working for Scottish think tank Common Weal, Vote for a Change, Power 2010 and the Yes to Fairer Votes campaign. He is also currently the coordinator of the proportional representation lobby group Make Votes Count.
Jonathon Shafi Campaigns Organiser
Before joining ERS, Jonathon was a senior researcher for an independent MSP in the Scottish Parliament where he worked on a range of issues including efforts to develop extended political communication to rural Scotland. He holds a joint Honours degree in Politics and Sociology and has work published on a range of outlets.
Alice Kinghorn-Gray Campaigns Organiser
Alice completed her MA in International Studies and Diplomacy from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, and worked for youth and human rights-based campaign groups in the U.K. Fluent in Spanish she lived in both Brazil and Spain undertaking work with local democratic organisations and movements.
Jessica Blair Director, ERS Cymru
Jess Blair has been Director of ERS Cymru since March 2017 and leads our work on delivering electoral reform in Wales, which includes working with politicians, officials and stakeholders, giving evidence to committees and appearing in the media.
Jess holds a Masters in Welsh Government and Politics from the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University. She was previously Policy and Projects Manager at the Institute of Welsh Affairs, a leading Welsh think tank. She was also Acting Director during 2016. Prior to that Jess worked in the Senedd and has worked in Brussels with Regional Governments on lifelong learning policy.
Matthew Mathias Campaigns and Projects Officer
Mat works at the centre of our campaigns and projects, meeting with politicians and decision-makers at all levels in Wales to deliver electoral reform. Mat holds a Masters of Regional History from the University of Wales. Mat has over 15 years of communication and campaigning experience.
Dr Nia Thomas Research and Campaigns Officer
Nia is an experienced researcher and communicator having worked across a broad range of fields including biology and politics. She has a PhD at Cardiff University in biological conservation and has previously held communications roles at the Institute of Welsh Affairs and the Wales Environment Research Hub.
Join our email list to get up to date analysis of the broken system sitting at the heart of the political system.