Episode 5: Tales from the Green Benches: An Oral History of Parliament
During much of the twentieth century, the stereotypical image of an MP was of a white, straight, male. But, as our archive of oral history interviews suggests, the makeup of the House of Commons would go through a significant change as we approached the millennium. However this doesn’t mean that Westminster, as both a location and an environment, adapted to meet this.
In this episode we look at those Members who didn’t fit into this traditional image of an MP: women, Members from minority ethnic backgrounds, Members who identified as LGBTQ+, or those from working class families, for example; people that we have, for the sake of this episode, termed ‘historically underrepresented’. Using reflections from the members themselves, Emma and Alex explore the difficulties that many faced during their time in the Chamber.
Presented by Dr Emma Peplow and Dr Alex Lock, produced by Melissa FitzGerald at Zinc Audio. With additional writing from Dr Priscila Pivatto and script editing from Connie Jeffery. All interviews are deposited at the British Library. Find a catalogue of interviews on our website.
