canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/parliament.uk/parliament-uk-commons-votes

# Parliament Uk UK Parliament Commons Votes API

UK Parliament Commons Votes API provides access to House of Commons division voting records including vote outcomes, member voting records (Aye or No, with members who have no vote recorded listed separately), teller information, and party breakdowns. The API enables searching divisions by date range, member, division number, or keywords, retrieving individual division details with full member voting lists, querying member voting history across divisions, obtaining divisions grouped by party vote counts, and counting total results for pagination. Public and unauthenticated access.

## For AI agents

Query House of Commons division votes, member voting records, and party breakdowns for legislative and political analysis.

## Scope

Does not include Lords votes (use Lords Votes API), Bill metadata (use Bills API), or member biographies - use only for Commons division voting records.

## Capabilities

- Search divisions by date range, member ID, division number, or search term in title
- Retrieve division details including title, date, Aye/No counts, tellers, and full member vote lists
- Query voting records for a specific member across divisions with filters
- Get divisions grouped by party showing vote counts per party for Ayes and Noes
- Count total divisions matching search criteria for pagination
- Filter by whether a member was a teller in addition to their vote

## Use cases

### MP Voting Record Analysis

Political researchers and constituents track how MPs vote. GET `/data/divisions.{format}/membervoting`?queryParameters.memberId={id} returns all divisions a member participated in with their vote (Aye/No) and teller status. Filter by date range or search term to narrow results. Useful for accountability and constituent communication.

Example prompt: GET `/data/divisions.{format}/membervoting`?queryParameters.memberId={memberId}&queryParameters.startDate={YYYY-MM-DD} to retrieve a member's votes in a date range.

### Division Outcome Tracking

News organizations and civic tech projects track division outcomes and party discipline. GET `/data/divisions.{format}/search` returns divisions matching criteria. GET `/data/division/{divisionId}.{format}` retrieves full details including Ayes, Noes, tellers, and EVEL (English Votes for English Laws) information. Combine with /groupedbyparty for party whip analysis.

Example prompt: GET `/data/divisions.{format}/search`?queryParameters.searchTerm={keyword}&queryParameters.startDate={date} to find divisions, then GET `/data/division/{divisionId}.{format}` for full vote breakdown.

### Party Whip Analysis

Analysts study party discipline by comparing party-grouped votes. GET `/data/divisions.{format}/groupedbyparty` returns divisions with AyeCount and NoCount aggregated by party. Identify rebellions by comparing individual member votes (from /membervoting) against party majority positions.

Example prompt: GET `/data/divisions.{format}/groupedbyparty`?queryParameters.searchTerm={keyword} to see party-level vote counts, then cross-reference with individual member votes to spot rebels.

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GET | `/data/divisions.{format}/search` | Search divisions by filters |
| GET | `/data/division/{divisionId}.{format}` | Get division details with full member votes |
| GET | `/data/divisions.{format}/membervoting` | Get voting records for a member |
| GET | `/data/divisions.{format}/groupedbyparty` | Get divisions with party vote breakdowns |
| GET | `/data/divisions.{format}/searchTotalResults` | Return total results count for a division search |

## Key resources

- **Divisions** — Voting events in the House of Commons with Aye/No counts, member lists, and outcomes
- **Member Voting Records** — Individual MP votes (Aye/No) and teller roles across divisions

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** Wiring the UK Parliament Commons Votes API by hand means pointing a client at its public host, shaping the division search and member-voting routes with their format suffix, and handling pagination yourself. Through Jentic you install once, import the Commons Votes API from the API Directory, and your agent calls it with no credential to manage.
- **Permission scoping:** The Commons Votes API puts the division id in the URL path (`/data/division/{divisionId}.{format}`), so a rule can pin your agent to one division or to the read-only vote lookups. Since this public API only reads Commons division records, the agent stays limited to retrieval.
- **Credential handling:** The Commons Votes API is public, so there is no credential to store; Jentic shapes the request and parses the response at execution time. No token ever enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
- **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'an MP voting record' or 'Commons division votes', and Jentic returns the matching Commons Votes operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without browsing the reference docs.

## Related APIs

- **UK Parliament Bills API** — Bills API tracks Bill lifecycle while Commons Votes shows how MPs voted on those Bills and amendments.
- **Lords Votes API** — Lords Votes covers House of Lords divisions while Commons Votes covers House of Commons divisions.

## FAQ

### Does the Commons Votes API require authentication?

No. The API is public and open for research and civic use without authentication or API keys.

### Can I track how a specific MP voted across all divisions?

Yes. GET `/data/divisions.{format}/membervoting`?queryParameters.memberId={id} returns all divisions the MP participated in with their vote. Filter by date range or search term.

### What formats are supported?

The API supports both JSON and XML. Specify {format} as 'json' or 'xml' in the path.

### Is there a Commons Votes API MCP server, or can I connect it directly?

You don't need an MCP server to give your agent the Commons Votes API. Jentic connects it directly from the API Directory: install Jentic One, import the Commons Votes API, and your agent calls its 5 read operations. Because the API is public, you have no credential to configure, and your own rules decide which division lookups the agent may call.

### Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the Commons Votes API?

Yes. Because you run Jentic One yourself, your own rules decide which Commons Votes operations your agent may call, so you can allow only read lookups like GET `/data/divisions.{format}/search`, GET `/data/divisions.{format}/membervoting`, and GET `/data/divisions.{format}/groupedbyparty.` Since the division id sits in the URL path at GET `/data/division/{divisionId}.{format}`, a rule can pin the agent to a single division or to specific vote lookups. This is a public, read-only API, so the agent stays limited to retrieving Commons division records and cannot change anything.