Welcome to the (slightly delayed) February edition of Democracy Club’s regular newsletter. All past emails are accessible in an online archive.

Election Leaflets

As mentioned in our last email, we’ve relaunched our database of election leaflets, which now contains over 20,000 individual leaflets. Election leaflets account for one third of all election spending by political parties, and we want to track what they’re spending it all on! Read the blog.

Would you believe we’ve been doing this for a decade?

Earlier this month our polling station finder, WhereDoIVote, turned ten. We’ve gone from a standing start in 2015 to partner with every single UK local authority, running a service which is used by millions of voters every year. Sym offers some reflections on our blog.

New board members

We're excited to announce that Jonathan Flowers and Paul Maltby have joined Democracy Club's board. Between them they bring a vast amount of experience in UK government and digital services, and will be closely involved in guiding our strategy over the coming years.

At the same time, Mevan Babakar has stepped down after seven years as an NED at DC, during which time she also served as CEO and, most recently, Chair of the board. Democracy Club wouldn't have achieved the success it has without her. Thank you Mevan!

Learn more about Jonathan and Paul on our blog.

Devolution consultations

The public consultations on six new Combined Authorities have been launched by the government. This covers Cumbria, Cheshire, Essex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Norfolk and Suffolk, and Sussex. The deadline to submit a response is 13 April. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and local Government have published a useful explainer, and you can access the consultations on GOV.UK.

AEA publishes reform proposals

The Association of Electoral Administrators has published its revised ‘Blueprint for a Modern Electoral System’. In it they call for review and reform of practically the entire electoral process. Key among their recommendations is a lengthening of the timetable, in particular for the management of postal voters. Eye-catching suggestions include weekend voting; abolishing Neighbourhood Planning Referendums, parish polls and Recall Petitions; and creating overseas parliamentary constituencies. The Guardian has a writeup of the report, and you can read the whole thing on the AEA’s website.

Elections to watch:

The City of London Court of Common Council elections will be held on 20 March. Candidate lists were published earlier this week. 141 candidates have been nominated; 38 of the council’s 100 seats have been won uncontested; 13 of 25 wards will see a poll. The vast majority of candidates are independent.

All the best,

The Democracy Club Team