Lots of people are talking about how social media will play a big part in the outcome of the general election this year, much like it did for the presidential elections in the U.S. last year. However, I think there’s an opportunity for hyperlocals and community sites of all kinds to really shine this year so here’s a few tips and tools for helping site owners to do just that.
1. Your Next MP
YourNextMP.com is a great free site which aims to provide contact details and background information for every candidate from every party in every constituency. The service helps to make candidates more accessible to constituents to learn more about what their choices are for the election, and if information is missing anyone can edit the site to add the right details. They provide a free API, too so you can, if you have the tech know-how, incorporate the details into your own site!
2. The Straight Choice
Most of us get election leaflets through the door full of promises, but how do we make sure that, if elected, candidates keep their promises? That’s where The Straight Choice comes in. Yet another great, free, collaborative site which aims to record all the election leaflets that are delivered so that you can look back at what the politicians promised and then compare it to what they actually do. Hold those politicians to account – add leaflets you receive and encourage your readers to do the same!
They also offer a free widget for your web site which shows the leaflets they have for your constituency. For example, see the one for Lichfield in use on The Lichfield Blog. They’re on Twitter, too: @thesc.
3. Election Champion
Very similar to The Straight Choice, Election Champion focuses on billboards, allowing you to upload photos of billboards. They’ve turned it into a bit of a game, too. There’s a leaderboard and everything! Again, upload your own and encourage your readers to do the same. Find them on Twitter at @electionchamp.
4. Democracy Club
Sites like YourNextMP, The Straight Choice and Election Champion are great but it’s also good to be pro-active about candidate policies. Democracy Club is a built by a “handful of volunteers who care about democracy” enough to encourage over 6,000 (as I type) to join up and collaborate on gathering information about their candidates. They all work towards completing tasks, such as finding contact information to add to YourNextMP.com and chasing up questionnaires on policy which feeds into TheyWorkForYou.com.
They’re charting the responses from candidates, too, indicating which parties are most engaging with the electorate and quite simply aim to hold elected politicians to account. Join up, encourage your readers to join, and follow them on Twitter. Also check out 38 Degrees which is doing similar work and has already achieved a lot.
5. Candidate interests
As you may or may not know, all Members of Parliament have to declare any outside interests, include shareholdings and paid work. In March, the Ministry of Justice issued guidance to all the candidates for this upcoming election. The guidance says, “All candidates at parliamentary elections should publish, at nomination, a register of interests including the existence of other paid jobs and whether they intend to continue to hold them, if elected.”
This is important because it shows where a candidate’s loyalties may lie when it comes to votes in the Commons and any potential conflicts of interest. One question for the candidates in your area, then is whether they have issued any such declaration of interests and if not, why. If they have, of course, you should also scrutinise it!
6. Guardian Constituency Pages
The Guardian, sticking as ever to their great mantra of “facts are sacred” have built a fantastic set of pages for the election which show all sorts of facts and figures for each constituency. These include turnout, majority, swing required to change MP. One interesting way this information could be used is to see how it’s regarded by opposition parties by looking at the “target seat” information which tells you how far up the ‘hit list’ the constituency is for each party. Take Sittingbourne and Sheppey, for example which is the highest priority target for Labour who are defending the seat.
7. Public Whip
Last but by no means least is Public Whip. Another great political site, this one shows the voting record of MPs and groups together votes on particular issues. If you’re current MP is campaigning to be re-elected and making promises, why not see if his/her previous actions in Parliament support the promises he/she is making in order to win your vote. If not, call him or her on it and hold them to account!
8. Categorise and tag
One last tip: tag and categorise everything you do! Add any posts and articles you write on the election to a GE2010 category and tag them with ‘GE2010′. If you use Twitter to talk about the election, use the #GE2010 hashtag and the hashtag for your constituency as drawn up by Political Betting. Doing so will help your readers and others interested in what’s going on to keep up to date with your coverage of the election.
Anything I’ve missed? Add it to the comments below!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Top post to keep hyperlocals busy. What we goona cover once the #GE2010 is over?
Who knows mate… we’ll have to pray for a hung Parliament and another election within a year!