Data mining, dark ads, fake news, Russian bots… our voting system is acutely vulnerable to shady influences because of its fixation on marginal constituencies.

Typically, electoral reform is not the prerogative of Conservatives. The mere threat of it was nearly a deal breaker during the 2010 coalition talks with the Liberal Democrats, and Cameron’s crack negotiating team were only leveraged into accepting a referendum on the Alternative Vote by the threat of letting Gordon Brown slink back into Downing Street...

Last week’s reshuffle saw a notable departure. Chris Skidmore MP, Minister for the Constitution since Theresa May became Prime Minister in July 2016, was elevated to Vice-Chair of the Conservative Party and therefore left the role he had been in a year and a half.

His successor, Chloe Smith MP, takes up the role in a year that marks arguably the most momentous centenary in British democratic history: the passing of the Representation of the People Act 1918, which granted some women the right to vote for the first time.

On Monday, Proportional Representation was finally back in Parliament, for the first full discussion of the issue in seven years.

The Westminster Hall debate was triggered by a government petition started over a year ago by Make Votes Matter co-founder Tim Ivorson, which gained over 103,495 signatures thanks to the work of diverse parties, organisations, activists and supporters.

Read on to find out what happened on the day, watch and share key moments of the debate and find out what happens next...

On Tuesday we held our second Alliance Building Conference (ABC) to plan the next phase of the cross-party campaign for Proportional Representation. The ABC was the culmination of an unbelievably busy month and a half in which we visited six different party conferences. Keep reading to find out what we got up to, and if you haven’t already, please consider donating to our Crowdfunder to support this vital work.

The petition for Proportional Representation has finally been scheduled for debate in Parliament, thanks to the work of organisations, parties and 103,495 individuals. Keep reading to find out how we all made it happen.

Tweet or email your MP to ask them to attend the debate on 30th October, listen to the arguments and back Proportional Representation for the UK!

We have a rare opportunity - the kind that might only come once in a generation.

In 2022 - or whenever the next general election takes place - we can wake up to a government set on replacing First Past the Post with a system of Proportional Representation fit for a real democracy.

Or we can wake up to what we’re used to: a government determined to keep Parliament, representation and government out of the hands of the voters.

This is a guest blog by Natalia Waring. Natalia is a Make Votes Matter local group leader from MVM Hereford, she played a key role as a volunteer at our recent #SaveOurDemocracy rally.

The results of the 2015 General Election were appalling – the most unbalanced in history – out of 650 winning candidates, 322 received fewer than 50% which amassed over many constituencies. Such an imbalance can be seen in UKIP’s vote share. They received fewer than 4 million votes but gained one MP. In Northern Ireland, the DUP got 8 seats at over 184,000 votes. Together the key minor parties - Greens, Lib Dems, and UKIP - got just 10 seats.

A week on from our third General Election in seven years, we've taken a detailed look at the results, and their implications for our creaking voting system. What emerges is a picture of a broken system that distorts votes, distorts seats and distorts our politics.

The General Election results are in and - inevitably - they are a democratic outrage. While the vast majority of democracies are governed by parliaments that reflect their voters, the UK will continue to be run by politicians who do not represent the people... for now.

We'll be providing detailed analysis over the next couple of days. In the meantime, see below for some of the headlines - and sign up to attend our demonstration and action summit to plan and bring about the end of First Past the Post on Saturday 24th June - #SaveOurDemocracy.

It's almost over - and together, in very little time, we've built a good overview of where the General Election candidates stand on Proportional Representation.

Huge thanks to Democracy Club, the Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform, the Electoral Reform Society and thousands upon thousands of you who have emailed, tweeted at and spoken to your Parliamentary candidates to get this data together.

One of the worst effects of Proportional Representation is the way it divides the country up into places where votes matter, and places where they do not.

On the one hand, there are safe seats. There are so many of them that vast electoral deserts now extend across much of the UK - where little campaigning takes place and the outcome is a foregone conclusion. 

With under three weeks to go until polling day, we want to update you about our work in the month since Theresa May called a General Election, and invite you to take part in our plans for the coming weeks...

A large majority of voters agree that seats should match votes, including 73% of Labour voters and 68% of Conservative voters.

Polling conducted by ICM on behalf of Make Votes Matter has identified widespread support for the use of Proportional Representation for UK General Elections across the political spectrum. Here's what it found...

So, the General Election will take place on 8th June. The results will be a democratic outrage. The only question is, what kind of outrage? How many millions will be shut out of Parliament? Who will be handed disproportionate power? How many of us will have had to vote for someone we didn't really want?

We will be campaigning before, during and after the General Election to make sure Proportional Representation is right at the centre of the political debate and we'll do whatever we can to make this the last election held under our broken voting system. And we've already started...