Modern

  • MPs and the Second World War

    MPs and the Second World War

    Ahead of Remembrance Day, and with 2025 marking 80 years since the end of the Second World War, Dr Kathryn Rix, Assistant Editor of our House of Commons, 1832-1945 project, follows up her series on MPs and the First World…

  • The Speakers and the Suffragettes

    The Speakers and the Suffragettes

    At the IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar on Tuesday 28 October, Dr Mari Takayanagi will be discussing ‘The Speakers and the Suffragettes’. The seminar takes place on 28 October 2025, between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. It is fully ‘hybrid’,…

  • The Recording Angel and the expression of English Welsh identities during the First World War

    The Recording Angel and the expression of English Welsh identities during the First World War

    Ahead of next Tuesday’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Professor Wendy Ugolini of the University of Edinburgh. On 3 June she will discuss The Recording Angel and the expression of English Welsh identities during the First World…

  • How did the routes of political processions and protest marches evolve in London during the nineteenth century?

    How did the routes of political processions and protest marches evolve in London during the nineteenth century?

    At the IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar on 20 May 2025, Professor Katrina Navickas of the University of Hertfordshire will be discussing ‘The development of political processions and protest marches in London, 1780-1939’. The seminar takes place on 20 May…

  • ‘A negative achievement’: Behind the scenes of the House of Lords Act 1999

    ‘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…

  • Scrutinising Wartime Britain: The Commons Committees on National Expenditure 1917-20 and 1939-45

    Scrutinising Wartime Britain: The Commons Committees on National Expenditure 1917-20 and 1939-45

    Ahead of next Tuesday’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Dr Philip Aylett. On 25 February, Philip will discuss ‘Scrutinising Wartime Britain: The Commons Committees on National Expenditure 1917-20 and 1939-45’. The seminar takes place on 25 February 2025,…

  • ‘A Socialist Identity in Parliament’? The Campaign Group of Labour MPs, 1982-2015

    ‘A Socialist Identity in Parliament’? The Campaign Group of Labour MPs, 1982-2015

    Ahead of next Tuesday’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Alfie Steer of Hertford College, University of Oxford. On 11 February Alfie will discuss the Campaign Group of Labour MPs, 1982-2015. The seminar takes place on 11 February 2025, between…

  • What’s in a Name? How Peers Settled Their Titles in the Twentieth Century

    What’s in a Name? How Peers Settled Their Titles in the Twentieth Century

    Ahead of next Tuesday’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Dr Duncan Sutherland. On 26 November he will discuss how peers settled their titles in the twentieth century. The seminar takes place on 26 November 2024, between 5:30 and…

  • Cynog Dafis: Britain’s first Green MP?

    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…

  • Tales from the Green Benches: An Oral History of Parliament

    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…

  • Arthur Latham and the rise of the Labour Left

    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…

  • The House of Commons Chamber and the Politics of Seating

    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…