About / Legal

How we are funded

Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster, UK

The Hansard Society is an independent charity registered in England and Wales (charity number 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 / Parliament Matters Bulletin: What’s coming up in Parliament this week? 2-6 March 2026

The newly elected Green MP, Hannah Spencer, will be introduced to the House of Commons. A Ministerial Statement is expected on the situation in Iran, while the Foreign Secretary faces MPs’ questions. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver her Spring Statement, and MPs will consider billions of pounds in revised departmental spending through the Supplementary Estimates. The Commons will debate the Representation of the People Bill, the contribution of Commonwealth troops in the First World War, and the future of palliative care. In the Lords, Peers will scrutinise the Crime and Policing, Tobacco and Vapes, National Insurance Contributions, and English Devolution bills, as well as debate the India trade deal and International Women’s Day. Select committees will hear from Northern Ireland, Home Office and Cabinet Office ministers, military experts on the Armed Forces Bill, and Bank of England officials.

01 Mar 2026
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News / Mandelson, Andrew and Epstein: Should there be parliamentary committee of inquiry? A conversation with Tom Tugendhat MP - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 133

After the Greens’ Gorton and Denton by-election win, we assess the fallout: pressure on the Prime Minister, possible party-switching, shifting alliances, and whether mainstream parties’ sub-30% vote share could revive electoral reform. Tom Tugendhat MP calls for a parliamentary “super-committee” to probe the Mandelson–Mountbatten-Windsor saga. Plus: Speaker drama over Mandelson’s arrest, and looming battles over the Spring Statement and billions in public spending. Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · Acast · YouTube · Other apps · RSS

28 Feb 2026
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News / The forgotten pioneer: Who was Margaret Bondfield, Britain’s first female Cabinet Minister? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 132

Why is Britain’s first female Cabinet Minister largely forgotten? Historian Nan Sloane discusses her new biography of Margaret Bondfield, the trade unionist who became the first woman in the British Cabinet. Rising from harsh shop-floor conditions to national prominence, Bondfield took office as Minister of Labour in 1929 at the onset of the Great Depression. As economic crisis split the Labour Party, her reputation never recovered. Was she a pioneer, pragmatist, or unfairly judged? Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · Acast · YouTube · Other apps · RSS

20 Feb 2026
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News / What happens when you lose the party whip? A conversation with Neil Duncan-Jordan MP - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 131

Labour MP Neil Duncan-Jordan reflects on rebelling against the whip and calling for Keir Starmer to resign, as we assess the fallout from the Mandelson–Epstein affair and its implications for the Government’s legislative programme and House of Lords reform. We examine Gordon Brown’s sweeping standards proposals, question whether they would restore public trust, revisit tensions over the assisted dying bill in the Lord and discuss two key Procedure Committee reports on Commons debates and internal elections. Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · Acast · YouTube · Other apps · RSS

13 Feb 2026
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Blog / Once again, there is still no alternative: the costed proposals for Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster

The Restoration and Renewal Client Board’s latest report once again confirms what Parliament has known for nearly a decade: the cheapest, quickest and safest way to restore the Palace of Westminster is for MPs and Peers to move out during the works. The “full decant” option was endorsed in 2018 and reaffirmed repeatedly since. Remaining in the building could more than double costs, extend works into the 2080s, and increase risks to safety, accessibility and security. With the Palace already deteriorating and millions spent each year on patchwork repairs, further delay would itself be an expensive course of action, one that defers decisions without offering a viable alternative.

07 Feb 2026
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