The director of London’s first parish council has created a free website to allow the public to vote on the same legislations as their elected MPs – whether it’s bombing Syria or opting out of Europe.
The director of London’s first parish council has created a free website to allow the public to vote on the same legislations as their elected MPs – whether it’s bombing Syria or opting out of Europe.
Mike Simpson, who heads Queens Park Community Council in Beethoven Centre, Third Avenue, has created Note My Vote, which he believes will make MPs more accountable to their constituents while bringing greater democracy to the UK.
The former parliamentary researcher, said: “I was working in parliament at the time of the same sex marriage which was huge, we had so many letters and emails about it I realised there was no way their MPs could really tell how their constituents were thinking about a topic.
“I realised that there wasn’t a platform where people could have a direct influence in democracy and this website will mean MP’s have a concise statistic on how people feel about a certain debate.”
To register residents give their address which assigns them to their MP. Votes on forthcoming legislations are then cast and the software calculates the results and sends it off to the relevant minister before they vote in parliament.
Afterwards, the results are then sent back to the constituent with information on all the votes cast.
The 29-year-old added: “There are some very effective MPs who do listen to their constituents, but some find it difficult as there is no direct platform for them to know whether their constituents are for or against a particular issue.”
Current questions on the Note My Vote website include a poll asking whether the UK government ‘should consider closing the UK border until ISIS is defeated?’ Another asks if you would vote to stay in the European Union if David Cameron was successful in renegotiating the UK’s membership terms? The results of these polls will be sent to MPs after they close.
Note My Vote will be launching an app version for smartphones next year resulting so people are able to vote on legislations whilst on the go.
Mr Simpson said “it’s a good way of engaging more people, I hope the move will do more to actively encourage the younger generation to engage in local politics.
To register go click here
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