Category: Modern

20th century history, Contemporary History, Modern, Oral history, Women and Parliament

‘You’d better accept you’ll have to concentrate on domestic politics for now’ – gender bias in the post-war House of Commons

As Women’s History Month reaches a close, Dr Emma Peplow, lead coordinator of our Oral History Project, looks back through our interview archive to explore a theme often discussed by female interviewees: gender bias in the post-war House of Commons… For many of the former female MPs interviewed for our oral history project, their experiences in Parliament seem to be both as insiders and outsiders … Continue reading ‘You’d better accept you’ll have to concentrate on domestic politics for now’ – gender bias in the post-war House of Commons

Emma Peplow1 Comment
Contemporary History, 20th century history, Legal history, LGBTQ+ History, Modern, Social history

Lesbians and the law: the Wolfenden Report and same-sex desire between women

Our final blog for LGBTQ+ History Month comes from Dr Caroline Derry, who has recently published a book on lesbianism and the criminal law. Here, Caroline will explore the significance of the report of the Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution to the legal and parliamentary status of lesbian sexuality… In 1958, Harford Montgomery Hyde MP asked the House of Commons, ‘If homosexual conduct between … Continue reading Lesbians and the law: the Wolfenden Report and same-sex desire between women

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Contemporary History, 20th century history, Legal history, LGBTQ+ History, Modern, Social history, Women and Parliament

Maureen Colquhoun: “an open lesbian-feminist woman” in the House of Commons

In our second blog for LGBTQ+ History Month our Public Engagement Manager, Sammy Sturgess, explores the parliamentary career of Maureen Colquhoun who was the first openly lesbian MP, as well as the first openly LGBTQ+ MP… Maureen Colquhoun was elected as Labour MP for the newly formed constituency of Northampton North in February 1974. This was her second attempt at winning a seat, having lost … Continue reading Maureen Colquhoun: “an open lesbian-feminist woman” in the House of Commons

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Contemporary History, 20th century history, LGBTQ+ History, Modern, Oral history, Parties, Social history

Voices from the Oral History Project – Chris Smith

Unusually for a profile of one of our Oral History Project interviewees, Chris Smith has not recently passed away! Yet as the first sitting MP who chose to publicly come out, his is a fascinating interview to focus on this LGBT history month. Dr Emma Peplow, our Oral History Project lead, explores his parliamentary career… Chris Smith, Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury 1983-2005, … Continue reading Voices from the Oral History Project – Chris Smith

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Modern, 20th century history, Oral history

Oral History at the History of Parliament Trust: new volunteers needed!

Dr Emma Peplow is the new lead coordinator for our Oral History Project. Today she is announcing a new round of training for oral history volunteers. For more information about the project, click here. As many of you know, our oral history project interviews former MPs about their lives and experiences both inside and outside of the House of Commons. Since 2011 we have interviewed … Continue reading Oral History at the History of Parliament Trust: new volunteers needed!

Emma Peplow4 Comments
20th century history, 19th Century history, Conferences, Seminars and Events, History of Parliament Trust, Modern

Parliaments, Politics and People seminar: On Writing the History of Parliament

This evening Dr Henry Miller of Durham University will give this term’s final paper to the IHR seminar Parliaments, Politics and People. Ahead of the session Paul Seaward, British Academy/Wolfson Foundation Research Professor at the History of Parliament Trust, revisits his paper on writing the history of parliament… Parliament has been in the middle of narratives of the institutional development of the British state since … Continue reading Parliaments, Politics and People seminar: On Writing the History of Parliament

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Modern, 20th century history, Conferences, Seminars and Events, David Lloyd George, Elections, Herbert Asquith, Parties

Parliaments, Politics, and People: The Referendum issue & the constitutional crisis before the First World War

Ahead of this evening’s IHR Parliaments, Politics, and People seminar, we hear from Dr. Roland Quinault, a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, about his paper from our previous session. Britain was slow to adopt the constitutional device of a referendum – the practice of referring political issues directly to the judgment of the people without recourse to Parliament. It was only … Continue reading Parliaments, Politics, and People: The Referendum issue & the constitutional crisis before the First World War

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Modern, 20th century history, Conferences, Seminars and Events, Legal history, LGBTQ+ History, Social history

Disregarding the Past: The Problems of Pardoning Homosexual Offences

Ahead of this evening’s IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, the speaker from the previous session in collaboration with the History of Sexuality seminar, Dr Justin Bengry, Director of the Centre for Queer History at Goldsmiths, University of London, summarises the issues raised in his paper about the pardoning of historical homosexual offences. In June 2015 I was approached by filmmaker Rosemarie Reed who was … Continue reading Disregarding the Past: The Problems of Pardoning Homosexual Offences

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Modern, 19th Century history, 20th century history, Buildings and Architecture, Conferences, Seminars and Events, Oral history

Parliaments, Politics and People seminar – The ‘Gothic slum’: MPs and St Stephen’s Cloisters, 1852-2017

In May 2018, Dr Elizabeth Biggs and Dr Elizabeth Hallam Smith introduced the IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar to the early history of St Stephen’s cloister, Westminster, presenting recent findings from their research project (funded by the Leverhulme Trust, and conducted in association with the Houses of Parliament and the University of York). In June this year, we welcomed Elizabeth Hallam Smith back to … Continue reading Parliaments, Politics and People seminar – The ‘Gothic slum’: MPs and St Stephen’s Cloisters, 1852-2017

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Conferences, Seminars and Events, 18th Century history, 19th Century history, 20th century history, History of Parliament Trust, Modern, Parliamentary Life, Victorian

History of Parliament Trust’s Annual Lecture: A Brief History of Parliamentary Time

Earlier this summer the History of Parliament Trust enjoyed their public annual lecture in Portcullis House, Westminster. This year’s speaker was Paul Seaward, British Academy and Wolfson Foundation Research Professor at the History of Parliament Trust. Below he offers a taste of his lecture about the power of time in the Parliament… Time is inescapable anywhere, but a sense of time passing is oppressively insistent … Continue reading History of Parliament Trust’s Annual Lecture: A Brief History of Parliamentary Time

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