Review of the Year 2018

What a year it’s been! After all of the staff changes at the end of 2017 we started the new year with a new Director, Stephen Roberts, Assistant Director, Emma Peplow, and Public Engagement Officer, Sammy Sturgess, who, in addition to our continued research, were ready to forge ahead with a bumper public engagement programme involving our academic projects and beyond. 2019 will see the … Continue reading Review of the Year 2018

Reflections on the Vote 100 project and the Lady Astor Statue project #Astor100

The final installment for the Women and Parliament blog series in 2018 is rather appropriately written by Linda Gilroy, former MP for Plymouth Sutton (1997-2010). Linda tells us about an exciting project to raise a statue of the first woman to take her seat in Parliament, Lady Nancy Astor, which is part of the #Astor100 project that will be taking place throughout 2019… Celebrating the … Continue reading Reflections on the Vote 100 project and the Lady Astor Statue project #Astor100

Revisiting the origins of the Kindertransport on its 80th anniversary

Today is the 80th anniversary of what is now known as the Kindertransport debate in the House of Commons. Ahead of our conference to commemorate the life of the History of Parliament Trust’s founder, and determined campaigner in support of the Jews of Nazi-occupied Europe, Josiah C. Wedgwood, Dr Jennifer Craig-Norton (Honorary Fellow of the Parkes Institute at the University of Southampton) discusses the debate and … Continue reading Revisiting the origins of the Kindertransport on its 80th anniversary

‘For our honour’s sake we dare not keep them out’: Josiah Wedgwood and the Jews in Nazi Europe

  Ahead of our conference and public lecture at Keele University on 22 November to mark the 75th anniversary of the death of History of Parliament founder, Josiah C. Wedgwood, and the 80th anniversary of the Kindertransport debate, we hear from Lesley Urbach of the Remembering Eleanor Rathbone Group about Wedgwood’s role in assisting Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe…   Twenty-two days after Hitler became Chancellor of … Continue reading ‘For our honour’s sake we dare not keep them out’: Josiah Wedgwood and the Jews in Nazi Europe

MPs and the First World War

Since 2014 Dr. Kathryn Rix, Assistant Editor of our House of Commons, 1832-1868 project, has been writing blogs to mark the centenary of the death of each of the 24 MPs and former MPs who died on military service during the First World War. This blog looks back over that series, reflecting on this group of men who went from Westminster to war, but did … Continue reading MPs and the First World War

Gerald Arbuthnot MP and the Parliamentary War Memorial

Since 2014 Dr. Kathryn Rix, Assistant Editor of our House of Commons, 1832-1945 project, has been blogging about the 24 MPs and former MPs who died on military service during the First World War. We have published her posts to mark the centenary of the death of each of these parliamentarians, one of whom was in the Lords by the time of his death. We’re … Continue reading Gerald Arbuthnot MP and the Parliamentary War Memorial

Round-table session: Digital humanities and political history: in memoriam Valerie Cromwell

At our first ‘Parliaments, Politics & People’ seminar of the new academic year, Dr Hannes Kleineke, Dr Ruth Ahnert, Professor Arthur Burns, and Professor Jane Winters offered some compelling insights into the evolution of digital humanities, its impact on the practice of history, the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, and the management of digital projects. Our first session of the Parliaments, Politics and People seminar for … Continue reading Round-table session: Digital humanities and political history: in memoriam Valerie Cromwell

MPs in World War I: the Hon. Charles Henry Lyell (1875-1918)

Last month we marked the centenary of the last serving MP to be killed in action during the First World War and today we commemorate a former MP who died while on military service. Dr. Kathryn Rix, Assistant Editor of our House of Commons, 1832-1868 project, will conclude her blog series next month with a special post reflecting on all 24 MPs and former MPs … Continue reading MPs in World War I: the Hon. Charles Henry Lyell (1875-1918)

A night in Parliament: Militant Suffragettes and Parliament

We are delighted to post this guest blog in our Women and Parliament series from one of the public historians who has been at the forefront of activities to commemorate the centenary of the first women winning the right to vote in this country. Vicky Iglikowski-Broad, Diverse Histories Records Specialist at The National Archives (TNA) gives us an account, based on the collections at TNA, … Continue reading A night in Parliament: Militant Suffragettes and Parliament

‘Peace for our time’: opposing the Munich Agreement

Tomorrow is the 80th anniversary of the Munich Agreement, the now infamous meeting where Britain and France agreed to hand over part of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany in order to avoid war. Yet despite the cheering crowds greeting Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and his ‘piece of paper’ that guaranteed ‘peace for our time’, the deal was not without opposition, as described by our Assistant Director, … Continue reading ‘Peace for our time’: opposing the Munich Agreement