March saw a bumper crop of polls from BPC members. Twelve different companies published polls, a monthly high since the ERS started collecting this data a year ago.

After the next Senedd election in May 2026, members of the Senedd will have the chance to review the closed list system, and we’ll be arguing that ‘closed’ lists aren’t good enough for Welsh voters to hold MSs to account.

Public office is often treated less like a position of trust, and more like a private members' club. The House of Lords is a rolling scandal that needs fundamental reform. buff.ly/aNpeSGD

Instead of the current system, where we have to opt out of the Open Register, changes in the Representation of the People Bill mean that when registering, people will have to opt-in if they want to. But this won't impact on political parties. buff.ly/kNbOLcS

We're starting a new monthly Substack of accessible polling analysis fresh from the desk of the Electoral Reform Society's research team. You can subscribe here: open.substack.com/pub/electora...

If this Bill is going to live up to its name, it must replace the outdated First Past the Post system with a proportional one – where seats in Parliament actually reflect how people vote.

Portugal is one of only a handful of European Union countries where voters cannot influence the selection of candidates at all in legislative elections. In most proportional systems in Europe, voters can choose between candidates, rather than just pick a party.

"a pro-PR campaign is building within the Parliamentary Labour Party. Each MP involved is convinced that it won’t be long until something has to give." ✍️ @meganekenyon.bsky.social @newstatesman1913.bsky.social #Labour4PR #ElectoralReform #Democracy #Westminster www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

You can watch our evidence to the Representation of the People Bill Committee on our website. By not looking at the voting system, the Representation of the People bill is failing to live up to it's name. buff.ly/Q0yWmam

Rycroft makes many excellent recommendations that we have long called for, including a moratorium on crypto donations, strengthening the corporate donations test, tighter regulation of online political advertising, increasing enforcement and a cap on donations from overseas voters. buff.ly/cH6Ontu

Recent polling suggests the UK is now firmly in a multi-party era.

Donations in the millions from private sources have increased significantly over time. In the year prior to the 2024 General Election, political parties received 18 separate donations of £1 million or more. buff.ly/cH6Ontu

The latest polling is showing that the days of a vast majority of people voting for one of two ‘major parties’ are gone.

Dr Jess Garland, our director of policy and research, told the Guardian that "the Representation of the People Bill would be greatly strengthened by taking on the recommendations of Rycroft’s report." www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

We told Politics Home that ministers need to go further by capping all donations – "This is widely supported by the public and would help prevent our politics from being swamped with massive donations, which now frequently reach into the multiple millions". buff.ly/iYOhAkQ

The Representation of the People Bill would be greatly strengthened by taking on the recommendations of Rycroft’s report. However, the government must go further and also bring in a cap on how much all donors can give to a party, not just those based abroad. electoral-reform.org.uk/government-t...

Last week, MPs sitting on the Representation of the People Bill committee invited us to give evidence on the bill. Our Director of Research and Policy was questioned on a range of issues, from the impact of voter ID, to what needs to happen to make votes at 16 a success.

First Past the Post just doesn't work when five parties are just nine percentage points away from each other.

The days of a vast majority of people voting for one of two ‘major parties’ are gone. Unfortunately, the electoral system designed for those days, First Past The Post (FPTP), is still very much with us for UK general elections.

This chart from the article shows every political party being punished by First Past the Post in current polling, except Reform and the SNP – with Labour as the party that suffers the most. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

The Institute for Government is calling for the removal of ministerial power to delay English local elections. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/mini...

It's great to see the government trialling early voting in Tunbridge Wells, Cambridge, and North Hertfordshire in the coming elections. Ideas like this make it easier for us to get to the polling booth, which can only be a good thing.

The Representation of the People Bill contains several important steps forward: extending the vote to all 16 and 17-year-olds, widening the range of accepted voter ID, and strengthening the powers of the Electoral Commission.

The ERS vehemently opposed the move when it was introduced and has campaigned against it ever since, arguing, along with colleagues in the democracy sector, that it is ‘critical’ that independence is restored.

