Electoral Reform Society
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| Founded | 1884 London, United Kingdom |
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| Type | Non-governmental organisation |
| Focus | Democracy, electoral reform, elections |
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Area served
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United Kingdom |
| Method | lobbying, research, innovation |
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Key people
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| Website | electoral-reform.org.uk |
The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) is a political pressure group based in the United Kingdom which promotes electoral reform. It seeks to replace the first-past-the-post voting system with one of proportional representation, advocating the single transferable vote. It is the world's oldest operating organisation concerned with political and electoral reform.
The Electoral Reform Society seeks a "representative democracy fit for the 21st century." The Society advocates the replacement of the first-past-the-post and plurality-at-large voting systems with a proportional voting system, the single transferable vote. First-past-the-post is currently used for elections to the House of Commons and for most local elections in England and Wales, while Plurality-at-large is used in multi-member council wards in England and Wales, and was historically used in the multi-member parliamentary constituencies before their abolition. It also campaigns for improvements to public elections and representative democracy, and is a regular commentator on all aspects of representation, public participation and democratic governance in the United Kingdom.
The ERS was founded in January 1884 as the Proportional Representation Society by the Victorian naturalist, archaeologist and polymath John Lubbock. The founding members included academics, barristers, and an equal number of Conservative and Liberal MPs. Famous early members included Charles Dodgson (better known as Lewis Carroll), C.P. Scott, editor of the Manchester Guardian and Thomas Hare, inventor of the Single Transferable Vote. Alongside its sister organisation, Proportional Representation Society of Ireland, the Society succeeded in getting STV introduced in local and then national elections in Ireland, and in numerous religious, educational and professional organisations.
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