Parties
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“Honest and essential service”: Henry Fox, Lord Holland, government fixer
Even in the 18th century, governments of all sorts relied on tough politicians who were willing to do the dirty work to keep administrations afloat. In the latest post for the Georgian Lords, Dr Robin Eagles highlights the case of…
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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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Election Chairing Ballads: The Songs and Music of Electoral Victory from Handel to ‘Things Can Only Get Better’
In today’s blog for the Georgian Elections Project, Dr Kendra Packham (Institute of English Studies, University of London and Newcastle University) tells us about her research on eighteenth-century election ballads, and finds in the forgotten election ‘chairing’ song points of…
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Breaking the Political Mould: a new 18th-century political party
With a multiple of parties vying for your vote in the 2024 General Election, the Whig and Tory monopoly of the 18th Century would have presented a much more limited choice for Georgian voters. However, in today’s blog for the…
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Hustings and leadership debates 18th-century style
Leadership debates, as experienced in modern elections, were not a feature of 18th-century contests. However, as Dr Robin Eagles shows in the latest post for the Georgian Elections Project, that does not mean that there was not plenty of opportunity…
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Tory to Whig and back again
In recent weeks the factional nature of political parties has become apparent, with previous members speaking out against their leaders and news of MPs defecting to other parties. But in the 18th century the line between the main political groups…
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Tory to Whig – or helping out the Family?
Historians J.B. Owen, J.H. Plumb, and Linda Colley have all alluded to the post-1714 drift of the Tories into the Whig party. One of the families particularly referenced was the Legges. In the latest blog for the Georgian Lords, Dr…
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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…
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The earl of Abingdon and the treatment of American prisoners of war
In the latest post for the Georgian Lords, Dr Robin Eagles highlights the career of one of the House’s more eccentric orators: Willoughby Bertie, 4th earl of Abingdon: musician, breeder of champion race-horses and radical politician concerned about corruption at…
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The Civil War and the First Age of Party
May 2023 saw the publication of the History of Parliament House of Commons 1640-1660 volumes. This research has uncovered that many of the political identities, behaviours and structures that constitute a recognisable party-political system first came together during this time.…
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Sinn Féin: A 20th Century History of Party Splits
During the 20th century, Sinn Féin officially split three times and from these splits emerged some of the most central parties in Irish politics. In this second blog of a two-blog series, our Public Engagement Assistant, Kirsty O’Rourke, discusses the reasons…
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The origins of Sinn Féin
In a series of two blogs, our Public Engagement Assistant, Kirsty O’Rourke, will discuss the 20th century history of Sinn Féin. In this first blog, Kirsty looks at the origins of the party and its founder, Arthur Griffith. Throughout the…