THE BEGINNINGS....... For the first half of its existence, Parliament sat in secret. It guarded its proceedings jealously. The story of the Press Gallery - and of parliamentary reporting - is one of rights secured gradually, sometimes accidentally, from a reluctant and usually suspicious Commons. It was not until the 17th century that an appetite for printed news began to develop, prompted by the stirrings of opposition to Charles I. Letting the monarch know what was said about him in the Commons was a dangerous business. But enterprising scriveners saw an opportunity to make money out of public interest in the fight between King and Commons. They risked imprisonment or worse to provide their customers with accounts of speeches in the Chamber. Publicity-hungry MPs were not immune. In 1641 the House ordered the "common hangman" to burn copies of a speech by Lord Digby, which he had arranged to be published. The following year Sir Edward Dering MP was expelled and sent to the Tower for "acting against the honour and privilege of the House" by printing a collection of his speeches. By the 18th century journalists had worked out increasingly ingenious ways of bypassing Commons rules against those who presumed to "take notice of the proceedings in the House", including disguising their stories as letters to friends abroad. In 1731 Edward Cave made himself rich by founding his Gentleman's Magazine. His trick was to gain admission to the Public Gallery with one or two colleagues, where they would discreetly soak up the atmosphere before adjourning to a nearby tavern to compare notes and produce their reports. The Commons took exception. In April 1738 outraged MPs debated these "very great abuses". Speaker Onslow waved an offending newspaper from the chair. Thomas Winnington warned of the dangers of having "every word that is spoken here by gentlemen misrepresented by fellows who thrust themselves into our gallery". William Pulteney, the leader of the Tory opposition, spelled out the risk: "To print or publish the speeches of gentlemen in this House, even though they were not misrepresented, looks very much like making them accountable without doors for what they say within." Sir Robert Walpole, then Prime Minister, expressed the frustration of the House at reading accounts of debates "wherein all the wit, the learning, and the argument has been thrown on one side, and on the other nothing but what was low, mean, and ridiculous". The outcome was never in doubt: MPs passed a motion that declared it "a high indignity to, and a notorious breach of the privilege of this House for any news-writer" to allow its proceedings to appear in print, on pain of punishment of "the utmost severity". Parliament knew what was at stake: if reporting were to be allowed, accountability would follow, and power would shift from the elected to the electors. The motion would remain in place until 1971. Journalists, thankfully, kept on publishing. The London Magazine began reporting the "Proceedings of a Political Club" whose members were called M Tullius Cicero (Walpole) and M Cato (Pulteney). The Gentleman's Magazine offered the “Debates in the Senate of Magna Lilliputia” where Sir Rubs Waleup held sway. The number of newspapers multiplied, each eager to offer readers accounts of what was said by MPs. By 1771 the MPs had once again had enough. On the orders of the House a succession of printers was summoned to the Bar to apologise and be reprimanded. Three refused, and some radical MPs backed the papers. The ensuing confrontation led to riots, the imprisonment of several MPs and the shredding of Lord North's hat. The result was a draw: the “breach of privilege” rule stayed, but the Commons gave up for good the idea of punishing those who dared reproduce its proceedings. Not that reporting the Commons got any easier. MPs met in the gloom of St Stephen's Chapel. The accoustics were poor: some spectators insisted on snoring through debates, making them impossible to hear. And the gallery was crowded. Reporters had to compete for seats with ordinary members of the public. That is, when they could get in at all. To return to our main site, click here - http://www.parliamentarypressgallery.org.uk