Laws on parchment
News News blog
In February 2016, there was almost a scandal in Great Britain. In order to save costs, the duplicate original of new legislation for Parliament and the National Archives should no longer be printed on parchment, but only on paper. This was the decision of the British House of Lords.
The ensuing discussions were not only about cost savings, but also about threatened livelihoods and parchment as a long-standing storage medium.
One of the few producers of the material, Paul Wright, also spoke out: "If Magna Charta had been written on paper, it would be nothing but a bag of dust today. And if earlier civilisations had not used parchment, we would know next to nothing about our past."
Paper is not guaranteed to last longer than 250 years, whereas parchment can last up to 5000 years if stored properly. The decision was withdrawn and Britain will continue to write its laws on parchment.
