Category: Electoral Reform

Georgian Lords, 18th Century history, 19th Century history, Conferences, Seminars and Events, Electoral Reform, Victorian Commons

The political identity of ‘inhabitant’ in early nineteenth-century England

Ahead of next Tuesday’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Mary O’Connor of Somerville College, University of Oxford. On 12 March she will discuss the political identity of ‘inhabitant’ in early nineteenth-century England The seminar takes place on 12 March 2024, between 5:30 and 6.30 p.m. It is fully ‘hybrid’, which means you can attend either in-person in London at the IHR, or … Continue reading The political identity of ‘inhabitant’ in early nineteenth-century England

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Georgian, 18th Century history, 19th Century history, Conferences, Seminars and Events, Electoral Reform, Social history

Everyday Experiences of Politics: Material Culture in the Age of Reform, 1780-1832

Our Parliaments, Politics and People seminar is back for the autumn term! At next week’s seminar Kerry Love of the University of Northampton will discuss material culture and the everyday experience of politics between 1780 and 1832. The seminar takes place on 3 October 2023, between 17:30 and 19:00. It is fully ‘hybrid’, which means you can attend either in-person in London at the IHR, or … Continue reading Everyday Experiences of Politics: Material Culture in the Age of Reform, 1780-1832

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

All-Women Shortlists: 30 Years On

During the 1993 Labour Party Conference, all-women shortlists were endorsed by the party. In the following general election in 1997, the number of women MPs doubled. In this blog, Alfie Steer explores our oral history archive and discusses the controversy of AWS and its impact on Parliament. This year marks thirty years since the Labour Party first introduced all-women’s shortlists (AWS) for parliamentary selections. Its … Continue reading All-Women Shortlists: 30 Years On

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Contemporary History, Elections, Electoral Reform, Local History, Modern, Oral history

How MPs navigated changing constituency boundaries

The Boundary Commissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland submitted their 2023 Boundary Reviews in June, presenting their recommendations to the Speaker of the House of Commons on the reorganisation of UK parliamentary constituencies. Out of 650 existing constituencies in the UK, only 65 will remain unchanged. Dr Emmeline Ledgerwood, our Oral History Project Manager, reflects on the impact boundary changes have had on MPs … Continue reading How MPs navigated changing constituency boundaries

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Conferences, Seminars and Events, 18th Century history, 19th Century history, Elections, Electoral Reform, Factions, Georgian, Parties, Social history, Victorian

Organise! Organise! Organise! Collective Action, Associational Culture and the Politics of Organisation in the British Isles, c.1790-1914

Durham University, in collaboration with the History of Parliament, and supported by the Leverhulme Trust, are hosting a conference in Durham, Thursday-Friday 20-21 July 2023. The Call for Papers will close on 31 January 2023. The conference forms part of Dr Naomi Lloyd-Jones’s Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship, during which she is investigating the development of modern party organisation. For further details of the event see … Continue reading Organise! Organise! Organise! Collective Action, Associational Culture and the Politics of Organisation in the British Isles, c.1790-1914

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Minority Ethnic History, 18th Century history, 19th Century history, Elections, Electoral Reform, Georgian, Social history

Profile of an 18th century Black Voter: George John Scipio Africanus

In a second blog for this year’s Black History Month, we are once again hearing from Helen Wilson, PhD candidate with the History of Parliament and the Open University. Within Helen’s research she has been uncovering the previously overlooked presence of Black voters in 18th century Britain, including figures like George Africanus, profiled below… The eighteenth century saw many geo-political expansions and retractions for the … Continue reading Profile of an 18th century Black Voter: George John Scipio Africanus

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Minority Ethnic History, 18th Century history, 19th Century history, Elections, Electoral Reform, Georgian, History of Parliament Trust, Social history, Victorian

The Presence of Black Voters in the 18th and 19th Centuries

October is Black History Month in the UK, as institutions like the History of Parliament attempt to re-insert and highlight the Black experience into fields of history previously overlooking this. Here, we hear from Helen Wilson, PhD candidate with the History of Parliament and Open University, who is researching the Black and Mixed Ethnicity Presence in British Politics, 1750-1850. As Helen explains, despite significant barriers … Continue reading The Presence of Black Voters in the 18th and 19th Centuries

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Victorian, 19th Century history, Conferences, Seminars and Events, Elections, Electoral Reform, Legal history, Social history

The Secret Ballot: The Secret to Reducing Electoral Violence?

In July 1872, 150 years ago this month, the Ballot Act introduced the secret ballot to all UK parliamentary and local elections. Here guest blogger Dr Gary Hutchison, of the Causes and Consequences of Electoral Violence project, discusses how the secret ballot affected violence at elections. An Interactive Map of over 3,000 violent events, from individual assaults to riots, can be found on their website. … Continue reading The Secret Ballot: The Secret to Reducing Electoral Violence?

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Victorian Commons, 19th Century history, Elections, Electoral Reform, Social history, Victorian, Women and Parliament

Ballot boxes, bills and unions: Harriet Grote (1792-1878) and the public campaign for the ballot, 1832-9

In part six of his article series on Harriet Grote, Dr Martin Spychal, research fellow in our House of Commons 1832-68 project, explores the role of Harriet Grote (1792-1878) in the popular and parliamentary campaign for the ballot during the 1830s. On 18 July 2022 we marked the anniversary of the Ballot Act with an online event, in collaboration with the Parliamentary Archives. This event was recorded … Continue reading Ballot boxes, bills and unions: Harriet Grote (1792-1878) and the public campaign for the ballot, 1832-9

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Conferences, Seminars and Events, 17th Century history, 18th Century history, Electoral Reform

After the Levellers: On the Non-Mysterious Disappearance of Parliamentary Reform in England

In our latest blog we’re returning to the ‘Recovering Europe’s Parliamentary Culture, 1500-1700’ project. Since late September, we’ve been working with the University of Oxford and the Centre for Intellectual History at the University of Oxford to put together series of blogs that explore European Parliamentary Culture. The series is focused on the Early Modern period – roughly 1500-1700 – but they have ranged more widely, seeking to bring in some scholars of the … Continue reading After the Levellers: On the Non-Mysterious Disappearance of Parliamentary Reform in England

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