| Collection | Bernard Weatherill Papers |
| Description | This is a series of Hansard reports on the debates in the House of Commons and for the later years in the House of Lords. They are Weatherill's own copies, which he frequently annotates with comments and during his period as Speaker of the House of Commons in particular, include notes and letters from officals and Members of Parliament. The sequence does not include every copy of Hansard for his political career, but Weatherill has retained copies of particular interest. He does, for instance, in his early years in office as the Speaker, mark passages containing his speeches either by folding the corner of the page, marking the column with a coloured pen or noting the column number on the front page with an explaination of its significance. He also concentrates on the remarks of others about his role as Speaker - his impartiality and rulings. Also he highlights examples of good speeches, bad behaviour and speeches which he feels have change the mood and opinion of the House. The additional material found enclosed include his manuscript lists of speakers to be called often with the order which he intends to call them. There are cuttings showing his interest in how debates are reported and interpreted by the Press abd sometimes in writes in his own comments. There are also letters which show he did not always follow the advice of his clerks and some interesting hand-written notes which have been passed back and forth during debates. |