— About this platform
A neutral civic record system. Every decision explained. Every methodology published. Nothing hidden.
Common Ground UK is a real-time civic accountability platform. It takes live parliamentary decisions, puts the same question to the British public, and permanently records the difference between the two. That difference — the Accountability Gap — is the platform's core output.
This is not a polling service. It is not a petition site. It does not tell you how to vote. It presents evidence, asks questions, and publishes what the public decides — permanently, specifically, and publicly.
Politicians are elected to serve the people — not to lead them. This platform makes that accountability visible.
Not a media outlet
We do not editoralise. We do not have a political line. We present data.
Not a campaign tool
We do not campaign for any party, candidate, policy outcome, or ideology.
Not a viral content platform
Accountability Gap data is presented as a permanent record, not as outrage content.
Not a representative poll
Every result shows the sample size. This is the public who chose to engage — not a weighted national survey.
Every question and every position published on the platform must pass all four of the following tests before publication. No exceptions.
Reality Test
Is this genuinely achievable in the real world? Has it been done elsewhere? Is it constitutionally possible?
Cost Test
What does it actually cost? Must be sourced from the OBR, IFS, NHS England, Home Office, or equivalent public body. Estimates must be cited.
Legal Test
What law currently governs this? What legislation would need to change? What parliamentary process does that require? What are the constitutional constraints?
Abuse Test
Could this question be weaponised, used to target a group, or misrepresented? Does it use language that singles out a religion, ethnicity, or protected characteristic? If yes — rewrite or do not publish.
Every question comes from one of four defined sources. No question is invented editorially.
Direct integration with the official parliamentary API. Live divisions, bills at key stages, ministerial statements. Each event generates a draft question which enters a human approval queue before publication.
Any petition that crosses 100,000 signatures — the threshold for a parliamentary debate — is automatically fast-tracked. The public has already signalled its interest.
Significant policy stories identified via news monitoring. Questions drafted from current coverage with full source citation. Human approval required.
Users submit questions in plain language. Community voting determines net score. When a question reaches the threshold, it enters Stage 1 of the democratic process.
Questions do not jump straight to the manifesto. They move through seven stages that mirror the structure of Parliament. This is what makes the output legitimate rather than advisory.
All voting uses a consistent five-point scale throughout the platform. One vote per question per session. Results update in real time.
Agreement percentage combines Strongly Agree and Agree. Disagree percentage combines Disagree and Strongly Disagree. The five-point breakdown is available for every question. Sample sizes are shown on every result.
Where Parliament has voted on the same question the public has voted on, the platform calculates the Accountability Gap — the difference between the public agree percentage and the parliamentary agree percentage, expressed in percentage points.
A gap becomes official when two conditions are met simultaneously: at least 100 votes have been cast, and the question has been live for at least 48 hours. This prevents organised rapid voting from setting the permanent record.
Once finalised, the gap is written to a permanent record and will not change. It carries a timestamp, the total vote count, and the Hansard reference for the parliamentary vote.
Neutrality is not a disclaimer on this platform — it is embedded in every design decision. The five-point voting scale. The publication of evidence on both sides. The equal treatment of all qualifying parties. The sending of formal correspondence to all party leaders simultaneously.
The platform does not tell users how to vote. It does not favour any party, ideology, or outcome. If you believe a question or position has crossed into bias, contact us at challenge@commongrounduk.com.
Common Ground UK is a private limited company registered in England and Wales.
When you vote, we store your response anonymously using a session identifier. We do not collect your name, email address, or any personally identifiable information unless you choose to create an account. We do not sell data. We do not serve advertising. Your votes are used solely to calculate public opinion results on each question.
For data and privacy enquiries, contact privacy@commongrounduk.com.