The government is bringing forward much-needed measures to better protect election candidates and staff from abuse and harassment. As The Times wrote in its leader, "such menacing ­behaviour is inimical to the healthy functioning of a robust democracy." buff.ly/NO8DZpq

In 1969, the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18. This change was opposed by many. Yet today's critics of lowering the voting age to 16 now talk of 18 as though it has always been the age at which people get the right to vote. Read more 👇

🎉 Democracy wins! The government has scrapped ministers’ power to influence the Electoral Commission. The Strategy and Policy Statement risked political interference - now it’s gone! This is a significant step towards rebuilding public trust. Free and fair elections rely on an impartial referee.

*Representation of the People Bill update* Steve Reed has just announced: 'We will repeal in full the power for government to impose a strategy and policy statement on the Electoral Commission'. A very welcome change. I set out last week why it was needed. constitution-unit.com/2026/02/26/t...

🎉 Democracy wins! The government has scrapped ministers’ power to influence the Electoral Commission. The Strategy and Policy Statement risked political interference - now it’s gone! This is a significant step towards rebuilding public trust. Free and fair elections rely on an impartial referee.

Ministers are right to remove unnecessary barriers to voting when we have the technology to do so securely & cost-effectively. Automatic voter registration can give voice to the 7-8 million eligible voters missing from the electoral register, so Parliament can fully represent the people it serves.

“Multi-party politics is here to stay - and given our electoral system, which is built on the premise of two-party politics, that means a lot more volatility, a lot more uncertainty.” Looking ahead to May, @robfordmancs.bsky.social predicts “a patchwork quilt of political fragmentation.”

The Representation of the People Bill does not chuck big money out of politics. Mega-donors will still be able to pour millions into political parties and drown out the influence of ordinary voters. Please back our campaign for a cap on donations.

Firm but fair criticism from @alanrenwick.bsky.social of the "glaring omission" in the Representation of the People Bill. The independence of the Electoral Commission has been seriously undermined. The government must act to restore it. Read in full @conunitucl.bsky.social 👇 buff.ly/qhmruE3

With the polls so close, many voters in Gorton & Denton won't feel free to vote for who they believe in. That's the unfair choice First Past the Post gives voters: risk your vote counting for nothing, or vote tactically to block someone else. That’s not real choice. That's not real democracy.

With the polls so close, many voters in Gorton & Denton won't feel free to vote for who they believe in. That's the unfair choice First Past the Post gives voters: risk your vote counting for nothing, or vote tactically to block someone else. That’s not real choice. That's not real democracy.

"Influence-peddling is not an aberration in this system; it is the business model. That is why it has to be smashed." Read the full piece 👇 buff.ly/CR507gc

Either the voting system needs to change, or voters need to go back to two-party voting. These two options are driving straight at each other, like a democratic game of chicken. Which will blink first? Read the full article 👇 buff.ly/MMgQnFR

Allegations about Lord Mandelson's past behaviour, now being investigated, reinforce the urgent need for a more transparent approach, and wider participation, in significant public appointments.

In 2024, the govt's Lords spokesman warned that ministers setting a Strategy & Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission was “inconsistent with the Commission’s role as an independent regulator." Just over a year later, the govt admitted plans for a new Statement to reflect its own priorities.

Access to high-quality, non-partisan citizenship education should be available to all young people, not just the lucky few. It can only help to strengthen participation & trust in our democracy, at a time when both are in serious decline. Sign the UK Youth Parliament's petition 👇 buff.ly/obG37Yp

So long as the House of Lords remains unaccountable to the people, questions about its legitimacy won’t go away. Where does reasonable scrutiny end and wrecking tactics begin for an unaccountable second chamber? Lords reform would make the line less blurry. Until then 👇 buff.ly/zl44g7S

This is a victory for democracy and for the millions who faced losing their vote this May. But Ministers shouldn’t have the power in the first place to postpone or cancel elections without having a vote in parliament. The law must be changed. www.ft.com/content/fb82...

I understand the case for postponing some elections while local govt is reorganised,but the bar for suspending elections should be extremely high. It's crucial not to set a precedent that elections can be easily cancelled. Pandemics & wars meet the threshold; administrative convenience & cost don't

“A shadow hangs over democracy; the shadow of corruption”, writes our CEO in Left Foot Forward.

After decades of being devalued and defunded by central government, councils should be looking forward to the potential benefits of devolution. Instead they are mired in a time-consuming reorganisation that will shift power even further away from local communities. Ministers should rethink.

📮 Full text of the letter calling on the Government to engage with the growing risks First Past the Post now presents ✍️ Signatories include leading academics, political scientists and constitutional experts - including a former Chief Executive of the UK Electoral Commission

It’s been a bleak 7 days for anyone who thinks standards in politics matters. First it was the Mandelson scandal, which is far from over. Now it’s another scandal about who the Prime Minister saw fit to appoint to the Lords. It’s the kind of drama that Keir Starmer was elected to stop.

The Representation of the People Bill contains lots to be happy about. Measures to boost participation & stop foreign interference are very welcome. But there's more still to do to give the public confidence that the rules are enforced independently & political power cannot be bought. 🧵

We welcome steps to shut down foreign interference in our politics. Foreign billionaires, no matter their corporate holdings in the UK, have no business making political donations. But without a cap on domestic big money, UK mega donors will still wield unacceptable influence.

