by Sunny Hundal

The Hansard Society has come under fire after claims it charges undergraduates £8000 a year for an internship, which the political charity calls a scholarship.

The issue was highlighted by journalism student Maya Esslemont, who wrote on her blog that the TUC has condemned the organisation for limiting the opportunity to an exclusive group of young adults.

Gail Bumbury, programme manager of the scholarship at the Hansard Society told Maya Esslemont:

I wouldn’t say the scholarship is geared towards working class people per say. It’s aimed at foreign students who want to learn more about British politics”. When asked if the opportunity was limited to international students alone, Bumbury replied: “No. It is open to anyone who decides to apply.

The Hansard Society is a registered charity, which has in the past year received support from BBC Parliament, the Cabinet Office, Speaker of the House, Department of Energy and Climate Change, Microsoft, Ministry of Justice, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons.

The Hansard Society hit back over the weekend, saying it doesn’t charge for internships.

A statement emailed to this blog by its Chief Executive Fiona Booth said:

For 20 years we have run an academic study programme aimed at understanding of the British political system. Hundreds of undergraduates and post-graduate students from around the world have participated in our Hansard Scholars Programme, which involves a study course in association with a leading university and internships with relevant NGOs, Parliament and other organisations. Interns do not work at the Hansard Society. The cost for this 11-week academic programme includes all academic tuition and student fees, accommodation in central London and unlimited travel by tube and bus in central London, plus visits to the devolved legislatures and many other activities.

So does it run an internship or a scholarship? Is there a big difference and is the cost justified?

Maya Esslemont told me the Hansard Society is being disingenuous.

She says the representatives she talked to from Hansard casually used the term ‘internship’ and ‘scholarship’ interchangeably, indicating “that the internship opportunity was the scholarship’s biggest pulling factor.”

She says the Hansard Society confirmed to her that the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and BBC Parliament do not offer internships to those outside of the Hansard Society scholarship programme, which costs £8000 without exception.

The press release fails to mention that they have a complete monopoly over political internships because a summer workplacement with a Parliamentary body is completely dependent on an £8000 payment to their charity.

So the Hansard Society calls it a scholarship, but given that it is linked tightly to an exclusive internship – poorer students are limited to the latter by default.

Maya Esslemont is on Twitter here.

Update: Hansard have sent us another statement