Why advancing electoral integrity is so difficult in Britain

Pippa Norris and colleagues at the Electoral Integrity Project have just published a new book on Advancing Electoral Integrity.  The book is formed from a workshop at Harvard University last year.  I have a chapter in the book that aims to do a number of things: Claims that electoral management is an often overlooked way…Read more Why advancing electoral integrity is so difficult in Britain

Centralising electoral management

I gave a paper at the Political Studies Association Annual Conference in Manchester last week.  The paper was on the effects of centralising electoral management.  You can download the paper here.  The paper argued: Concerns about the quality of electoral management have been raised in many established democracies. The centralisation of electoral management has often been proposed to…Read more Centralising electoral management

My evidence to Parliament’s Voter Engagement enquiry

I gave oral evidence to the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee's inquiry into Voter Engagement yesterday.  The Committee is concerned about levels of voter registration and turnout in the UK.  The inquiry is timely because voter engagement is a pressing problem for British elections and democracy. One in five people are now missing from the electoral register…Read more My evidence to Parliament’s Voter Engagement enquiry

Why we should keep postal voting in the UK

Richard Mawrey QC claimed yesterday that postal voting was 'not viable' in the UK yesterday. I written a blog post for Eastminster and the Democratic Audit which has been published today, offering a reply, and explaining why we should not be so hasty to scrap it. Similar arguments were raised today in separate posts from Stephen…Read more Why we should keep postal voting in the UK

Election-day registration in Britain: an idea whose time has come?

Earlier in the month the Labour Party suggested that we should consider election-day registration in the UK.  This is something that I have thought would make a good evidence based policy.  This week I have published my thoughts on Eastminster and the Democratic Audit this proposal.You can also view my evidence to the parliamentary select…Read more Election-day registration in Britain: an idea whose time has come?

Labour announces good news for British elections?

Voter registration is a problem in the UK.  Approximately one in five citizens are not on the electoral register.  When it is reported that only 65% of registered people voted at the 2010 general election, we forget those people who are not on the register in the first place.The Guardian is today reporting that Labour…Read more Labour announces good news for British elections?

Five things that you may (not?) know about voter registration on National Voter Registration Day

Bite The Ballot have made Wednesday 5th February 2014 National Voter Registration Day. This is a great initiative.  There have been citizen-led projects to increase voter registration in the USA for decades.  The UK is only now catching onto the importance of this topic. Here are five things you might may not know about voter…Read more Five things that you may (not?) know about voter registration on National Voter Registration Day

Political Leaders are facing challenging times

I recently convened a Political Studies Association workshop on political leadership at the University of East Anglia.  Below, I reflect on some of the lessons learnt. Political leaders are facing challenging times. International financial austerity has had dramatic consequences for leaders around the world. Leaders have often had to campaign for (re)election and govern with…Read more Political Leaders are facing challenging times