About / Legal

How we are funded

1 Jan 2017
Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster, UK

The Hansard Society is an independent charity registered in England and Wales (Charity No: 1091364).

We have a diverse funding base that serves to protect our independence – we are not dependent on any single external funder.

Two-thirds of our annual income is generated through the Society’s services, particularly our international education programme and the sale of our quarterly journal and other publications. As a non-profit organisation, this income is then re-invested in our research and education projects and our wide-ranging public events programme. It also helps us to undertake a substantial amount of non-funded work such as providing evidence and advisory support to parliamentary committees and other public inquiries both at home and abroad.

Some of our projects are supported through individual donations and grants from charitable trusts, foundations, research councils, parliaments, government departments, and corporate sponsors. We are extremely grateful for their generous support. However, the credibility and reputation of our work depends on it being independently produced. The Society thus retains full, independent control of all our projects including research scope and methods, editorial decisions in relation to all resource materials and publications, and the choice of speakers at our events. Committed to ethical research and transparency we always publish our findings and recommendations regardless of the views of any funder and wherever possible aim to make our work freely available to other researchers and the wider public.

In 2016 we received funds from the following (by income band):

  • Economic and Social Research Council / Department for International Development (jointly funded project)

  • European Commission

  • House of Commons

News / Post Office Horizon scandal: What is Parliament doing about it? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 33

Should Parliament simply overturn the convictions of postmasters caught up in the Post Office Horizon scandal? That’s what the Government proposes to do through the Post Office (Horizon system) Offences Bill. But quashing of convictions is normally a matter for the courts. Some MPs have misgivings about setting a constitutional precedent as well as practical concerns about how the Bill will be implemented. We talk to the Chair of the Justice Select Committee, Sir Bob Neill MP.

03 May 2024
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Events / The inaugural Churchill-Attlee Democracy Lecture, to be given by the Rt Hon Theresa May MP

To mark the Hansard Society’s 80th anniversary we are launching the Churchill-Attlee Democracy Lecture in honour of our first members, Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee. The inaugural lecture will be given by former Prime Minister the Rt Hon Theresa May MP. All profit from ticket sales goes to our 80th Anniversary Appeal. Date & location: Tuesday 14 May 2024, 7:00-8:15pm, Westminster (venue to be announced) Tickets: £25

04 Apr 2024
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News / Is AI set to destroy trust in elections? Tackling misinformation in politics & Parliament, with top fact checker Full Fact's Chris Morris - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 32

The emerging role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in shaping political discourse is a potential game changer. It has the capacity to fabricate fake interviews and manipulate images, all of which could mislead voters and disrupt the democratic process. But could it affect the results of our elections? We talk to Chris Morris, the head of factchecking organisation, Full Fact, about the threats posed by these technologies, the potential scale of misinformation in politics, and the measures politicians and political parties need to take to counteract them.

30 Apr 2024
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Briefings / General election rules and regulations: what has changed?

With a general election on the horizon there has been a spate of new legislation and regulations to implement changes to the way the election will be run, with consequences for voters and electoral administrators. Parliament has not always had a role in approving these changes. This briefing sets out the core changes to the electoral process that have been implemented since the last general election in 2019, the role that Parliament has played in scrutinising and approving them, and the risks arising from these changes.

26 Apr 2024
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News / Rwanda Bill becomes law: but what was really going on behind the scenes in Parliament? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 31

The Rwanda Bill has made it over the parliamentary finishing line but not without some last-minute drama. We talk to the SNP’s Alison Thewliss MP about what went on in a small room, behind the Speaker’s Chair, away from the cameras!

26 Apr 2024
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