Category: Modern

Modern, 20th century history, Elections, Parties, Social history, Welsh History

Cynog Dafis: Britain’s first Green MP?

While Caroline Lucas is commonly referred to as Britain’s first Green Member of Parliament, Cynog Dafis, who entered parliament as the Plaid Cymru MP for Ceredigion and North Pembrokeshire nearly twenty years earlier, could also claim this title. Alfie Steer explores Dafis’ political career, and the unusual electoral alliance between Plaid Cymru and the Green Party in the 1990s. The 2024 general election saw the … Continue reading Cynog Dafis: Britain’s first Green MP?

Alfie Steer1 Comment
History of Parliament Trust, 20th century history, Contemporary History, Elections, Modern, Oral history, Parliamentary Life, Parties

Tales from the Green Benches: An Oral History of Parliament

This week, The History of Parliament Trust is excited to announce a new podcast series, ‘Tales from the Green Benches: An Oral History of Parliament’.  Since 2012, the History of Parliament has been interviewing former members of the House of Commons in order to capture personal reflections of lives lived in parliament. Including participants from across the three major parties, and ranging in both period … Continue reading Tales from the Green Benches: An Oral History of Parliament

History of Parliament2 Comments
Contemporary History, 20th century history, Factions, Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Modern, Oral history

Arthur Latham and the rise of the Labour Left

On this day, 1930, Arthur Latham was born. Labour MP for Paddington North (later Paddington) from 1969 to 1979, his career both inside and outside the Commons reflected the ebb and flow of the Labour Party’s ‘hard left’. Alfie Steer explores the significance of Latham’s career, and what it reveals about the history of left-wing politics in late Twentieth Century Britain. Arthur Latham’s journey to … Continue reading Arthur Latham and the rise of the Labour Left

Alfie SteerLeave a comment
20th century history, Buildings and Architecture, Modern, Ramsay MacDonald

The House of Commons Chamber and the Politics of Seating

Parliament will be officially opened this week and debates will begin once again in the House of Commons. But with the Labour party winning such a large majority in the 2024 General Election, some of their Members may be left wondering- where should I sit? Emeritus Director of the History of Parliament, Dr Paul Seaward, looks to the past to find out more about the … Continue reading The House of Commons Chamber and the Politics of Seating

Paul SeawardLeave a comment
Contemporary History, 20th century history, Conferences, Seminars and Events, Modern, Oral history, Women and Parliament

‘A Manly Place’: Experiences of Women in Parliament after 1997

On 19 March 2024, the History of Parliament Trust hosted the second in a series of events drawing on their groundbreaking Oral History Project. This event, in partnership with and funded by Keele University, explored women’s experiences in parliament and whether they have changed through time. The event was organised by the project’s research team, Professor Helen Parr (Keele University), Dr Emma Peplow (Head of … Continue reading ‘A Manly Place’: Experiences of Women in Parliament after 1997

History of ParliamentLeave a comment
Contemporary History, 20th century history, Elections, Modern, Oral history, Parties

Down for the count: election night highs and lows

As the UK goes to the polls today, here Dr Emma Peplow shares memories from our oral history archive, exploring how former MPs felt on polling day and how they approached the night of the count… Today most of the UK’s election candidates will be racing around their constituencies trying to make sure their supporters go to vote. But this is just the start of … Continue reading Down for the count: election night highs and lows

Emma PeplowLeave a comment
Modern, 19th Century history, 20th century history, Buildings and Architecture, Social history

Two Gardening Giants- Joseph Chamberlain and Michael Heseltine

In the second of two blogs for National Gardening Week, here guest blogger Dr Jonathan Denby takes a closer look at two MPs with a passion for gardening, who served in the Cabinet one hundred years apart… When Joseph Chamberlain sat down with his cabinet colleagues in 1880 every one of them had a country estate with a large ornamental garden and they all, not … Continue reading Two Gardening Giants- Joseph Chamberlain and Michael Heseltine

History of ParliamentLeave a comment
Modern, 18th Century history, 19th Century history, Benjamin Disraeli, Buildings and Architecture, Economic history, William Ewart Gladstone

Great Parliamentary Gardeners- The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries Compared

The beginning of May marks the Royal Horticultural Society’s National Gardening Week, but many of the Parliamentarians in our volumes didn’t need extra encouragement to tend to their gardens. In this, the first of two blogs, guest blogger Dr Jonathan Denby looks at differing level of importance that was placed on gardening for MPs across the 19th and 20th centuries… Sir Roderick Floud’s magisterial ‘An … Continue reading Great Parliamentary Gardeners- The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries Compared

History of Parliament2 Comments
Contemporary History, 20th century history, Clement Attlee, Conferences, Seminars and Events, Elections, Modern, Parties

Mass-Observation and popular politics at the 1945 General Election

Ahead of next Tuesday’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Rebecca Goldsmith, of Jesus College, Cambridge. On 30 April she will discuss Mass-Observation and popular politics at the 1945 general election. The seminar takes place on 30 April 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 online via … Continue reading Mass-Observation and popular politics at the 1945 General Election

History of ParliamentLeave a comment
Contemporary History, 20th century history, Health and Medicine, LGBTQ+ History, Modern, Oral history

HIV and Parliament: memories from our Oral History Project

For LGBT+ History Month, Dr Emma Peplow, Head of Contemporary History, uses the History of Parliament’s Oral History archive to reflect on the debates and experiences of HIV in Parliament during the 1980s. When the HIV/AIDs epidemic arrived in the UK in the early 1980s it was a frightening, confusing time. Little was known about this new disease, other than it appeared to be deadly to … Continue reading HIV and Parliament: memories from our Oral History Project

Emma PeplowLeave a comment