Heather Green

Voter ID https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9187/

Election riots have history - here's an example from Huddersfield, where "disgraceful riots" were triggered after the sitting MP fell out of a window and died. Also Merry #Christmas(!) (Although this was well before the Christmas season we recognise emerged).

Correspondence between the Minister for Homelessness and Democracy, and the Chair, CSPL, on the government's electoral reform strategy Correspondence between Rushanara Ali MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Homelessness and Democracy, and Doug Chalmers, Chair, CSPL, on the government's electoral reform strategy.

Chair of CSPL writes to Minister for Elections broadly welcoming Gov plans on election finance reform, but also registers concern that Gov is retaining the power to set Strategy & Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission introduced by Tories in Elections Act 2022.

www.gov.uk/government/p...

Welsh election law now requires local candidates to list their party memberships in the last year. That's good for transparency re. those listed as independents. It also gives us things like this... (Abermaw, Gwynedd by-election, polling this week)

Palestine Action's bid for judicial review granted after MPs banned group The High Court has granted Palestine Action's application for a judicial review after MPs voted to ban it as a terrorist group.

The High Court has granted permission for a judicial review to be brought against the Home Secretary's decision to proscribe Palestine Action.

news.sky.com/story/palest...

Voting would be compulsory under plans to be lodged at Westminster - Daily Record EXCLUSIVE: Lord Foulkes will table an amendment to the upcoming elections bill.

EXC: A Labour peer will table an amendment to the Government's elections bill introducing compulsory voting.

www.dailyrecord.co.u...

'Yer maw was an immigrant you bam!'

A protester in Aberdeen on Saturday following US President Donald Trump's arrival in Scotland

𝘐𝘔𝘈𝘎𝘌: 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵

The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition welcomes the UK Government's new changes to political finance laws, but calls on the government to work with experts to develop bolder measures needed to protect and strengthen our democracy. On Friday, the government released its Elections Bill White Paper. The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition welcomes many of its provisions – particularly those that stamp out dark money, and introduce new controls to protect our democracy from foreign interference. These announcements are in large part the result of many years of advocacy by our members, and mark an important first step towards shoring up our democracy against the risks of foreign interference. However, if the government truly seeks to ‘restore trust in our political system’ in line with manifesto commitments, it should seize this opportunity to restore the independence of its electoral watchdog, and properly address the growing influence of mega donors in our politics. To that end, the government should: Restore the independence of the Electoral Commission by removing the government of the day’s ability to set policy objectives, to future-proof the integrity of elections. Introduce limits on the size of individual donations so no billionaire can buy our democracy. Reduce election spending limits to stop political parties from engaging in an ever-increasing arms race. Ensure the Electoral Commission has powers to regulate crypto donations and investigate social media spending to ensure free and fair elections. Close the criminal enforcement gap by empowering and resourcing specialist law enforcement units to go after those committing political financial crimes. In the coming months, we look forward to working with the government to address these issues and more to ensure the Bill is drafted in line with their stated ambition to ‘uphold the integrity of our elections.’ Dr Sue Hawley, Co-Chair of the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition, said: “This strategy is an import…

UK Anti-Corruption Coalition on the Govt's election reforms:

"It’s critical [Govt] fully restores the independence of the Electoral Commission, takes further steps to protect UK elections from...multi-million pound donations, & addresses the criminal enforcement gap for political finance offences."

Voting age https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01747/

"Assessment of the 2024 general election We agree with the Electoral Commission’s assessment that the 2024 general election was well run. But we note once again that considerable concerns have been raised about the potential for things to go wrong in any one of the elements necessary to deliver a successful election. We are concerned that the fabric may not hold, potentially placing an election result in doubt. We also note that while the Electoral Commission have consistently reported that elections are well run, they have also consistently raised concerns. To better judge how elections are run the Electoral Commission should develop criteria and, where appropriate, metrics, for assessing and judging how effectively an election has been run."

Striking warning from the House of Commons Constitutional Affairs Committee that the "fabric" of the UK's electoral machinery "may not hold, potentially placing an election result in doubt".
publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cm...

Election reform: a solid start with work ahead The new strategy sets a clear direction — but delivery needs a lot of hard work, new infrastructure, and the ambition to go further.

Here's what we took away from the Election Strategy www.mysociety.org/2025/07/22/e...

UK does not need to hold inquiry into Russian disinformation, ECHR rules Strasbourg court rejects attempt to force government to investigate impact of Kremlin interference on elections

www.theguardian.com/law/2025/jul...

Bradshaw v UK - ECtHR finds no violation of A3P1 right to free elections: steps UK Gov took to minimise risks of Russian interference were adequate.
hudoc.echr.coe.int/app/conversion…

Here's Chair of Electoral Commission warning about the state of disrepair of the body of election law. Commission and Association of Electoral Administrators have urged often that consolidation be prioritised. Model plans made in joint Law Commissions report (2020) haven't been progressed.

