University of Glasgow Releases Database Featuring Nearly All Speeches (7.6 Million) Given in British Parliament From 1803-2005

From the U. of Glasgow:

Parliamentary speeches have advanced political careers over the centuries, but more often than not destroyed them.
Those key moments when politicians speak their minds and history is made, usually leading to the downfall of those whom their words were directed.
‌‌Political speeches and chamber quips always make for entertaining reading, and researchers at the University of Glasgow have made them even easier to source.
Linguists and historians have worked together to compile all the Parliamentary speeches from 1803-2005 on a free, easy access online website which is launched today.
The website includes 7.6 million speeches and 1.6 billion words and include some of the most memorable moments.
It includes all the greats: Sir Winston Churchill’s many wartime addresses to Parliament; Geoffrey Howe’s resignation speech attacking Margaret Thatcher; and Dennis Healey’s famous riposte to Geoffrey Howe’s verbal assault, likening it to “being savaged by a dead sheep”.
The website also breaks down the common usage of words and terms favoured by individual politicians.
Margaret Thatcher preferred to use keywords such as “resource” and “negotiation”, which were both in her top five most common. Also high up in her speeches were the words “strike”, “wage” and “productivity”.
In comparison Tony Blair’s most common speech keywords were “troop”, “euro”, “summit”, and “pensioner”; and the most common verb preferred by Sir Winston Churchill during his 3032 speeches relating to WWII was “fight”.
Other interesting facts which have emerged from the research include: the MP who mentioned the United States the most is Winston Churchill; Margaret Thatcher is in fifth place; and ninth place surprisingly goes Jeremy Corbyn; and the late Rev Ian Paisley mentioned “carpets” more often in Parliament than “God”.
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Away from politics:

• James Bond appears 132 times in Parliament, starting in 1962, twice as often as Dracula at 66, although both are beaten by 278 of Mickey Mouse
• Sex gets 23,000 mentions and is twice as popular as cigarettes at 10,556
• Shakespeare gets a mention 5,938 times, while Robert Burns is mentioned 428 times
• The person recorded as being told to “shut up” the most in Parliament is MP Dennis Skinner

Direct to Hansard Corpus Database
Read the Complete Launch Announcement

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