Will the UK voting system survive 2015?

Consider the following bizarre potential outcomes for the 2015 general election: The SNP romp home, winning well over 20 seats. The Green Party also do the best they’ve ever done, gaining 5% of the national vote. Yet the latter party only win a single seat despite getting a higher UK share of the vote than… Continue reading Will the UK voting system survive 2015?

Andreas Whittam Smith and why Democracy 2015 should be called Technocracy 2015

I’ve been following the development of Democracy 2015 in a professional and personal capacity since it launched this summer and listened with interest to Andreas Whittam Smith’s speech at the Unlock Democracy AGM on Saturday. Sadly as a result of Whittam Smith’s speech on Saturday I’ve been forced to reassess the project, away from a… Continue reading Andreas Whittam Smith and why Democracy 2015 should be called Technocracy 2015

Is an honest debate on electoral reform possible?

David Cameron’s big speech about democratic reform is most notable for its chutzpah. Like Jack Straw, a man whom Cameron has seemingly impressed, he has managed to make a speech saying very little fool journalists into thinking he is being radical. It doesn’t say much for the state of modern journalists that they are impressed… Continue reading Is an honest debate on electoral reform possible?