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How Beyond The Vote Works

Beyond The Vote brings together publicly available data from official UK sources to help you understand what your representatives are doing. This page explains our approach.

Where the Data Comes From

All of our data comes from official, publicly available sources. We don't conduct surveys, polls, or original research — we present official records in a way that's easier to explore.

  • Parliamentary records — voting records (Commons Votes API), full-text debates and speeches (Hansard API), oral and written questions, and the daily agenda
  • Census and demographic data — population, age, ethnicity, housing, and employment from the 2021 Census via the ONS Nomis API (MSOA-aggregated to constituency)
  • Crime statistics — street-level recorded crime from data.police.uk, aggregated to constituency and settlement level via ONS geography lookups
  • Settlement geography — Built-Up Area (BUA22) boundaries and LSOA-to-settlement lookups from the ONS Open Geography Portal
  • Election results — official results from the UK Parliament Members API and the DCLEAPIL local elections dataset
  • Income tax data — constituency-level income tax statistics from HMRC Table 3.15 (sample-based estimates)
  • MP expenses — individual business cost claims from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), by financial year and category
  • Register of Members’ Financial Interests — declared interests (employment, gifts, donations, shareholdings) from the UK Parliament Members API
  • Committee activity — select committee memberships, inquiries, and publications from the Committees API

Full source details and licences are listed on our Data Sources page.

How We Analyse and Present Data

MP Briefings

Each MP has an auto-generated briefing that summarises their recent activity: how they've voted, what they've spoken about, and how they've appeared in local news. These briefings are generated using AI to synthesise parliamentary records into readable summaries, and are refreshed when new activity is detected.

Voting Records

We show how your MP voted in every recorded parliamentary vote (formally called “divisions”). Each vote includes context about what was being decided, how the MP's party generally voted, and whether the MP went against their party line. Voting patterns are grouped by policy area to help you see the bigger picture.

Constituency Statistics

Demographics, crime rates, income data, and other statistics are drawn from official sources and presented with comparisons to national and regional averages. Where data is based on samples or estimates (such as HMRC income tax data), we note this clearly.

Ask Your Questions

The Ask feature lets you ask natural-language questions about your constituency or MP. Answers are generated by AI using the data we hold — voting records, speeches, committee activity, and constituency statistics — and cite the evidence they draw on. The system can also search the web for additional context when relevant.

Use of AI

Beyond The Vote uses AI in several places to make raw parliamentary and public data more accessible:

  • Summarising an MP's parliamentary activity into readable briefings
  • Providing context for parliamentary votes (what was being decided and why it matters)
  • Generating a short daily dispatch highlighting the most significant business in Parliament each day
  • Answering your questions about constituencies and MPs using our data

AI-generated content is always based on the underlying data we hold. Where possible, we provide links to the original sources so you can verify claims for yourself. AI can make mistakes — if you spot an error, please let us know.

Limitations

  • Parliamentary records are public but not exhaustive — an MP's work in their constituency, private meetings, and behind-the-scenes negotiations are not captured
  • Voting records need context: many votes are whipped (directed by the party), and some are procedural rather than a genuine expression of opinion
  • Scottish constituencies have limited demographic data due to differences in the Census geography system; crime data from data.police.uk likewise covers England and Wales only
  • Crime statistics reflect recorded crime, which can differ from actual crime rates due to reporting patterns
  • HMRC income tax figures are sample-based estimates with an approximate 8% confidence interval

Our Commitment

Beyond The Vote is strictly non-partisan. We don't endorse candidates, promote parties, or editorially select which information to show. Every constituency and every MP is treated the same way, using the same data sources and the same analysis methods. Our goal is to help you form your own view based on the evidence.

Report an Error

If you believe any information on Beyond The Vote is incorrect, misleading, or unfairly represented, we want to hear from you. Please contact us at hello@beyondthevote.co.uk.