Reporting debates in the Victorian Commons

Today we take it for granted that parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. During the Victorian era, however, there was no ‘official’ record. Dr Philip Salmon shows how, before the advent of modern democracy, public interest in Parliament was sufficient for reports of debates to be produced and sold commercially. As democracy advanced, however, the public’s appetite began to change … During the early 19th … Continue reading Reporting debates in the Victorian Commons

‘The status of the Press is changed indeed’: the reporters’ gallery in the nineteenth-century House of Commons

Continuing our series on parliamentary buildings, Dr Kathryn Rix looks at the accommodation provided for the newspaper journalists who reported on the proceedings of the nineteenth-century House of Commons. The history of parliamentary reporting in the 19th century has two connected strands: the history of Hansard, and the history of reporting by the newspaper press, whose accounts of Commons debates formed the basis for Hansard’s … Continue reading ‘The status of the Press is changed indeed’: the reporters’ gallery in the nineteenth-century House of Commons

‘Abuse and scurrility’? Press reporting of 18th-century elections

As newspapers and television broadcasts continue to be filled with daily news from the 2024 General Election, in today’s blog for the Georgian elections project Dr Robin Eagles turns his attention to the role of the press in 18th century election campaigns… Relations between Parliament and the press in the 18th-century were often strained. Strictly speaking, it was a breach of privilege for the details … Continue reading ‘Abuse and scurrility’? Press reporting of 18th-century elections

The Graphic Parliament: Picturing the House of Commons 1880-1920

At the end of June, History of Parliament Director Dr Paul Seaward joined House of Commons photographer Jess Taylor to take part in a British Academy summer showcase event about picturing the House of Commons, comparing her work to the innovative and evocative illustrations published in a generation of illustrated magazines published from the 1880s to around 1920. You can see a recording of the … Continue reading The Graphic Parliament: Picturing the House of Commons 1880-1920

Hansard at Huddersfield: Making democracy more searchable

Today’s post is a guest blog from Lesley Jeffries of the University of Huddersfield. Lesley explains the Hansard at Huddersfield project which aims to provide some interesting search facilities and visualisations of the results from the record of the UK parliament. I am a linguist working on the language of texts – from poetry to politics – and I sometimes work on what we linguists … Continue reading Hansard at Huddersfield: Making democracy more searchable

Reporting Parliament: Hansard, Throwback Thursday

Today in our ‘Reporting Parliament’ series for Parliament Week, we have a guest blog from the team at Hansard. Here they have recorded the ‘day in the life’ of a Hansard reporter, now and thirty years ago… 2017: Thursday, 9 am I’m on the bus to work, flicking between cat memes and the Hansard website on my iPhone to read last night’s work. I scan … Continue reading Reporting Parliament: Hansard, Throwback Thursday

Acquitted with three huzzas: the impeachment of Robert Harley, earl of Oxford

In today’s ‘Reporting Parliament’ series for Parliament Week 2017, Dr Robin Eagles considers the value of manuscript news accounts of the impeachment of the earl of Oxford just over 300 years ago for providing a more detailed impression of the proceedings. On 1 July 1717 Robert Harley, earl of Oxford, was acquitted of high treason. It was a process that had begun two years previously … Continue reading Acquitted with three huzzas: the impeachment of Robert Harley, earl of Oxford

Reporting Parliament: Invasion scare in Sandwich?

In today’s ‘Reporting Parliament’ series for Parliament Week 2017, Dr Vivienne Larminie, Senior Research Fellow in the Commons 1640-60 Section, discusses the problem of ‘fake news’ during the Civil Wars… The concern of Parliament with the destabilising potential of false news was of long standing, but the advent of civil war in the 1640s provided special reasons to be vigilant against the dissemination of erroneous, … Continue reading Reporting Parliament: Invasion scare in Sandwich?

Reporting Parliament in the Later Middle Ages

Today’s post is the first in our special series of blogs for this year’s Parliament Week: Reporting Parliament throughout the ages. Dr Hannes Kleineke, Senior Research Fellow in our Commons 1422-1504 project, describes how medieval constituents kept up to date with parliamentary business… The evidence for the medieval English parliament, more limited than for other periods of its existence, can give it a somewhat unreal … Continue reading Reporting Parliament in the Later Middle Ages

Reporting George I’s parliaments: a Prussian diplomat’s view

In the latest blog from The Georgian Lords, Dr Charles Littleton continues his examination of foreign reporters of Parliamentary events – a theme that will also feature in our forthcoming coverage for Parliament Week. A recent entry in the History of Parliament’s blog series, emphasized the important role of Huguenots such as Paul Rapin de Thoyras and Abel Boyer in shaping our knowledge of the … Continue reading Reporting George I’s parliaments: a Prussian diplomat’s view