Hansard
Official verbatim record of UK parliamentary proceedings, published daily since 1803.
Last refreshed: 22 May 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
What did Jenrick say in Hansard about election postponement?
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UK Local Elections 2026- What is Hansard?
- The official verbatim record of UK parliamentary debates and proceedings, published since 1803.
- Where can I read Hansard online?
- Hansard is freely searchable at Hansard.Parliament.uk with records dating back to 1803.
- What did Robert Jenrick say in the Commons debate about West Sussex County Council elections?
- The 9 February 2026 Commons adjournment debate on West Sussex County Council elections, where Jenrick claimed prior-tenure legal advice had judged postponement unlawful, is a Hansard record.Source: Hansard
- What is Hansard and why is it used as a legal source?
- Hansard is the verbatim record of UK parliamentary proceedings published since 1803. Statements on the floor of Parliament carry parliamentary privilege and cannot be the subject of libel action, giving them a legal authority press interviews lack.
- Is the Hansard Society the same as Hansard the parliamentary record?
- No. The Hansard Society is a separate, independent NGO founded in 1944 to promote parliamentary democracy. Hansard itself is the official parliamentary record published by Parliament.
- What did the Hansard Society say about the RPA Bill being excluded from wash-up?
- The Hansard Society published commentary during the April 2026 wash-up period on the Representation of the People Bill's exclusion from the four-bill programme, noting that a bill requiring nine committee sittings cannot be expedited in wash-up.Source: Lowdown
- Why did Robert Jenrick use Parliament rather than a press conference to reveal legal advice?
- Parliamentary privilege protects statements made on the floor of the House from defamation claims. By making the claim in a Commons adjournment debate recorded in Hansard, Jenrick ensured it was both verifiable and legally protected.
Background
Hansard is the official, substantially verbatim record of all debates and proceedings of the UK Parliament, including 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 Parliament took over. 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 and was cited as the definitive source for Jenrick's claim. Statements made on the floor 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. 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 is also the record of parliamentary proceedings on the Representation of the People Bill, including the prorogation announcement that Left the Bill without Royal Assent. The Hansard Society, a separate NGO founded in 1944 to promote parliamentary democracy, published commentary during the wash-up period on the RPA Bill's exclusion from the four-bill programme and what the omission means for campaign-finance reform.