Describe your idea:
My contention is that a web site in which users not only become informed about the passage of current laws/amendments and legal/political issues, but may also contribute by being able to ‘vote’ themselves on bills (albeit with no direct consequence).
User voting statistics could then be directly compared to that of the parliamentary members, political parties and possibly pressure groups/special interest groups.
The site could include; an ‘online polling booth’ and show where MPs and parties stand compared to the user or users.
It could link to brief summaries of current motions being passed through the house (possibly contributed from users themselves) and discussion sites for debate.
What problem does it solve?:
Although the parliamentary website (www.parliament.uk) is extensive and detailed it is not interactive in any way. It is informative (often too much information) but does not encourage participation.
I believe that an interactive site of this kind in which voter can experience a form of ‘direct’ involvement (resembling opinion poles) would greatly increase user involvement and promote interest.
It is in the spirit of MySociety which I think lacks a site for users to compare their voting statistics with the government and political parties allowing them to get a better feel for their own political tendencies.
Type of idea: A brand new project
This is something I am already working on with PPL. The UK version we are calling votecast, and a Danish version called Folkevalg. It would be awesome to get more people working on this, as there aren’t many of us at the moment.