Terms of Use

Who runs this platform

Common Ground UK is part of Bilcor Group. Bilcor Group runs the platform and is responsible for it. Bilcor Group is not yet registered as a company; these terms will be updated with the company name, number and registered office once it is. All Bilcor platforms follow the group Neutrality and Editorial Policy. Where these terms set a stricter rule, these terms apply.

What the platform is for

Common Ground UK lets people put their view on record on plain-English policy questions and keeps that record next to how Parliament actually voted. It is not a polling company, a petition site, a campaign or a news outlet. It never tells anyone how to vote and never supports or opposes any party, candidate or cause.

Who can take part

You must be 16 or over to answer questions, grade PMQs, vote on Open Floor suggestions or create an account. Before your first answer we ask you to confirm your age and give explicit consent to your answers being recorded. Pupils under 16 can take part only through a teacher-led Schools programme session, which creates no pupil accounts and records no personal data.

Using the platform fairly

You may vote, submit Open Floor questions, read and share results, and quote the data under our Data Licence.

You must not:

• Try to vote more than once on the same question, for example by clearing your browser or using several devices
• Use bots, scripts or any automated tool to vote
• Organise coordinated voting to distort a result
• Submit anything that targets, harasses or stirs up hatred against any person or group
• Try to access, change or disrupt the platform’s systems
• Present our results as a representative national poll, or misquote them

How votes are counted

Each question allows one say per browser, or per account if you are signed in, and every say carries equal weight. We do not weight, adjust or filter results. Full details, including the limits of what the results can show, are on How results are worked out.

The permanent record

Once a question closes, it never reopens and its result is part of a permanent public record. Published results cannot be edited, deleted or replaced, and are never held back. If we find a mistake, or a result shows an unusual voting pattern, we add a dated note beside the original, which stays unchanged. By voting, you understand your vote becomes part of that record (always as part of a total, never against your name).

What you submit

Open Floor submissions are checked by a person before publication. By submitting, you confirm that your question does not target any individual, harass anyone or promote violence or hatred. We may decline any submission. Accepted submissions become part of the public record. If you submit on behalf of an organisation, that organisation will be named on the question.

Ownership

The platform’s design, code, branding and methods belong to Bilcor Group. Results data is published openly under our Data Licence. Parliamentary information is used under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

Paid data products for organisations

This section applies to organisations buying a Starter, Professional or Institutional data subscription, a School or Multi-Academy Trust plan, or a one-off product (a structured data report, a commissioned question or an embeddable vote widget).

Paid and requested questions follow our separate Rules for paid and requested questions, which form part of these terms.

Paying never changes the record. No subscription, report, commission or sponsorship can change how a question is worded, how votes are counted, or what is published and when. Paying customers can get extra detail, such as breakdowns by group, but never different or earlier results than the public. A commissioned question goes through the same neutrality review as every other question, is labelled with the name of the organisation that asked for it, and its results are published in full whatever they show. We take no money from political parties.

Billing. Subscriptions are billed monthly or annually in advance through Stripe. Prices are as shown on commongrounduk.uk/data when you buy, and may change for future billing periods with at least 30 days’ notice.

Cancelling. You can cancel at any time by emailing data@commongrounduk.uk. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period, and you keep access until then. We do not give part refunds for the rest of a period.

First-subscription refund. If you are not satisfied within 14 days of a first subscription, we will refund you in full and cancel it. This applies once per organisation.

One-off products. These are delivered digitally within the time stated when you buy. Once delivered they are non-refundable. If we fail to deliver on time through our own fault, we will refund you in full.

Using the data you buy. You may use it within your organisation and quote it in your own reports and publications, crediting Common Ground UK. You may not resell or pass on the raw data as a product of its own, or present it as your own research.

Suspension. We may suspend or end a subscription, with notice where we can, for breach of these terms, non-payment or misuse of data. If we end a subscription without cause part-way through a paid period, we will refund the unused part.

Liability. Data is supplied as a record of how people who chose to take part answered, not as a representative survey, and without any promise that it suits a particular commercial purpose. As far as the law allows, our total liability to a customer is limited to the fees that customer paid in the 12 months before the claim, and excludes indirect or consequential loss. Nothing here limits liability that the law does not allow to be limited, such as for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud.

Accuracy

Results show the views of people who chose to take part. They are not a scientific poll and should not be described as one. We take parliamentary information directly from Hansard and the official Parliament data services and check it carefully, but we cannot guarantee it is free of error. See our Disclaimer.

Complaints

Complaints are handled under the Bilcor Group Complaints Procedure: we acknowledge within 5 working days and give a full reply within 20, with a review stage if you are not satisfied. Email complaints@commongrounduk.uk.

Changes and law

When these terms change we update the version and date at the top. Continuing to use the platform after a change means you accept the new terms. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales.

Contact

General: contact@commongrounduk.uk
Billing and subscriptions: data@commongrounduk.uk