Why We Built Suffi
Bridging the information gap: How Suffi is making political data accessible when it matters most
The problem with political conversation today is surprisingly simple: it lacks context.
When MPs see poll results showing 62% of constituents oppose a policy, what does that actually tell them? Not much beyond the headline figure.
When people want to understand local issues, they're forced to navigate a labyrinth of government websites, PDFs, and outdated data.
And here's what really bothers me, this inaccessibility actively discourages people from engaging with politics. It's a fundamental barrier to informed democratic participation.
Improving Access
Building Suffi, we wanted to create a tool that democratises access to political information. Currently, finding basic information about your constituency requires navigating multiple government websites or pulling long reports —a process that can take hours rather than seconds.
With Suffi, we've focused on making these fundamental queries effortless:
“Who is the MP in [local area]”
"What's the average income in Harrogate?"
This is about removing barriers to political participation. When information is difficult to find, it creates an artificial divide between politically engaged insiders and everyday citizens.
Crucially, Suffi pulls information exclusively from verified, trusted sources within our comprehensive Data Product Warehouse, avoiding the hallucinations and inaccuracies that plague general-purpose AI tools when asked about political matters.
Visit suffrago.org to try Suffi today!
Beyond Questions and Answers
The purpose of our latest update is meaning – meaning and context.
Traditional polling shows what people think. Social media reveals who shouts loudest. Petitions demonstrate how many care about an issue.
What's consistently missing is the “why” behind these opinions.
That's why we've added comments to the polls on Suffrago, allowing users to explain "why" when voting on questions. These explanations add crucial context that transforms raw opinion data into something meaningful.
When a constituent explains they're concerned about local healthcare waiting times because they've personally experienced a six-month delay—and this connects with constituency-level NHS data showing similar patterns—representatives gain insights rather than just statistics.
Where We're Heading
I won't bore you with all the technical details of what we developed (though I'm happy to dive deeper if you ask me directly), but building Suffi presented some fascinating challenges.
We might not get everything right the first time. This first iteration of Suffi is just the beginning. We have an ambitious roadmap for expanding its capabilities:
Deeper historical data on voting patterns and constituency trends
More granular local insights
Enhanced visualisations that make complex relationships instantly understandable
Integration with real-time parliamentary activities and debates
But perhaps most importantly, we're building a system that learns from user interactions. Every question asked of Suffi helps us understand what people actually want to know about politics and their communities.
Try Suffi Today
Whether you're a constituent looking to make your voice heard, an MP seeking to understand your constituency better, or simply someone interested in local issues, Suffi represents a new way to engage with politics.
Visit suffrago.org to try Suffi today!
I'd love to hear what you think. What questions would you like Suffi to answer? What features would make it more useful for you? This is just the first version, and your feedback will directly shape what comes next.
After all, that's what Suffrago is all about—making sure your voice is heard.