Message from our President

Welcome to the Hansard Society website

The role of the Hansard Society is to promote effective parliamentary democracy through education, information and opportunities for participation. The internet, as it develops as a communication and information tool, brings fresh opportunities to connect citizens to the democratic institutions which serve them.

The Hansard Society is the leading player in the interactive use of communication technologies to strengthen democracy as our eDemocracy Programme demonstrates. As the electronic media enters a new digital era, The Hansard Society will be highlighting new opportunities, bringing together parliamentarians, broadcasters and citizens in a common effort to improve the channels of political communication.

Our website introduces you to our wide range of educational programmes, publications, conferences, commissions and research programmes. I hope you will take up the opportunity to participate – as a school student taking part in our mock elections, a parliamentary intern studying with the Hansard Scholars Programme, an organisation taking part in our seminars and round table discussions, a supporter attending one of our conferences or Democracy Forum meetings or a contributor to our online consultations.

I hope that you find the site informative and interesting and look forward to receiving your feedback.

Rt Hon Michael Martin MP
Speaker of the House of Commons