Category: Electoral Reform

Georgian, 19th Century history, Electoral Reform, Social history

Who Killed Cock Robin? Peterloo and Satire

Our blog series to mark the bicentenary of the Peterloo Massacre continues today with the first of several pieces from Dr Katie Carpenter, who is an AHRC Creative Economy Engagement Fellow with the Citizens Project at Royal Holloway, and the Parliamentary Archives. Katie has been researching Peterloo in the Parliamentary Archives as part of the Citizens Project’s forthcoming Massive Online Open Course, From Peterloo to … Continue reading Who Killed Cock Robin? Peterloo and Satire

History of Parliament5 Comments
Georgian, 19th Century history, Electoral Reform, Social history

Political protest in the age of Peterloo

Today’s blog from the editor of our House of Commons 1832-68 section, Dr Philip Salmon, is the first of many pieces in which we will discuss the Peterloo Massacre that took place in St Peter’s Field, Manchester on 16th August 1819. He outlines the political climate within which this infamous episode occurred and provides context for the blogs that are to follow in the series. … Continue reading Political protest in the age of Peterloo

Philip Salmon6 Comments
Modern, 20th century history, Conferences, Seminars and Events, Electoral Reform, Women and Parliament

‘She is an Outsider in Public Life’: women parliamentary candidates, 1918-1923

Ahead of tonight’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar at the Institute of Historical Research, we hear from Lisa Berry-Waite, a Leverhulme-funded PhD candidate at the University of Exeter.  She spoke at our previous session on 28 May about her research into the parliamentary election campaigns of women candidates in Britain between 1918 and 1931. Her paper focused on the under-explored source of women’s parliamentary election … Continue reading ‘She is an Outsider in Public Life’: women parliamentary candidates, 1918-1923

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Modern, 20th century history, Elections, Electoral Reform, Social history, Women and Parliament

Nancy Astor: A Mother in the House

Last week we heard about the Father or ‘Grand Old Man’ of the Long Parliament, so this week we have a blog about the first mother in the House of Commons. Along with PhD student, Kate Meanwell, Dr Jacqui Turner from the University of Reading and Astor 100 project, discusses Nancy Astor’s role as a mother to her five children as well as a representative … Continue reading Nancy Astor: A Mother in the House

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Modern, 20th century history, Conferences, Seminars and Events, Elections, Electoral Reform, Women and Parliament

Electoral Firsts in the 1918 Election: Event Review

Today we hear from our undergraduate intern from the History department at Goldsmiths College, University of London, Matthew Anderson. For those of you who were unable to attend our recent event in Parliament, below he outlines our three papers… On Wednesday 16th January, amidst a significant week for Brexit and the government, the History of Parliament Trust and the Co-operative party hosted an event in … Continue reading Electoral Firsts in the 1918 Election: Event Review

History of Parliament1 Comment
Conferences, Seminars and Events, 20th century history, Electoral Reform

From Parliamentary Politics to Authoritarianism: A Reflection on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Ahead of this evening’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar at the Institute of Historical Research, Evan Fowler, associate fellow of Wolfson College at the University of Cambridge, recaps his paper on the Hong Kong special administrative region from our previous session on 22 January… Hong Kong has changed since reverting to Chinese administration in 1997. My talk focused on understanding the change, from where Hong … Continue reading From Parliamentary Politics to Authoritarianism: A Reflection on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

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Modern, 20th century history, Electoral Reform, Parliamentary Life, Women and Parliament

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

History of Parliament2 Comments
Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Benjamin Disraeli, Elections, Electoral Reform

Tackling electoral corruption: how Victorian Britain reformed the trial of election petitions in 1868

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the passing of the Election Petitions and Corrupt Practices at Elections Act, an important part of the electoral reforms which had begun with the Second Reform Act of 1867. Dr. Kathryn Rix of our Victorian Commons project explains why and how Benjamin Disraeli’s ministry aimed to tackle the problem of bribery and corruption at mid-Victorian elections. On 31 July 1868 … Continue reading Tackling electoral corruption: how Victorian Britain reformed the trial of election petitions in 1868

Kathryn Rix2 Comments
Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Electoral Reform, Social history, Victorian

The 1842 Chartist Petition – why over 3 million signatures translated into less than 50 votes

Today’s blog about the 1842 Chartist Petition is part of our focus on wider electoral and political reform throughout this significant anniversary year in women’s political history – for more blogs in the series see here. The following blog has been written by year 10 work experience student, Layla Barwell from Dartford Grammar School for Girls. Layla spent the week with the public engagement team … Continue reading The 1842 Chartist Petition – why over 3 million signatures translated into less than 50 votes

History of Parliament2 Comments
Conferences, Seminars and Events, 19th Century history, 20th century history, Electoral Reform, Modern, Oral history, Victorian, Women and Parliament

Voice and Vote: behind the scenes

This blog looks at how the History of Parliament has been involved behind the scenes with the Voice and Vote exhibition which opened in Westminster Hall last week. Dr. Philip Salmon and Dr. Kathryn Rix of the Victorian Commons project share their contributions to the reconstructions of the ‘ventilator’ and the ‘cage’, where women could listen to parliamentary debates in the nineteenth century, while Dr. … Continue reading Voice and Vote: behind the scenes

History of Parliament4 Comments