How we write summaries

Parliament Watch turns parliamentary activity into something a non-expert can read in 30 seconds. Here's how the process works.

The source

Every summary is based on public records from the UK Parliament:

• Hansard, for speeches and oral questions
• Commons Votes API, for divisions
• Bills API, for sponsored legislation
• Written Questions API, for tabled questions
• Early Day Motions API, for motions signed

Nothing in the app comes from news sources or third-party commentary. Everything is drawn from the official parliamentary record.

The drafting process

Each evening, after Parliament rises, an automated job pulls that day's activity for every Commons MP. For each piece of activity, Anthropic's Claude API drafts a short summary (two or three sentences) using a tightly constrained prompt.

The prompt tells Claude:

• Read at age 12 or lower
• No parliamentary jargon
• Active voice
• No editorialising on whether something was good or bad
• No words like "controversial", "brave", "shocking"
• Mention the constituency if the MP did

The review process

Every summary drafted by Claude is reviewed by a human before it reaches a user. At the moment that's me, Tobi Ogunmoyero. I approve, edit, or reject.

If I edit a summary, the original Claude draft is logged alongside my edit. This helps me refine the prompt over time.

If I reject a summary, it never appears in the app.

What we don't do

We don't quote MPs out of context. Every direct quote in a summary is checked against Hansard.

We don't infer motives. If an MP voted against their party, the summary will say so, but it won't speculate about why unless the MP stated a reason in the chamber.

We don't summarise activity we can't verify. If the record is unclear, we leave it out.

When we get it wrong

We will get things wrong sometimes. When you spot a problem, email support@parliamentwatch.uk with a screenshot and I'll fix it within 24 hours and tell you what happened.

If you're an MP or work for one, email press@parliamentwatch.uk.

Why bother

Parliament publishes a huge amount of useful data every day. The trouble is that most of it sits behind interfaces designed for researchers, journalists, or people who already know what a division is. The UK Parliament is moving its services to the web, but the result still feels closer to a government portal than a product. TheyWorkForYou, which is the best alternative, hasn't had a serious redesign since 2007.

Parliament Watch is for everyone else: people who care what their MP is doing but don't have time to learn parliamentary procedure. The whole thing is free to use, with no ads and no account. If it stays useful, I'll keep building it.

— Tobi