The diaries contain sporadic notes rather than a continuous narrative. They mainly comprise daily engagement sheets and brief diary entries. Some volumes also contain occasional notes of Cabinet meetings, 1970-4, and various meetings of the Opposition, 1974-9; copies of speeches and speech notes; correspondence; press cuttings; photographs; and printed ephemera, such as menus, seating plans and orders of service.
Some of the diaries are written in an abbreviation system called Speedwriting. Individual catalogue entries indicate the diaries where Speedwriting has been extensively used.