Exploring links with SimplePolitics.co.uk

[MyfanwyNixon]

I've just had a chat with Tatton Spiller, who runs http://www.simplepolitics.co.uk.

One thing that the site does very well is to put Bills into plain English - see http://www.simplepolitics.co.uk/laws/categories. It covers every bill as it arises.

This is all done manually and, like us, SimplePolitics aims to keep things strictly non-partisan.

As we do not have content on Bills which lays out the background and progress like this, this ticket is to discuss whether there might be benefit in linking to these pages from relevant points (eg upcoming business) on TheyWorkForYou (or, to be more extreme, to pull content in).

I'm sending Tatton the link to this ticket too, so please add questions/concerns etc here and we can discuss.

I'll begin with a question myself: Tatton, how do you decide the content under the title "If I don’t act, will it go through?"?

Other points:

• Each Bill page has a 'how to get involved' section and it would be great if this linked directly to WriteToThem (if the contact is a Lord that's doable, but on reflection, since WTT only allows contact with your own MP, it's not currently feasible for MPs)
• SimplePolitics is relatively young but there might be room for introducing a Bill Tracking functionality eventually, like BillIt?

cc'ing @dracos @struan @mhl @RichardTaylor @JenMysoc @lizconlan for your thoughts (apologies if I've missed anyone obvious out).

[RichardTaylor]

There are related tickets for:

• Page for each Bill before Parliament #516
• Add Bills in a simple form, connect to debates #64
• Deal with questions on which there was no division #629

also the titles of manually described votes on PublicWhip start with the name of the Bill (if they are votes relating to the passage of a specific Bill through Parliament), so the votes on a specific Bill could be extracted and displayed together.

[Tattonspiller]

@MyfanwyNixon - the will it go through section is pretty much just a way of explaining that Private Members Bills are unlikely to go through and Government Bills almost certainly will.