Who should pick the next Prime Minister?
The decision about who governs the country should rest with those accountable to the voters: MPs.
Over 100 MPs sign amendment calling for electoral reform
The government is coming under increasing pressure as MPs from across Parliament call for a review of Westminster’s First Past the Post voting system. Over 100 MPs have now signed an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill calling for a National Commission on Electoral Reform.
Scotland's voting system is far better than Westminster's, but this election shows change is needed
Elections to the Scottish Parliament are regularly highlighted by democracy campaigners as a viable alternative to Westminster's indefensible First Past the Post system. But after last month’s produced Scotland's least ever proportional election, changes are needed north of the border too.
Why First Past the Post can’t cope with Britain’s multi-party politics
Britain’s two-party system didn’t just weaken this May. It broke. With it have gone the political conditions First Past the Post requires to work properly.
May elections will show voting systems matter
We’re about to see which electoral systems still make sense for the politics Britain actually has.
What would Keir Starmer do?
Did the Prime Minister knowingly mislead Parliament on Mandelson’s appointment? Can everything be pinned on a single civil servant acting alone and without any knowledge of the Foreign Secretary or anyone in No 10?
Hereditary peers to go - this must be just the start
A second chamber that relies on the patronage of modern day Prime Ministers through life peerages is hardly a giant leap forward over the descendants of men given hereditary peerages hundreds of years ago!
Foreign interference from a new source
The presence of Vice President JD Vance campaigning alongside Orban last week did not seem to sway voters.
Rethinking How Decisions Are Made
Dr Peter Emerson’s new report, Egalitarian Decision-Making, argues that the binary nature of voting in our democracy leads to flawed decision-making, and should be replaced with a system of ranking different options.
The House of Lords is increasingly illegitimate
Removing hereditary peers won't go far enough to give the Lords legitimacy
Rycroft: “Foreign interference in our politics is real and persistent”
This country faces a persistent problem of foreign interests seeking to exert influence on, and to interfere in, our politics. Too much of this is malign and seeks to sow distrust and exacerbate divisions in UK society, with the ultimate aim of undermining confidence in our democracy.
Voters beat the system in Gorton and Denton - but next time?
Elections are increasingly a test of how well voters can navigate the First Past the Post voting system to stop the result most don’t want.
The good chaps rule lives on
Keir Starmer had a front row seat for Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s shenanigans. At the time, Starmer showed a forensic ability to expose the then PM’s lies and misdemeanours.
Yet now he is in power, those investigative talents seem to have deserted him.
Social Media and Democracy: Can TikTok Teach Us Politics?
58% of young people primarily use social media to access political news.
Power is being bought and sold – we must fight back
A shadow hangs over democracy; the shadow of corruption. Power is being leveraged – sometimes brazenly, sometimes discreetly – for money, influence, and future enrichment.
What Mandelson tells us about power
Power can be both formal and informal. Think of the first as the appointments and vetting process, the institutional element that permitted Mandelson to become Ambassador to the US. Think of the second as the network-effect of people-who-know-people.
Let’s turn something good into something great
There’s no doubt that the Representation of the People Bill is a step in the right direction and thank goodness for that.
A voting system game of chicken - who will blink first?
We live in a country where politics has been dominated by a two-party system for a hundred years. And the only thing that changed a hundred years ago was one party replaced another party in that two party system.
Deja-vu over Mandelson
Whether Starmer survives or goes, one thing is clear - we can’t go on like this. Ethics and standards matter.
Dark days for democracy
For the second year in a row, millions will see their local elections cancelled by the government.
In some areas, residents will go SEVEN years without having any say on who their local councillor is, how their local council is run and how billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money is spent.