Articles by Emma Peplow
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‘A negative achievement’: Behind the scenes of the House of Lords Act 1999
Ahead of major pieces of legislation designed to reform the composition of the House of Lords, and our recent event ‘Reforming the House of Lords’ discussing the history of this tricky issue, Dr Emma Peplow, Head of Contemporary History, draws…
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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…
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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…
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75 Years of the NHS – on the campaign trail
Last month, the NHS celebrated its 75th anniversary. Since its formation, the NHS has played a key role in politics. Here, Dr Emma Peplow, Head of Oral History, explores how important the NHS was to voters and politicians on the campaign…
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Mo Mowlam and the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement
25 years ago this month the basis for peace in Northern Ireland – the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement – was signed after years of painstaking negotiations. Although nothing would have been achieved without the hard work of politicians and activists of…
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A tribute to Betty Boothroyd
In today’s blog, we pay tribute to Betty Boothroyd, the first female Speaker of the Commons, who sadly died yesterday. Dr Emma Peplow, Head of our Oral History Project, reflects on her historic career. Betty Boothroyd will go down in…
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Parliaments, Politics and People seminar: ‘That was how politics started for me’: memories on motivations from the History of Parliament Trust’s Sound Archive
Our Parliaments, Politics and People seminar is back for the autumn term! At next week’s seminar our head of Oral History, Dr Emma Peplow, will discuss what drove MPs into politics using materials gathered from our Oral History Project. The…
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‘You just become a tiny little speck of history’: First Impressions of the Palace of Westminster
When newly elected MPs first enter the Palace of Westminster, it is hard to ignore the hundreds of years of history that surrounds them. And as Dr Emma Peplow, Head of Oral History at the History of Parliament explores, this…
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‘Always great fun: particularly when there was a row going on’: memories of the 1922 Committee
Once again, the powerful backbench Conservative 1922 committee is back in the headlines. Here Dr Emma Peplow, head of our Oral History Project, shares some of former MPs’ memories of its workings and influence… Whilst the 1922 Committee comes to…
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Life as an MP: a recipe for marital bliss?
In today’s blog Dr Emma Peplow, coordinator of the History of Parliament’s Oral History Project, picks up our recent theme of marriage and Parliament. As many former MPs discussed in their interviews, a parliamentary career wasn’t always a friend to…
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‘Decided on by men’: International Women’s Day lecture
On 17 March Dr Emma Peplow and Dr Priscila Pivatto gave the Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art’s 8th annual International Woman’s Day lecture. Created by the committee to help address the need for more artwork of female MPs…
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First impressions of Westminster in the words of former MPs: back to school, into ‘Dracula’s castle’ or safe at home?
Ahead of Tuesday’s Virtual IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Emma Peplow & Priscila Pivatto, responsible for the History of Parliament Trust’s oral history project which is interviewing former MPs about their lives and experiences. They recently…