We welcome steps to shut down foreign interference in our politics. Foreign billionaires, no matter their corporate holdings in the UK, have no business making political donations. But without a cap on domestic big money, UK mega donors will still wield unacceptable influence.

Help protect democratic decision-making in Parliament. Bills backed by the House of Commons and the public should have time to complete all stages in Parliament, not get talked out by unelected peers. Sign & share 👇

Local democracy is being hollowed out by centralisation on steroids. But it’s not too late to change course. Let’s reconnect politics with communities and build a democracy that truly puts power in people’s hands. buff.ly/1WFZiRQ

The government has rightly condemned Jimmy Lai’s unjust imprisonment - it's an outrage. But when it comes to upholding free speech & freedom of assembly at home, ministers have been more equivocal. Authoritarians jail dissenters. Democrats should defend them. buff.ly/4lQqjr4

“Our laws seem to have failed to catch up with corruption. The case is now unanswerable for comprehensive and immediate action to clean up our politics”. Powerful intervention from Gordon Brown. The Mandelson-Epstein scandal must be a turning point.

"The archaic dog mess that is first-past-the-post needs to be ditched." We couldn't agree more. In a recent Council by-election, the winner got just 22.3% of the vote. Three-quarters of voters not getting what they voted for is no way to elect a dogcatcher, let alone Cllrs or MPs.

The Mandelson–Epstein scandal must be the trigger for big change in our politics. Most politicians aren’t in it for the money or privilege. But the murky nexus of politics, influence & money that Mandelson embodied corrodes trust in the whole system. Time to clean up politics. Credit: TRIP

Despite more revelations about his links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Lord Mandelson cannot be stripped of his peerage. The solution is simple - the Prime Minister must take the lead and start full-scale reform of the Lords. Please sign our letter. unlockdemocracy.org.uk/lord-mandelson

Lobbyists don’t give money to political parties for nothing. As an MP for 20+ years, our CEO saw how "donations buy better access, and therefore potentially more influence." "I'd recommend looking their gift horse in the mouth and politely declining its generosity."

Cash-for-access corrodes trust and distorts policy. Politicians should be listening to the public, but pay-to-play schemes mean ordinary voters don’t get a fair hearing. www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-mone...

An MP's loyalty to their voters must never be in doubt. But when MPs take on multiple side gigs or accept lucrative freebies, it raises all sorts of questions… It’s time to draw the line: no freebies above nominal value, and a cap on outside earnings.

We'll soon find out whether the government is going to restore the independence of the elections watchdog. The Conservatives stripped the Electoral Commission of its independence in 2022. The Elections Bill is this government’s chance to fix it. Sign our letter to the PM 👇 buff.ly/WEE2NXR

“Our councils should not have to face choosing between frontline services or elections. Democracy is not an inefficiency that should be cut out, and every council should have the resources to run local elections.” - Florence Eshalomi MP 👏 www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

The speed of the United States’ slide toward authoritarianism should be a warning for democracies everywhere of how quickly norms can be crushed and institutions hollowed out. The UK must strengthen its democratic guardrails now - before it’s too late.

Great initiative by IPSA in engaging with the public over a controversial issue - MPs' pay and expenses. Citizens’ Fora show what’s possible when the public is meaningfully involved in decision-making. Done well, they can help to rebuild trust in public institutions.

People care deeply about their neighbourhoods but too many feel shut out of decisions that shape them. New neighbourhood governance arrangements could change that, if done right. A new blueprint shows how they might unlock community power. 🧵1/2 👉 bit.ly/A-blueprint-...

Join Baroness Hale, former President of the Supreme Court, to discuss her book 'With the Law on Our Side'. We’ll unpack how law really works, how it shapes daily life, protects our rights, & holds government to account. 🗓️ 11 Feb, 6–7pm Full details 👇 secure.unlockdemocracy.org.uk/page/184825/...

Great to see business leaders backing electoral reform in the Financial Times. Our electoral system doesn't work for the multi-party politics we have today. Failure to change risks chaos and division after the next election. democracy4growth.uk

Governments cancelling elections without proper justification is bad enough. But the perception that this decision was taken for party advantage just compounds the damage. The law must be changed so that no govt can cancel elections without a vote in Parliament. www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...

More evidence, if it were needed, that mega political donations bring access and influence unavailable to 99% of voters. Politicians should be answerable to the voters, not big donors. We need a donations cap. www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Great turnout at last night’s event with the District Council Network. The appetite for genuine devolution remains huge. But there is widespread concern, among voters and councillors, that the government’s top-down reforms to local councils are taking England further in the wrong direction.

It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that Labour is running scared of the voters. Labour is in power in a disproportionate no. of councils seeking to cancel their elections. Labour ministers approving these requests risks compounding the crisis of distrust in politics.

"The knee-deep claggy quagmire that is local government reorganisation is strangling or at least stalling the devolution England badly needs." Labour claims it's shifting power from Whitehall to the town hall. The truth is more complicated. leftfootforward.org/2026/01/why-...

The public wants big money out of politics. YouGov’s latest polling shows dwindling support for the status quo - where businesses, trade unions and individuals can donate as much as they like - and strong backing for capping political donations.

Moonlighting MPs have tarnished Parliament's reputation for long enough. Let's put a stop to it.