The McDougall Trust is a small charity whose purpose is to promote electoral democracy.  It is reaching a turning point in its development and seeks new trustees to help steer this process.

The Trust was established in 1948 as Arthur McDougall Fund (registered with the Charity Commission as Charity No 212151).  Its present activities are:

• Publishing the quarterly journal Representation: Journal of Representative Democracy.  Representation is published under university-based editors in conjunction with Taylor & Francis, under the Routledge imprint.  It is well-respected in the political, academic, research and journalistic worlds for its coverage of the study of elections and voting systems. Its digital usage now outweighs sales of paper copies, and having appointed new lead editors in early 2024 the Trust is seeking ways to broaden its appeal and readership.
• Holding the Lakeman Library for electoral studies. This comprises a large quantity of material relating to electoral reform and voting systems, including the personal papers and correspondence of Enid Lakeman OBE. The valuable archive collection, which includes the early records of the Proportional Representation and Electoral Reform Societies, is now deposited with the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick. Alongside this sits a range of digital publications relating to the Single Transferable Vote, published online between 1994 and 2013 as Voting Matters.
• Providing financial support for charitable activities in electoral democracy, by making small research grants, and by supporting prize schemes and conferences.
• Hosting occasional research workshops and events on electoral topics.  Presented by distinguished speakers in the field, the workshops are open to the public and attended by academics, representatives of charities and pressure groups, journalists and others.

The Trust seeks to promote debate about and understanding of electoral democracy and contribute to public policy.  It careful to avoid partisan positions and to operate in accordance with the Charity Commission’s guidance on political activity and campaigning by charities.

In recent years the Trust has faced a number of operational and financial challenges. The majority of these have been resolved, so the board feels that now is the right time to seek additional trustees who can bring their expertise and passion to help drive McDougall Trust forward.

The partnership with University of Warwick offers exciting opportunities for cataloguing and digitisation of the archive and having appointed keen new editors the Trust also sees much potential in Representation. The outcome of the 2024 UK General Election has raised questions about democratic representation and voting systems, which the trustees are keen to play their part in exploring.

McDougall trustees are not remunerated but can reclaim any expenses incurred in the course of carrying out their duties on its behalf.

7 November 2024