Gotta Catch an MP! The New Political Craze Sweeping Britain

Published: 14 May 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online.

The year 2016 remains etched in our collective memory as the summer of Pokémon Go. People wandered for miles on end while disrupting concerts and slamming into various metal poles. They were all desperately attempting to capture fantastical cartoon creatures in their quiet local parks. Ten years later a new generation is flocking to another very unique Pokémon-inspired mobile game. Instead of Pikachu or Charizard players are now catching and training up their local politicians. This digital craze allows citizens to build their own custom versions of British political parties. Some savvy MPs are even taking the time to track down and catch themselves online.

Politidex is a free mobile game where players build a rag-tag team of cabinet members. Users can also recruit obscure backbenchers to fill out the ranks of their digital squads. Starting within their local area players travel through UK constituencies teeming with wild sitting MPs. Thousands of local councillors also appear as players hope to catch them all this month. The ultimate goal is to become the dominant party across the entire United Kingdom map. This innovative game officially launched on 6 May and currently features more than 18,000 characters. The roster includes all 650 MPs alongside thousands of hardworking representatives from every local council.

Only a week after launch players have already fought more than 45,000 digital political battles. Over 17,000 politicians have been caught and added to various player collections across the country. Unlike a traditional Pokémon battle players must choose to debate a wild politician to win. This mechanic replaces physical combat with the art of verbal sparring and strategic public oratory. Players target the health bar of their opponent which is now labeled as an approval rating. An arsenal of parliamentary manoeuvres is available to reduce the standing of a rival politician. One might choose a barrage of questions at PMQs to rattle a high-ranking cabinet minister.

A player could also call for a recount to prolong the heat of the battle. Another option involves weakening a rival by deploying a particularly embarrassing or poorly timed soundbite. Senior MPs like Diane Abbott hand out significant damage with several advanced and tactical moves. These include actions such as launching a select committee or issuing a stern policy statement. Other politicians have moves that reference their various historical controversies or well-known public gaffes. Ed Miliband has a move called bacon sandwich while Angela Rayner utilizes her second home. Following a recent HMRC revelation that move was updated to a move titled exoneration today.

Some MPs are exceptionally rare to find while exploring the streets of our major cities. Keir Starmer and Nigel Farage are considered legendary tier characters within the current game world. Others unlock highly powered moves that can change the tide of a very difficult debate. Rachel Blake the MP for Cities of London and Westminster delivers a very nasty blow. Her signature attack is titled international sanctions and it drains approval ratings almost instantly during play. These unique character traits reflect the real-world reputations and career highlights of the featured politicians. The developer wanted to ensure that each digital avatar felt connected to its living counterpart.

The creator of the viral hit Politidex is 28-year-old British game developer Fred Parry. He is a former contestant on Dragons Den who previously launched a successful gaming venture. His full-time job involves running Chicken Rush which is a real-life hide and seek game. That project launched in 2022 and helped him understand how people interact with urban spaces. From the start of development Parry wanted to avoid gameplay that openly antagonised sitting MPs. He was very careful not to depict any form of violence against our elected officials. He wanted the battles to stay focused on a purely professional and political strategic angle.

Parry was very wary of making sure that MPs were not scared of being included. He hoped that Politidex would eventually help to humanise the often distant world of politics. The game teaches people about the network of politicians living in their local residential areas. Most people are just a bit suspicious of politicians as a whole which is sad. Hopefully this game serves as a clever way of flipping the negative national narrative. Instead of trying to defeat politicians you are actually catching and training them for greatness. This sounds like a much more fun way to engage with the democratic process.

The specific inspiration for the Politidex app came about on a recent April Fool’s Day. Parry was thinking about the most ridiculous idea he could feasibly build quite quickly. The core idea was always that a player could catch their own local member. Pokémon is the game that basically made that mechanic famous to his entire generation. He grew up playing those games and felt the format was perfect for politics. It is not like you are hunting them down in a mean-spirited or aggressive way. The experience is quite positive because you are catching them to build a better team.

Parry spent a full month building the application using various advanced artificial intelligence software tools. He used AI to generate the code and the game design at very low costs. He has been very open and honest about using AI tools for the artwork. As a result there has been a bit of a backlash from some artists. He says he really hears those concerns but the game would never have existed. Without those specific tools the project would have remained a dream due to high costs. It is a bit of a catch-22 for an independent developer with limited resources.

The recent local elections made the completion of the project feel increasingly important and timely. He realised many people would be playing who do not yet know their local MP. Over time even the developer started to forget the names of his own local representatives. He admitted that he could not name a single councillor before he started this project. This lack of awareness is a common issue that the game seeks to address directly. By gamifying the local directory people are learning who represents them in the town hall. The feedback from the community suggests that the educational aspect is working very well.

I found myself learning more about where certain MPs are based across the country. One player named Will is a 19-year-old fine arts student living in south-east London. He thinks it is a cool tool to get to know your local councillors. It helps him familiarise himself with politicians on a national level while on his commute. The response from the heart of Westminster has been surprisingly wholesome according to Fred Parry. Several MPs have actually caught themselves while playing the game during their private downtime. They have messaged the developer to say they find the whole concept absolutely hilarious.

Parry wanted to keep the gameplay neutral with a healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek chaos. This is particularly true when players encounter some of the more divisive figures in politics. Nigel Farage has a move called border control which is considered to be quite charged. However another move called milkshake hopefully balances the character out with some lighthearted humor. If we are going to be angry in politics we should at least know names. We often feel let down by politicians or judge their motivations without having basic facts. Having more awareness of who they are and where they work is very important.

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