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Hansard is recruiting a new cohort of reporters now - applications are open until 23 March 2025.
We’re looking for six people to join us as new parliamentary reporters. It’s an unusual job—probably not quite what you’d expect. Being a parliamentary reporter isn’t simply about transcription. At the Official Report (also known as Hansard), we aim to make proceedings in the House of Commons accessible the reader, which means producing a report that is substantially verbatim, not word for word; speech is messy and often just doesn’t make sense when transcribed to the letter. That means reporters use their judgment to turn the spoken word into clear written English.
As a parliamentary reporter, you’ll be part of a team reporting what MPs say in Westminster Hall and legislative committees, as well as expert witnesses in select committees. Sometimes that will mean you attend the debates yourself and other times you won’t—that bit is easier to explain in person, but you can find out more in the job description.
What makes a good parliamentary reporter?
We’re looking for people from all walks of life and with all sorts of interests. We report debates on every subject under the sun. Name anything—I guarantee there’s been a parliamentary debate on it. Climate change? Of course. Cryptocurrencies? Yep. Cats? You betcha! We need diversity of knowledge among our team in order to publish accurate reports to tight deadlines.
You don’t need to have studied politics or know much about how Parliament works. You’ll pick that up just by being here. But I can’t put a price on knowing which colleagues to call on when I need to understand an obscure 1950s baseball reference, a Latin pun, the name of every S Club 7 song that made it to the top 10 or even the latest murder in The Traitors. It’s pretty straightforward: all kinds of interests and backgrounds make our team better at what we do. All knowledge is Hansard knowledge.
There is one thing we all have in common, though: a love of language. That doesn’t mean being a grammar pedant. It means thinking carefully about the ways language is used and changes, and the difference between the spoken word and the written word. Accurately translating from one to the other can be more of a puzzle than it might sound—and it sometimes means bending “the rules”.
Skills checklist
If we haven’t quite spelled it out yet, we don’t mind if you’ve never considered a job in Parliament, you’ve wanted to work here all your life, or if you come from a background in translation, history, music, finance or sport—anything at all. We just need you to show us that you:
- have a strong command of the way the English language works, in all its forms
- are a great listener—deciphering acronyms you’ve never heard before, registering a subtle change in tone, tuning into an unfamiliar accent
- can understand and follow complex arguments (even when you don’t necessarily know much about the subject)
- can search the internet quickly and accurately
- work well under pressure
- aren’t afraid to ask for help and to assist others—teamwork is essential
Training
Hopefully you’re thinking, “Where do I apply?” or even “I know someone who would be perfect for this!” But some of you might be questioning how well equipped you are, even though you love the sound of the job. If you’re one of those people—don’t worry, we’re not looking for the finished article.
A career at the Official Report begins with a comprehensive training course, accredited by City St George’s, University of London. The first three months are based in a training room, with frequent visits to the chambers and committees of the House of Commons, so you become immersed in every aspect of your new role. After that, you’ll be doing the job for real while analysing your own work and getting in-depth feedback. And you’ll get a postgraduate diploma in parliamentary reporting when you pass the course.
Recruitment process
If you’re up for the challenge, start by having a good look at our website. Reading our reports of debates is a great starting point for understanding what we do. For the full experience, you could even compare our work with the footage on Parliament Live.
Our recruitment process is in three stages and every step will be assessed by humans—the very ones you'll be working with if you land the role.
First, you'll complete a short application form. Alongside that, there's a proofreading test. It isn't about anything parliamentary, but it does give you the chance to show off your eye for detail and editorial hunch. Top tip: that hunch should be, "I'd better google everything, even if I think I know it already."
Secondly, we'll send you a short transcription test. This isn't a trap. We understand that transcription techniques and tools have evolved, and we fully support candidates who choose to use AI tools as part of their process. We don't care how you get the words on the page. What's most important to us is what you do with them next and that you can demonstrate how you approach the task.
That's why we'll begin the final stage—an interview conducted via video call—by talking through your transcription with you. You can explain how you did what you did, why, and what the experience felt like for you, before we hear about how you meet the criteria set out in our job description. You can fire any questions at us too; if you didn't already guess, we really like talking about our work!
One final thing
We understand that one of your questions for us might, fairly, be about the 38-week contract. In effect, this means that you’re not expected to work during the parliamentary recesses. We try to offer all qualified reporters a 52-week contract, and you can either accept that offer or decide that 38 weeks suits your lifestyle just fine.
You’re intrigued, aren’t you? Go on—apply!