While some people have never have heard of Hansard, we think it one of the most important resources for the UK’s democracy to function well. Consider, for example, that most British citizens are unable to attend public debates on a regular basis. Yes, they can read newspaper reports, but these are often biased and might contradict each other. Were it not for Hansard, UK citizens would not be able to access a substantially verbatim report of parliamentary debate. Though edited for repetitions and obvious mistakes, it is an unbiased report, the provision of which affords public engagement with what was actually said in parliament.

Although Hansard’s primary purpose may be to make parliamentary debate accessible to the public, those actually using it regularly are mainly politicians and intermediaries, whose job it is us to collectively disseminate political knowledge among voters. Think journalists, academics, and those working for think tanks and pressure groups. With higher levels of research skill than average, they have nevertheless found the current Hansard dataset difficult to research. Many who have attempted to use Hansard have been left frustrated by the difficulty of extracting just the data they needed from all the millions of Hansard’s words. It is obvious, however, that if Hansard is essential to a fully-functioning representative democracy, it should be accessible and easily searchable for all. Ideally, search options should cater for different kinds of users, and results should be clearly and attractively presented. This would help those already using it, but would also engage the wider public, leading to a higher level of public engagement with political debate.

Hansard at Huddersfield has recognised these problems with Hansard’s existing online interface. Although it has recently undergone a process of streamlining, bringing the different access points onto one website, there remain limitations on its searchability. Consequently, we have set out to develop a highly usable interface that provides for the research needs of its potential users. An easily searchable website that provides clearly visualised data of complex searches. A website that responds to what the public wants to know, and that enables professionals to search for the Hansard sections they need to engage with their political concerns. We are already collaborating with potential end-users of our interface and would love to hear from other organisations wanting to test it out as it develops. Your feedback is invaluable in the creation of a maximally effective tool for accessing Hansard, which we hope will ultimately affect the way that the voting public use this valuable resource. If so, we dare to hope that our new interface to this valuable data will, in some modest way, enhance the public’s engagement with democracy.