---
title: Electoral Reform Society
type: advocacy
status: active
country: GB
website: https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk
logo: /assets/org-logos/electoral-reform-society.png
contact:
  checked: 2026-07-30
  email: ers@electoral-reform.org.uk
  source: https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/contact
summary: The UK's oldest and largest electoral reform organisation (founded 1884),
  campaigning for proportional representation, citizens' assemblies, and democratic
  renewal.
concepts:
- representative-democracy
- sortition
- deliberative-democracy
location:
  latitude: 51.5074
  longitude: -0.1278
  name: London, UK
  precision: city
news_page: https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/latest-news-and-research/blog/
rss_feed: https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/feed/
related_orgs:
- sortition-foundation
- democracy-next
- involve
events:
- date: '1884-01-01'
  title: Founded as the Proportional Representation Society — one of the world's oldest
    electoral reform organisations
  url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_Reform_Society
  quote: was founded in January 1884 as the Proportional Representation Society by
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-10'
  notable: true
- date: '1959-01-01'
  title: Defended STV in Ireland — future director Enid Lakeman led successful campaigns
    against referendums to abolish proportional representation
  url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_Reform_Society
  quote: When Fianna Fáil put to a referendum a proposal to revert to first-past-the-post
    voting twice (1959 and 1968), the society, under the leadership of Enid Lakeman,
    led a successful campaign to keep the STV system in Ireland.
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-20'
  notable: true
- date: '2011-05-05'
  title: Led the Yes campaign in the UK's Alternative Vote referendum — the first
    UK-wide electoral system referendum
  url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_Reform_Society
  quote: principal funder of the YES! To Fairer Votes campaign
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-10'
  notable: true
activity:
  rss:
    checked: 2026-08-09
    date: 2026-08-06
    note: 'Latest post: What does an independent commission on electoral reform need
      to succeed?'
    url: https://electoral-reform.org.uk/what-does-an-independent-commission-on-electoral-reform-need-to-succeed/
  scrape:
    note: News page unreachable
    hint: unreachable
    checked: 2026-08-17
last_checked: '2026-06-15'
---

The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) was founded in 1884, making it one of the world's oldest advocacy organisations dedicated to democratic reform. It is a membership organisation and registered charity headquartered in London, with a staff of around 30 and a substantial public profile in UK political debate.

Its core campaign is for proportional representation to replace first-past-the-post in Westminster elections. Beyond voting systems, ERS has increasingly championed citizens' assemblies and deliberative mini-publics as a complement to — or corrective for — representative institutions. The society runs and commissions public participation processes, publishes research, and acts as an expert voice on constitutional design.

ERS also owns Electoral Reform Services, a trading subsidiary that runs elections for trade unions, professional bodies, and organisations worldwide — providing a revenue stream that partly funds its advocacy work.

## Key people

- **John Stuart Mill** — early supporter and theorist whose work on proportional representation shaped the society's founding arguments.

## Links

- Website: [electoral-reform.org.uk](https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk)
- Wikipedia: [Electoral Reform Society](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_Reform_Society)

## See also

- [Representative Democracy](../concepts/representative-democracy.md)
- [Sortition](../concepts/sortition.md)
- [Deliberative Democracy](../concepts/deliberative-democracy.md)
- [Sortition Foundation](sortition-foundation.md)
- [Democracy Next](democracy-next.md)