Contemporary History
This collection of articles highlights the ongoing research of the Contemporary History section, drawing upon interviews from our Oral History Project to explore various events, themes and issues in British political history since the Second World War.
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‘A negative achievement’: Behind the scenes of the House of Lords Act 1999
Ahead of major pieces of legislation designed to reform the composition of the House of Lords, and our recent event…
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‘Made of Stone’ (or not): Statues in Parliament Square
For the past few months our Head of Contemporary History, Dr Emma Peplow, has been on Matt Chorley’s Radio 5live…
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Call for Volunteers: History of Parliament Oral History Project
The History of Parliament Trust is looking for new volunteer interviewers to join its oral history project! Since 2011, the…
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Tales from the Green Benches: An Oral History of Parliament
This week, The History of Parliament Trust is excited to announce a new podcast series, ‘Tales from the Green Benches:…
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Arthur Latham and the rise of the Labour Left
On this day, 1930, Arthur Latham was born. Labour MP for Paddington North (later Paddington) from 1969 to 1979, his…
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‘A Manly Place’: Experiences of Women in Parliament after 1997
On 19 March 2024, the History of Parliament Trust hosted the second in a series of events drawing on their…
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Down for the count: election night highs and lows
As the UK goes to the polls today, here Dr Emma Peplow shares memories from our oral history archive, exploring…
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Mass-Observation and popular politics at the 1945 General Election
Ahead of next Tuesday’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Rebecca Goldsmith, of Jesus College, Cambridge. On 30…
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HIV and Parliament: memories from our Oral History Project
For LGBT+ History Month, Dr Emma Peplow, Head of Contemporary History, uses the History of Parliament’s Oral History archive to reflect…
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‘Neither fish, fowl nor good red herring’: Baroness Nicholson’s experiences of hearing loss
Emma Nicholson, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, born 1941, was the MP for Torridge and West Devon 1987?97. Elected as a…
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Visibility of Disability in the House of Commons: Food for Thought
As the UK marks Disability History Month, today’s guest blogger, Dr Ekaterina (Katya) Kolpinskaya explores the representation of disabilities in the…
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75 Years of the National Health Service: A Political History of Health and Healthcare in Britain
In September, the History of Parliament celebrated our latest publication with St James’s House to commemorate 75 years of the…