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.

28 May 2026

Not kept

Government Tracker

Has the government kept its pledge not to increase taxes on ‘working people’?

By Hannah Smith • 4 mins

Full Fact looks at Labour’s manifesto commitment on taxation, which has led to much debate over the meaning of the phrase ‘working people’. Read

Gov Tracker

28 May 2026

Conflict

Video of ‘Pallywood’ actor is actually from an Iraqi comedy skit

By Hannah Smith • 2 mins

A video showing a supposedly injured man “hopping on the wrong leg” has been shared online with claims it is “Palestinian propaganda”. But the clip is actually from a comedy skit filmed in Iraq. Read

Fact check

28 May 2026

Achieved

Government Tracker

Has the government established a National Wealth Fund?

By Hannah Smith • 2 mins

Full Fact looks at Labour’s pledge to establish a ‘National Wealth Fund’. Read

Gov Tracker

27 May 2026

Achieved

Government Tracker

Is the government on track to abolish ‘non-dom’ tax status?

By Hannah Smith • 2 mins

Full Fact looks at Labour’s manifesto commitment to scrap the current domicile-based tax system. Read

Gov Tracker

27 May 2026

Not kept

Government Tracker

How much capital has the government committed to the National Wealth Fund?

By Joshua Salisbury and Hannah Smith • 2 mins

Full Fact looks at whether Labour has met its pledge to assign £7.3 billion of capital to the National Wealth Fund. Read

Gov Tracker

26 May 2026

Immigration

Video doesn’t show ‘illegal migrant’ losing temper because he couldn’t get a free PlayStation from Oxford council

By Hannah Smith • 2 mins

An old clip filmed in the US is being shared online with captions falsely claiming it shows an “illegal migrant” supposedly losing his temper because a store giving out free PlayStations on behalf of Oxford City Council ran out of the consoles. Read

Fact check

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 check

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 check

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