Parliament at your finger tips.. if you like?

Did you know that from your couch or computer chair, you could be in Parliament at the click of a button? Well not exactly inside Parliament, but near enough.

You can see scripts in the form of an official report of the proceedings and debates of the UK Parliament.

Hansard is the name of this record. Hansard contains a word for word report of all speeches, questions and answers, and statements.

There are separate volumes for the House of Commons and House of Lords.

It takes its name from Luke Hansard who succeeded William Cobbett shortly after he began the reporting of the House of Commons in 1807.

In addition to the Parliament of the United Kingdom and the UK's devolved institutions, a Hansard is maintained for the Parliaments of Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Jamaica Trinidad and Tobago.

Origins of Hansard

Before 1771, the British Parliament had long been a highly secretive body.

The official record of the actions of the House was publicly available, but there was no such record of debates.

Publishing remarks made in the House became a breach of Parliamentary privilege, punishable by the two Houses.

As more people became interested in parliamentary debates, more individuals published unofficial accounts of parliamentary debates. Editors were at worst subjected to fines.

In 1771 Brass Crosby, who was Mayor of London at the time, brought before him a printer called Miller who dared publish reports of Parliamentary proceedings. He released the man, but he was subsequently ordered to appear before the House to explain his actions. Crosby, when brought to trial several judges refused to hear the case and after protests from the public Crosby was released.

Parliament ceased to punish the publishing of its debates, partly due to the campaigns of John Wilkes on the behalf of free speech.

There then began several attempts to publish reports of debates.

Among the early successes, the Parliamentary Register published by John Almon and John Debrett began in 1775 and ran until 1813.

William Cobbett, a noted radical and publisher began publishing Parliamentary Debates as a supplement to his Political Register in 1802, eventually extending his reach back with the Parliamentary History.

Cobbett's reports were printed by a member of the Hansard family from 1809 and in 1812, with his business suffering, Cobbett sold the Debates to Hansard.

From 1829 the name ‘Hansard’ appeared on the title page of each issue.

So Hansard takes its name from a member of the Hansard family who succeeded William Cobbett shortly after he began the reporting of the House of Commons.

You can view the most recent goings on in Parliament at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/pahansard.htm