PACAC report on 2024 GE 'concerned that fabric may not hold' if systems/law not reformed. Some issues addressed in Gov's reform plans announced last week. But still no commitment to holistic repair by consolidation of antiquated legislative regime.

publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cm...

Automatic voter registration: a huge step forward for democracy – and a chance to bring missing millions into elections As part of a raft of new measures, people will no longer need to register themselves to vote.

This is so sensible - and about time too. theconversation.com/automatic-vo...

Here’s Angela Rayner on the ‘Strategy & Policy Statement’ for the Electoral Commission, introduced by the Johnson Government.

It is being retained by this Government as part of ‘Restoring Trust in Our Democracy’, a policy coming out of her Department.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Plans for electoral reform mark a major step forward in reforming our democracy Speaking at the civil society summit, Sir Keir Starmer outlined a range of democratic reforms, including the introduction of votes for 16-year-olds. Professor Alan Renwick provides his in-depth…

'They should be the start of an ongoing process of fundamental democratic renewal. And on some of the matters requiring further change, the need for action is urgent.'

Read our Deputy Director, @alanrenwick.bsky.social's, instant analysis of the elections white paper for @uclpolicylab.bsky.social 👇

Over a decade ago, I was proud to introduce the bill that gave 16 and 17-year-olds the vote in Scottish elections.

Young people here have a stake in shaping our future, and it made Scotland’s democracy stronger.

The UK is finally catching up - this change is long overdue.

Our response to the publication of the government's elections strategy:

For folks newly interested in 16 year olds voting can I recommend years of scholarship by @eichhornjan.bsky.social in Scottish setting

Also, in 2014 indyref the risk survey showed youngest members of electorate were our ideal deliberative citizens, most open minded in their info sources

“These reforms will improve the resilience and integrity of our electoral system, tackling many of the threats it faces and should improve the experience for voters, campaigners, parties and administrators. “Registration reform would open the door for millions more to get involved in elections, and the proposed changes to the political finance rules would strengthen the checks on money coming into UK politics and ensure a more proportionate and effective enforcement regime. “We are ready to work with the electoral community to build understanding and compliance with any new requirements, and to support voters with information and education resources.” The Commission does not take a view on franchise changes but will support the implementation of votes at 16, as it has done in Wales and Scotland, and further work to help overseas voters. It will focus on informing new voters and helping them feel confident about participating in the democratic process: in particular in robust but respectful debate. Further work and evidence are needed on some proposals. The Commission supports proposals for digital voter ID, but using bank cards as voter ID has risks for security and voter trust. Commenting on the SPS, the Chair of the Electoral Commission, John Pullinger, said: “We remain opposed to the principle of a strategy and policy statement, by which a government can guide our work. The independence and impartiality of an electoral commission must be clear for voters and campaigners to see, and this form of influence from a government is inconsistent with that role. This bill offers a timely opportunity to repeal the power for government to designate a statement.”

Vijay Rangarajan, Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission, on the election reforms (note also the chair's opposition to Labour maintaining influence over the EC through a 'strategy and policy' statement):

Since people keep asking...

We don't know with confidence how 16 and 17 year olds would vote. Polling evidence is quite scant because young people are some of the hardest to reach (and I would expect those you can reach will be disproportionately engaged and, therefore, not very representative). 🧵

Worth noting that the NI Assembly elections are part of this plan to extend voting rights to 16. Unlike Scotland and Wales, electoral law is not devolved in NI and so the objections of some parties (in particular the DUP in recent debates) won't block these reforms coming through Westminster:

Automatic voter registration is coming to the UK...

www.gov.uk/government/p...

Here's why this is great news for democracy...

www.jrrt.org.uk/wp-content/u...

Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections Details of the plans for delivering the government’s commitments on elections and registration.

Great to see the government set out its plans for an elections and democracy bill.

www.gov.uk/government/p...

One of the Johnson Government's most authoritarian policies - bringing the supposedly independent Electoral Commission to heel, via a "strategy and policy statement" - is to be retained by this Government.

www.gov.uk/government/p...

Tories say letting people vote at 16, but not be a candidate until 18, is ‘hopelessly confused’ – UK politics live Voting age to be lowered to 16 across UK by next general election, government says

Up to 8m more people could vote in elections under move towards automated voter registration, government says - www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

UK should consider political donations cryptocurrency ban, says minister Pat McFadden reacts over concerns foreign powers could use untraceable money to affect British democracy

“If we want to clean up politics, we must root out the dark money, hidden money and foreign money. That means banning cryptocurrency donations, donations from unincorporated associations and donations financed by foreign profits.”
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Bold ideas for electoral reform: Closing the loopholes on foreign donations through companies - Spotlight on Corruption Spotlight asked electoral experts what they want to see in the upcoming Elections Bill. Here former Electoral Commission chief executive Bob Posner discusses

With the government planning an #ElectionsBill, we've been asking experts for their bold ideas to safeguard our democracy. In our latest paper former @electoralcommission.org.uk chief exec Bob Posner calls for 2️⃣ simple changes to the law to stop foreign donations being funneled through UK companies.