British History: Primary Sources - Government

Parliamentary Debates

This series, most often referred to as Hansard, reports debates in the houses of Parliament. The first four series cover debate up through 1908; these are authorized but are neither complete nor necessarily verbatim and came from secondary sources. The fifth and sixth series which starts in 1909 are complete and verbatim. Parliamentary debate before 1803 is covered by Cobbett's Parliamentary History of England from the Earliest Period to the Year 1803. This work is a retrospective compilation rather than a contemporaneous record.

Commons and Lords debates were published together through 1908. From 1909, the debates were published separately by the government and were given the label "Official Report".

House of Lords debates through 1908 and House of Commons

See the table following this one for more Lords debates.

✓ online database appears to be comprehensive for the given time period. However, UK Parliament reports for the Hansard website that "we are aware that a small number of volumes for both Houses are missing from the website. We aim to locate these volumes in a suitable format for publication."

House of Lords Debates

The publications below include only House of Lords debates. Please see the table above for debates prior to 1909 when House of Lords were published with the House of Commons debates (with the exception of Timberland).

✓ online database appears to be comprehensive for the given time period. However, UK Parliament reports for the Hansard website that "we are aware that a small number of volumes for both Houses are missing from the website. We aim to locate these volumes in a suitable format for publication."

Sources for debates of the House of Commons, 1768-1774
Main Ref J301 .T55 1959

For more information: see list of digitized sources of Parliamentary Debates, U.K. Parliament.

Related guides

• Law Research Guide: Foreign Constitutions & Law

The U.K. Parliamentary Papers database includes

• Debates in the House of Commons and House of Lords, 1774-1805; Hansard, 1803-2005.
  Hansard is the Official Report of debates in Parliament. "Debates" includes the predecessors of Hansard, the Parliamentary Register (1774-1805) by various publishers.
• Bills and Acts, 1695-2004.
• House of Commons Papers, 1715-2004.
  Papers resulting from the work of the House of Commons and its Committees.
• House of Lords Papers, 1714-1805.
  Papers resulting from the work of the House of Lords and its Committees.
• Journals, 1688-1834.
  Formal, corrected and archival accounts of parliamentary business. Does not record speeches and debates.
• Command Papers, 1833-2004.
  Includes information or decisions of the Government presented "by Command of Her Majesty".
• Histories and Proceedings, 1660-1743.
  An account of proceedings and debates based on reports from contemporary periodicals.

Parliamentary Archives online

Letters and papers, foreign and domestic, of the reign of Henry VIII
Main DA25 .E112. Also digital version from  British History Online.

Calendar of state papers, Colonial series
Main DA25 .H5. Also digital version: Calendar of State Papers, Colonial, America and West Indies, 1574-1739; Calendar of State Papers, Colonial, East Indies, China and Japan, 1513-1634.

British And Foreign State Papers, v.1-170. 1812-1969
Many also available online from Hathi Trust.  Main JX103 .A3

The public general acts and General Synod measures 1972-1987
Main KD125.
Partial contents from 1801-1987 also online.  

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674-1913
"The largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing 197,745 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court."

Index to House of Commons parliamentary papers (from 1801- 1990s) located at the H-L reference desk. (U.K. Parliamentary Papers may be a better source to use.)

A guide to parliamentary papers; what they are, how to find them, how to use them
Main Ref J301 .M3 1972

House of Commons sessional papers of the eighteenth century
Main folio J301 .K625 1975 

Catalogue of parliamentary papers, 1801-1900, with a few of earlier date (arranged by subject)  (sessional papers) 
Main Ref J301 .M3 1801-1910

Catalogue of parliamentary papers, 1901-1910, being a supplement to catalogue of parliamentary papers, 1801-1900 (arranged by subject)  (sessional papers) 
Main Ref  J301 .M3 1801-1910 suppl

Select list of British parliamentary, papers, 1833-1899 (sessional papers)
Main Ref  J301 .M3 1833-1899

A breviate of parliamentary papers, 1900-1916; the foundation of the welfare state
Main Ref  J301 .M3 1900-1916 

Serial publications in the British Parliamentary papers, 1900-1968; a bibliography
Main Ref  J301 .R63 1971

A breviate of parliamentary papers, 1917-1939
Main Ref J301 .M3 1917-1939

A breviate of parliamentary papers, 1940-1954 : war and reconstruction 
Main Ref J301 .M3 1940-1954

Select list of British parliamentary papers, 1955-1964
Main Ref J301 .M3 1955-1964