Moderation Standards

1. Purpose

The Open Floor exists to surface genuine questions of public concern that Parliament has not yet voted on. It is not a petition system, a campaigning tool, or a space for partisan advocacy. Its purpose is to identify issues where public opinion can be meaningfully compared with parliamentary behaviour.

Every approved submission becomes a live question put equally to all users. No submission implies an editorial position by Common Ground UK on any political issue.

2. What gets approved

A submission will be approved when it:

• Raises a genuine question of public policy that Parliament could plausibly vote on
• Is framed neutrally - it does not presuppose a correct answer
• Concerns an issue of genuine public interest, not a personal grievance or private matter
• Can be answered meaningfully on a five-point scale from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree
• Does not duplicate a question already live or recently closed on the platform

3. What gets rejected

A submission will not be approved if it:

• Is designed to produce a predetermined result rather than genuinely test public opinion
• Targets a named individual, group, or protected characteristic in a way that could constitute harassment
• Contains language that incites violence, hatred, or discrimination
• Is framed as a demand or statement rather than a question
• Relates to matters outside the competence of the UK Parliament
• Is trivial, frivolous, or submitted in bad faith
• Could be used to facilitate coordinated manipulation of results

4. Who decides

All submissions are reviewed by the Common Ground UK editorial team before publication. Decisions are made against these published standards, not against personal or political preference.

Where a submission raises a borderline case, the editorial team may reframe the question to meet neutrality standards before publication. If a reframe is not possible without distorting the original intent, the submission will be declined with a reason given.

The Independent Methodology Panel provides oversight of moderation standards and may be asked to review any disputed decision.

5. How neutrality is enforced

Every question published on the Open Floor must pass the same neutrality test: it must be possible to answer Strongly Agree or Strongly Disagree without either answer being framed as obviously correct.

Questions that load the answer through word choice, framing, or omission of relevant context will not be published. Common Ground UK does not accept submissions designed to validate a position rather than test one.

All approved questions are accompanied by a balanced evidence brief that presents the case for and against, with primary sources cited. The brief does not indicate a preferred answer.

6. Participation standards

Everyone participating in the Open Floor is expected to:

• Engage with issues rather than individuals
• Accept that others hold different views in good faith
• Submit questions that reflect genuine curiosity about public opinion, not attempts to manufacture it
• Respect the democratic purpose of the platform - to measure, not to move, public opinion

Coordinated submission campaigns, duplicate accounts, or any attempt to game the threshold system will result in permanent removal from the platform.

7. Transparency

These standards are published in full and apply equally to all submissions regardless of their political direction. Common Ground UK does not moderate to produce a particular ideological balance - it moderates to ensure quality, neutrality, and democratic integrity.

These standards will be reviewed periodically. Any material changes will be noted at the foot of this page with the date of amendment.