A former government minister has joined a civic AI startup as a strategic adviser.
Steve Baker, the former Northern Ireland minister and Conservative MP for Wycombe, has joined Harrogate-based company Suffrago, founded by entrepreneur and former law firm boss Andrew Gray.
He is joined by his former senior adviser, Harry Richer.
Mr Baker said: "There’s never been more noise and less communication.
"MPs are drowning among clamouring voices.
"Unlike other platforms, Suffrago cuts through to the voices representatives need to hear on the issues which matter."
Suffrago is developing a platform that allows users to create polls, gather opinions and use AI to interpret the perspectives behind the results.
The goal is to help MPs, councils, journalists, businesses and the public make better-informed decisions by bringing together evidence and public opinion.
Mr Baker and Mr Richer will advise Suffrago on strategy, focusing on how its technology can serve decision-makers and democratic institutions.
Mr Gray, who lives in Harrogate, said: "Steve has an unusual combination of experience in technology, Parliament and government.
"He understands both what software can achieve and how decisions actually get made.
"We want to build something that helps Britain understand itself better, connecting what is happening with what people think and why.
"Steve and Harry can help us make that useful to the people making decisions."
Before entering Parliament, Mr Baker worked in software engineering, bringing experience from both Westminster and the technology sector to his new advisory role.
Suffrago describes itself as a politically independent platform committed to transparent evidence, open participation and the protection of individual opinions.
The company’s technology is designed to improve civic understanding on a constituency-by-constituency basis.
It aims to help decision-makers make better-informed decisions by bringing together evidence and public opinion.