Despite the positive steps contained in the Bill, its most glaring omission remains the failure to address the shortcomings of the UK’s voting system. It's clear the Representation of the People Bill should include measures to better represent the people.

The Welsh Parliament has passed a law to make it illegal for candidates to lie during Senedd elections.

It’s not. Its political results are that of a standard European democracy in 2026, mediated through a worse electoral system.

This is an important win for democracy campaigners, as it undoes the damaging move by the last government to bring the Electoral Commission under the direction of ministers.

Removing the hereditary peers can only be the start. None of the 'Lords' sitting in the House have been chosen by the public – they are there because of the politicians they pleased.

Voting on a single day, when many people are at work or rushing to drop off children at school, has some pretty obvious downsides – so it's great to see the government trialling early voting in Tunbridge Wells, Cambridge, and North Hertfordshire in the coming elections.

The government can't stop here on Lords reform. We need a smaller, elected second chamber where the British people are in charge. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

It will seem absurd to many that politicians were allowed to have a job-for-life in Parliament due to an accident of birth for so long. There is clearly no place for this in a modern democracy.

It's great to see the government accepting the Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission's argument that “a government depends on an election to get re-elected. And it shouldn’t be able to instruct the people who are trying to referee that re-election.”

The episode has been a stark illustration of the backward nature of the Lords, where we saw unelected politicians abusing their position to protect their own interests and attempt to thwart a manifesto pledge. buff.ly/NPATdsQ

The latest polling data, including a striking YouGov survey and a roundup of recent polling from eight major polling firms, paints a vivid picture of a country whose political allegiances have shifted dramatically.

Until the end of this session of Parliament (in early May), when the hereditaries will eventually leave, the UK will still be one of only two countries left in the world with hereditary legislators, with the other being the African nation of Lesotho.

The removal of the remaining hereditary peers is a long-overdue reform. Yet, progress must not stall here, and the government now needs to move onto reforming the Lords into a smaller, democratic chamber, with members chosen by and accountable to the people of this country.

There is no place in a modern democracy for people influencing our laws due to an accident of birth. But neither should there be for people due to the politicians they pleased, or the donations they made.

There is one place that the government is backing 'fire and re-hire' - and that's the House of Lords. Up to 15 hereditary peers could be brought back as life peers following a deal made to remove the remaining aristocratic legislators.

We saw a big victory last night as the bill to remove the last hereditary peers from the House of Lords finally passed, after months of spurious delays and heel dragging. electoral-reform.org.uk/the-end-of-t...

Watch this moment from Parliament as MPs debate whether the UK should move toward proportional representation during discussion of the Representation of the People Bill.

The House of Lords is meant to revise and scrutinise legislation. It is not meant to veto the will of the Commons through procedural games.

Will we see hereditary peers just handed life peerages so they can stay in the chamber and continue to influence our laws? electoral-reform.org.uk/hereditary-p...

It has been reported that to break the impasse over the bill to remove the Hereditary Peers, the government is preparing to offer the Conservative party more peerages so it can “bring back” a number of exiting hereditary peers. electoral-reform.org.uk/hereditary-p...

Readers have responded to Gaby Hinsliff’s attempted defence of the way we elect MPs to Westminster. It's plain to see that the status quo doesn't work and hasn't worked for years.

We have long called for greater transparency and tighter rules on political finance, so it is welcome to see proposed changes to protect the UK’s democracy from foreign funding in this bill.

"An electoral system should do two things: ensure that the majority rules and that significant minorities are adequately represented. First past the post achieves neither." www.ft.com/content/38d8...

MPs are speaking up about the need for proportional representation during debate on the Representation of the People Bill. Do you agree with Manuela that the UK should change how it elects MPs?

If the government knows you are eligible to vote, you should be registered automatically. It's great to see trials in this direction in the upcoming bill

The question is no longer whether multi-party politics has arrived in the UK – it’s whether our outdated electoral system can survive it.