Hansard

Hansard is the official, substantially verbatim record of all debates and proceedings of the UK Parliament — both the House of Commons and the House of Lords — published since 1803. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard, the printer who first produced it independently before it was taken over by Parliament. Hansard also records written questions, written statements, and committee proceedings.

Hansard is the gold-standard primary source for anything said on the floor of Parliament or in committee. The 9 February 2026 Commons adjournment debate on the Elections to West Sussex County Council — where Robert Jenrick MP stated that legal advice received during his tenure as Secretary of State had already judged second-year election postponement unlawful — is a verbatim Hansard record. Hansard is freely searchable at Hansard.Parliament.uk and is cited as the definitive source for MP statements in UK journalism and legal proceedings.

In the 2026 elections context, Hansard functions as the unchallengeable record of the legal and political arguments that forced the government to reverse its election-postponement policy. Statements made on the floor of the Commons carry parliamentary privilege and cannot be the subject of libel action, which is precisely why Jenrick chose that forum to reveal the existence of prior legal advice.