In a statement to the House of Commons on 11 March, Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle told MPs that they “must take responsibility for correcting the record if a mistake has been made”.

Sir Lindsay rightly called on MPs to treat each other—and the electorate—with respect. But our work over the last decade has shown that parliament does not always live up to its role as a provider of trusted, high quality information. We need your support to call out a system that pretends mistakes don’t happen.

We’ve seen ministers and even the Prime Minister failing to correct inaccuracies–undermining the public’s trust and perpetuating the spread of bad information. 

At the moment, only government ministers are allowed to make a correction in Hansard (the official record of debates). Other MPs can’t. This discrepancy perpetuates a system of dishonesty and inaccuracy.

Correcting the record can’t be seen as political weakness. It should be required by all politicians.

Full Fact has written to the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Chair of the Procedure Committee, and the Leader of the House of Commons to demand a simple and efficient system that allows all MPs to submit corrections to Hansard when they make a mistake.

It’s thanks to the generosity of our supporters that we’re able to stand up for honesty in politics.

But during a pandemic bad information can leave people confused and at risk of harm. Your support will help ensure we call it out.

If you agree we all deserve better, can we count on you?