Hannah Smith

Senior Political Journalist

Hannah joined Full Fact as a fact checker in May 2022. Before that she wrote news and features for UNILAD. She is a qualified journalist, and also has a degree in history.

20 May 2026

Achieved

Government Tracker

Has the government ended the use of offshore trusts to avoid inheritance tax?

By Hannah Smith • 2 mins

The Labour government set out plans to change inheritance tax rules for non-UK assets in its first Budget. Read

Gov Tracker

20 May 2026

Politics

Andy Burnham did not lose a Labour leadership contest to Keir Starmer

By Hannah Smith • 2 mins

The Daily Mail has corrected an inaccurate claim made in a column by the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson about Andy Burnham, after Full Fact got in touch. Read

Fact checks

19 May 2026

Economy, Business & Finance

Viral post includes several false claims about UK taxes

By Hannah Smith • 1 min

A post shared thousands of times on social media makes a number of inaccurate claims about the UK’s public finances. Read

Fact checks

13 May 2026

Economy, Business & Finance

Conservative ‘Alternative King’s Speech’ repeats inaccurate claim about Labour’s unemployment record

By Hannah Smith • 1 min

The Conservative party’s ‘Alternative King’s Speech’ claims that unemployment has risen “every single month” that Labour have been in government. This isn’t correct. Read

Quick check

12 May 2026

Politics

No, Reform UK did not field a ‘fake’ candidate in Norfolk

By Hannah Smith • 1 min

Claims that one of Reform UK’s newly elected councillors in Norfolk, George Boyd, doesn’t actually exist have been circulating online. They are completely false. Read

Fact checks

12 May 2026

Achieved

Government Tracker

Has the government removed hereditary peers from the House of Lords?

By Hannah Smith • 2 mins

Labour has pledged to remove the remaining hereditary peers from the House of Lords, as part of wider reforms to Parliament’s upper chamber. Read

Gov Tracker

11 May 2026

Politics

We asked readers to send us election claims to fact check - so what did they spot?

By Hannah Smith • 2 mins

We received dozens of tips over the course of the campaign, with many about bar charts in leaflets or councils’ delivery on local issues. Read

Comment

6 May 2026

Economy, Business & Finance

Why do Reform and the Conservatives both claim they’ve delivered the lowest average council tax increase?

By Hannah Smith • 4 mins

We’ve taken a look at the figures after Reform UK and the Conservatives made seemingly contrasting claims about council tax rises. Read

Analysis

6 May 2026

Politics

Scottish Labour bar charts in Edinburgh and Glasgow leaflets aren’t reliable projections for Holyrood election

By Hannah Smith • 4 mins

We’ve looked at the data used for two Scottish parliamentary constituencies after a Full Fact reader asked about one of the leaflets via our tip line. Read

Fact checks

29 April 2026

Culture & Society

Misleading claim about ‘council tax exemption’ for Muslims recirculates on Facebook

By Hannah Smith • 1 min

Claims that Muslims are exempt from paying council tax if living areas within their home are used as a place of worship are once again being shared on social media.As … Read

Quick check