About the Phi100 Panel |

Wednesday 29th April 2009 | 17:44

About the Phi100 Panel

Imagine if you could get 100 of the best and most influential political brains in the country in a room, every morning, and get their collective take on the big issues of the day. Top MPs from all parties, strategists and think tank heads, leading columnists, bloggers and political editors. A who's who of political decision-makers, all taking a daily vote to give an aggregate view of today's expert political opinion. This is what the PoliticsHome Phi100 panel is - except instead of meeting they answer electronically on their mobile devices, wherever they are, in an anonymous vote that enables these public figures to safely disagree with an editorial or party line.

Suddenly that hackneyed phrase "according to Westminster insiders" has a new meaning. Instead of a journalist ringing a few names on his contact book to get a sense of how the wind is blowing, there is now a scientific, politically balanced daily appraisal of the political consensus at the very heart of power.

Even if you think the consensus tends to be wrong, even if you are opposed to the closed nature of the Lobby and political pundits the daily results of the Phi100 are an invaluable tool: these people are not only experts with privileged information - they also write the news narrative. So if they think something is important, you can guarantee you will be hearing about it over the coming days.

The Phi100 panel levels the playing field and serves an important democratic purpose: you don't have to be in Parliament Square to know what is going on anymore. The inside track is now open to anyone.