Author: Kathryn Rix

A colourful election poster produced by the Tariff Reform League. A farmer sits on a railway platform with crates and baskets of produce, watching a train called the Foreign Produce Express loaded with foreign produce, steaming past. He laments the need for tariff reform.
Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, 20th century history, Corruption, Elections, Legislative History, William Ewart Gladstone

A ‘revolution’ in electioneering? The impact of the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act

Concluding her series on the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act, Dr Kathryn Rix of our House of Commons, 1832-1945 project looks at the long-term consequences of this major reform. In the wake of the corruption and expense of the 1880 general election, Sir Henry James, attorney general in Gladstone’s Liberal government, oversaw a landmark piece of legislation which aimed to clean up Britain’s elections: the 1883 … Continue reading A ‘revolution’ in electioneering? The impact of the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act

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19th Century history, Victorian, Victorian Commons

Prisoner, prize-fighter, politician: John Gully’s rise to fame 

Amongst his many endeavours, John Gully’s venture into politics was an unexpected, yet successful, career choice. In this article Dr Kathryn Rix of our House of Commons, 1832-1945 project explores Gully’s life, from his humble beginnings to his sporting fame and his election as MP for Pontefract following the upheaval of the 1832 Reform Act. In March 1833 the cartoonist ‘H.B.’ (John Doyle) chose three … Continue reading Prisoner, prize-fighter, politician: John Gully’s rise to fame 

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19th Century history, Victorian, Victorian Commons, Women and Parliament

Josiah Wedgwood (1769-1843): from pottery to politics

Today (3rd August) marks the anniversary of the birth of Josiah Wedgwood MP in 1769. Wedgwood has a special significance for the History of Parliament Trust, being the great-grandfather (and namesake) of our founder. Dr Kathryn Rix of our House of Commons, 1832-1945 project looks at his brief career as MP for Stoke-on-Trent. The name Josiah Wedgwood is commonly associated with pottery. However, the Wedgwood … Continue reading Josiah Wedgwood (1769-1843): from pottery to politics

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Victorian

‘The son of one of the best men who ever adorned the country’: William Wilberforce (1798-1879)

Our House of Commons, 1832-1868 project has found many examples of sons who followed their fathers into Parliament. Dr Kathryn Rix looks at William Wilberforce (1798-1879), whose political career failed to live up to that of his far more famous father. Trading heavily on his family name, William Wilberforce (1798-1879), eldest son and namesake of the noted anti-slave trade campaigner, was elected in 1837 as … Continue reading ‘The son of one of the best men who ever adorned the country’: William Wilberforce (1798-1879)

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Health and Medicine, Local History, Parliamentary Life, Victorian

‘I shall persist’: Joseph Brotherton (1783-1857) and late hours in the Commons

Among the new constituencies created by the 1832 Reform Act was Salford, whose first MP, Joseph Brotherton, proved to be a notably hard-working member of the Commons. Dr Kathryn Rix, Assistant Editor of our House of Commons, 1832-1945 project, examines the career of this diligent backbencher, shedding light on the timetable of the parliamentary day. In 1832 the borough of Salford elected its first MP, … Continue reading ‘I shall persist’: Joseph Brotherton (1783-1857) and late hours in the Commons

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19th Century history, Corruption, Elections, Electoral Reform, Parties, Victorian, Victorian Commons

The evolving electoral system: the 1835 and 1865 general elections compared

This year marks the 190th anniversary of the 1835 general election and the 160th anniversary of the 1865 general election. Our assistant editor Dr Kathryn Rix looks at some of the ways in which the electoral system had evolved in the thirty years between them. The 1835 and 1865 general elections both took place under the electoral system established by the 1832 Reform Act, with … Continue reading The evolving electoral system: the 1835 and 1865 general elections compared

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Elections, Victorian

Joseph Holdsworth (1789-1857): candidate or returning officer?

In this article Dr Kathryn Rix of our House of Commons 1832-1945 project looks at a very unusual case – the MP who lost his seat in Parliament because he had technically also been the returning officer for his constituency at the time of his election. In July 1841 Joseph Holdsworth (1789-1857), a prosperous local dyer, was elected as Liberal MP for his native town … Continue reading Joseph Holdsworth (1789-1857): candidate or returning officer?

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Legislative History, Victorian, Women and Parliament

‘The only really important public service I performed’: John Stuart Mill’s women’s suffrage amendment, 20 May 1867

Having looked at John Stuart Mill’s role in presenting the first mass petition for women’s suffrage, our colleague Dr Kathryn Rix explores his continued efforts for the cause of ‘votes for women’, bringing forward an amendment on women’s suffrage as part of the debates on the 1867 Reform Act. John Stuart Mill (1806-73) is best known as a philosopher and influential political thinker, but he … Continue reading ‘The only really important public service I performed’: John Stuart Mill’s women’s suffrage amendment, 20 May 1867

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Benjamin Disraeli, Electoral Reform, Victorian, Women and Parliament

‘The first humble beginnings of an agitation’: the women’s suffrage petition of 7 June 1866

The campaign to secure the parliamentary vote for women was a long-running one. Dr Kathryn Rix, assistant editor of our House of Commons, 1832-1868 project, looks at the first mass petition on this issue. On 7 June 1866 the first mass petition for women’s suffrage was presented to Parliament. Signed by around 1,500 women, it was presented to the Commons by John Stuart Mill, who … Continue reading ‘The first humble beginnings of an agitation’: the women’s suffrage petition of 7 June 1866

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Elections, Victorian, Women and Parliament

‘A woman actually voted!’: Lily Maxwell and the Manchester by-election of November 1867

More than half a century before the partial enfranchisement of women in 1918, Lily Maxwell, a Manchester shopkeeper, cast a parliamentary vote. Dr Kathryn Rix explores her story. After decades of campaigning for ‘Votes for Women’, the 1918 Representation of the People Act gave the parliamentary vote to some (but not all) women. Yet more than fifty years earlier, on 26 November 1867, Lily Maxwell … Continue reading ‘A woman actually voted!’: Lily Maxwell and the Manchester by-election of November 1867

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