BCS MP Web Awards 2011

The Winners

Previously I have commented on the first round of judging for these awards. The winners were announced during a reception at the House of Commons on 23 November, and were as follows:

• Usability : Andrew Mitchell MP
• Engagement : Jim Murphy MP
• Accessibility : Chris Grayling MP
• Social Media : David Miliband MP
• Overall : George Freeman MP

As I remembered to take my camera, there are some unofficial photos here

The Contenders from my Review Group

I can only comment on those sites allocated to me, and highlight the leading contenders from that group. The best were:

• Chuka Umunna
• Stephen Twigg
• Jo Swinson
• Elizabeth Truss

All four of these MPs, despite having vastly different web site layouts and styles, scored very highly and stood out from the others in my group due to:

• Clear, simple layouts, making the sites easy to navigate
• Obvious use of social media, with clear links on the home page, and/or embedded content from social media
• Regularly updated local constituency news items

What was particularly interesting about Jo Swinson's site is that it uses what appears to be a standard Lib Dem template, yet other MPs on my list using the same template didn't seem to use it anywhere near as well.

My Conclusion

I'm surprised that the political parties themselves don't operate a review mechanism to ensure that all their MPs are presenting themselves consistently, and are making use of social media, and using all channels to regularly communicate and update on their activities.