Category: Oral history

Contemporary History, 20th century history, History of Parliament Trust, Modern, Oral history, Parties

A tribute to Joe Ashton, MP for Bassetlaw 1968-2001

This is our third blogpost paying tribute to former MPs and interviewees of our Oral History Project who have sadly passed away during the current crisis. Here project lead Dr Emma Peplow remembers Joe Ashton, MP for Bassetlaw October 1968-2001. Born in Attercliffe, Sheffield in 1933, Joe Ashton told us during his 2012 interview for our oral history project that he came second in a … Continue reading A tribute to Joe Ashton, MP for Bassetlaw 1968-2001

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Contemporary History, 20th century history, Military history, Modern, Oral history

A tribute to James Ramsden MP

Sadly we’re marking the deaths of more of our Oral History Project interviewees than normal during the current pandemic. Today Dr Emma Peplow, project lead, looks back on the life of James Ramsden MP, who took over from John Profumo as the last Secretary of State for War. James Ramsden has been described in one of his recent obituaries as a ‘true Knight of the … Continue reading A tribute to James Ramsden MP

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Contemporary History, 20th century history, History of Parliament Trust, Modern, Oral history, Parliamentary Life

A tribute to Ted Graham, MP and Labour peer

In today’s blog, our Oral History Project lead, Dr Emma Peplow, pays tribute to Lord Graham of Edmonton, who was interviewed for the project in 2014. Over the years we have occasionally blogged tributes to former MPs who were interviewed for our oral history project but have since passed away. In the current pandemic we are sadly losing a number of our interviewees – whether … Continue reading A tribute to Ted Graham, MP and Labour peer

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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

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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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History of Parliament Trust, Conferences, Seminars and Events, Oral history

Review of the year 2019

The final year of the decade has been a busy one for the History of Parliament Trust. We’ve sent volumes to the publishers, been involved in regional and national engagement projects, started a YouTube channel and undergone many internal changes – here’s Sammy Sturgess with the highlights of 2019… During the final quarter of 2019 we’ve seen some significant changes to staffing at the History … Continue reading Review of the year 2019

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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!

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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, 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

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

Women MPs in the 1990s

This month’s blog for the Women and Parliament series as part of our activities in celebration of the centenary of the Representation the People Act 1918, which allowed some women to vote in the UK for the first time, comes from our Assistant Director and one of the coordinators of our oral history project, Dr Emma Peplow. She discusses the experiences of women MPs in the … Continue reading Women MPs in the 1990s

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