Electoral Reform Society
UK NGO campaigning for proportional representation and electoral reform since 1884.
Last refreshed: 10 April 2026
What role did the Electoral Reform Society play in Wales's switch to PR?
Latest on Electoral Reform Society
- What does the Electoral Reform Society do?
- A UK NGO founded 1884 that campaigns for proportional representation and independent election administration.
- What is the Electoral Reform Society's position on the 2026 Welsh Senedd election?
- The ERS supports Wales's switch from AMS to closed-list D'Hondt PR and views the 2026 Senedd election as a significant democratic reform and live evidence for proportional representation arguments.
- What did John Major say about electoral reform?
- In the Attlee Foundation Lecture at King's College London on 18 March 2026, Major said recent general elections had thrown into doubt the continuing validity of First past the post. He stopped short of endorsing PR but supported Flexible voting pilots — a position the Electoral Reform Society praised.
Background
The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) is a UK political advocacy organisation founded in 1884, making it one of the oldest electoral-reform bodies in the world. It campaigns for proportional representation and independent election administration, and has actively supported Wales's transition from the Additional Member System (AMS) to closed-list D'Hondt PR for the 2026 Senedd election.
The ERS is centre-left in orientation and is consulted by think tanks, political parties, and parliamentary committees on electoral system design. Its 2025-2026 commentary on the collapse of UK two-party politics — with five parties polling above 10 per cent for the first time in modern history — has been influential in framing the 7 May 2026 elections as a stress test for first-past-the-post. In March 2026, former Prime Minister Sir John Major delivered the Attlee Foundation Lecture, stating that recent general elections had thrown into doubt the continuing validity of FPTP. The ERS analysed Major's speech and praised his support for Flexible voting pilots, treating the intervention from a former Conservative Prime Minister as significant validation of the reform argument.
The 2026 elections provide the ERS with its most compelling live evidence in a generation. Wales offers a direct comparison of two PR systems within a single nation; Scotland tests AMS under boundary reform and mass retirement; and English county results under first-past-the-post will be cited in the ERS's post-election case for Westminster voting reform regardless of which party wins.