What is Opendata Mcp Lab

opendata-mcp-lab is a Model Context Protocol Server that provides access to public open data APIs from the UK Parliament, enabling large language models to query parliamentary data.

Use cases

Use cases include querying information about MPs, tracking legislative changes, analyzing voting records, and retrieving information on specific bills or committees.

How to use

Users can interact with opendata-mcp-lab by sending queries related to UK parliamentary data, such as asking about members, bills, and committees. It is designed to work with AI tools like Microsoft Copilot.

Key features

Key features include access to a wide range of parliamentary data, the ability to answer specific questions about members and legislative activities, and integration capabilities with AI models.

Where to use

opendata-mcp-lab can be used in fields such as data analysis, political research, AI development, and public information services.

UK Parliament Open Data - Model Context Protocol Server

Introduction

This project makes public UK Parliamentary data accessible to large language models (LLMs/AIs) using the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

It enables AI tools (e.g. Microsoft Copilot) to answer questions about UK Parliamentary data, as long as they support the MCP protocol.

⚠️ This project does not expose all possible public parliamentary data — yet.
Support for more queries is planned and relatively easy to expand.

Since AI is involved, some responses may be inaccurate. See Prompting Tips below to improve reliability.

Installation & Setup

This section explains how to configure Microsoft Copilot in Visual Studio Code to query UK Parliamentary data via the MCP server.

Prerequisites

Make sure you have the following installed:

• .NET SDK (v9 or later recommended)
• Git
• Visual Studio Code

Clone and Open the Project

git clone https://github.com/chrisbrooksbank-parliament/opendata-mcp-lab.git
cd opendata-mcp-lab

Or download manually and open the folder in VS Code.

Add MCP Server in VS Code

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the Command Palette.
2. Select MCP: Add Server.
3. Choose Command: Stdio.
4. Enter the following command (adjust path if needed):

dotnet run --project C:\code\opendata-mcp-lab\OpenData.Mcp.Server\OpenData.Mcp.Server.csproj

5. Press Enter.

Start the Server

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P again.
2. Select MCP: List Servers.
3. Click the server you just added and choose Start server.

First Interaction

1. Open Copilot Chat in VS Code.
2. Set Agent mode using the dropdown in the bottom-left.
3. Click Configure Tools, and select all tools from the newly added MCP server.
4. Try a prompt like:

What is happening now in the House of Commons?

5. Accept any permission request to allow the MCP call.

Prompting Tips

✅ Reduce Hallucinations

Start with a system prompt like:

Get all data from MCP servers

This encourages the AI to avoid guessing and only use actual MCP data.

Typical response:

Understood. I will only provide responses using data directly from the MCP servers.

🔄 Clear Context

Use the + icon (new chat) if:

• The AI seems stuck in a loop
• You want to reset the conversation context

🔗 See the API URL Used

You can ask:

Show me the API URL just used

Example response:

The API URL just used to retrieve information about Boris Johnson is:
https://members-api.parliament.uk/api/Members/Search?Name=Boris%20Johnson

🧠 Combine Data from Multiple Sources

Example:

Has Chelmsford been mentioned in either the Commons or Lords?

The AI may:

• Query both Commons and Lords Hansard
• Combine the results
• Offer more detail if requested

🧾 See the Raw JSON

Example:

Show me the JSON returned from the last MCP call

Useful for debugging or inspecting the raw structure.

Example Prompts

• What is happening now in both houses
• show me interests of Sir Keir Starmer
• Who is Boris Johnson?
• Search Erskine May for references to the mace.
• Are there any statutory instruments about harbours?
• Who is the member with ID 1471?
• What treaties involve Spain?
• Show the full data from this pasted API result: {PasteApiResultHere}
• Search Commons Divisions for the keyword “refugee”
• What recent bills are about fishing?
• Which committees are focused on women’s issues?
• Show early day motions submitted by member 1471
• What parties are represented in the House of Commons?
• List all categories of members’ interests
• What bills were updated recently?
• Show all bill types
• List committee meetings scheduled for November 2024
• What government departments exist?
• What are the answering bodies in Parliament?
• List all committee types
• Show recent contributions from member 172
• Search Hansard for contributions on Brexit from November 2024
• Get published registers of interests
• Show oral question times for questions tabled in November 2024
• List all UK constituencies
• Show the election results for constituency 4359
• What is the Commons voting record for member 4129?
• What is the Lords voting record for member 3743?
• Show staff interests for Lords members
• Search Acts of Parliament that mention roads

Final Thoughts

The project is under active development, with plans to increase data coverage and improve interaction quality. Contributions and feedback are welcome.