Category: John Major

Contemporary History, 20th century history, Constituencies, Elections, John Major, Local History, Modern, Oral history, Parties

Christchurch 1993: By-election Campaigning in the Glare of the Media

On Thursday the voters of Gorton and Denton will elect their new MP after weeks of media speculation. This by-election had huge attention before it was even called, and in Westminster eyes are fixed on Manchester. In this article, Dr Emma Peplow uses our oral history archive interviews to look back at a very different by-election, but one that also took place under full media spotlight: … Continue reading Christchurch 1993: By-election Campaigning in the Glare of the Media

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20th century history, Constituencies, Contemporary History, Elections, Factions, John Major, Margaret Thatcher, Modern, Oral history, Parliamentary Life, Parties, Scottish History

Crossing the Floor: Tales from the Oral History Project

Following some recent, high-profile, political defections, Alfie Steer and Dr Emma Peplow have delved into the History of Parliament’s Oral History archive to explore historical cases of MPs changing their party affiliations: their causes, motivations and wider significance. Political defections, commonly known in Westminster parlance as ‘Crossing the Floor’, have been a phenomenon in Parliament since at least the 17th century. This has either happened … Continue reading Crossing the Floor: Tales from the Oral History Project

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20th century history, Contemporary History, Diplomacy and International Relations, Factions, John Major, Modern, Oral history, Parties

The parties and Europe 2: Conservatives and Maastricht

Earlier this week we delved in to our oral history archive to discover the divisions within the Labour Party over Britain’s entry into the European Economic Community (EEC) in the 1970s. In today’s blogpost, we’ve returned to our archive to uncover memories of the struggle to ratify the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, and the resulting impact on the Conservative Party. The Maastricht Treaty was agreed in … Continue reading The parties and Europe 2: Conservatives and Maastricht

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