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 of service and length of tenure, findings and insights from this landmark research project have already been showcased in journal articles, a book, and numerous articles for the History of Parliament website.
Now, for the first time, we have collated clips and excerpts from these interviews into a six-part podcast series.
Hosted by Dr Emma Peplow, Head of Contemporary British History at the History of Parliament Trust, and Dr Alex Lock, historian and curator at the British Library, this podcast spotlights some of the brilliant interviews within our 200+ strong archive, using never before heard clips and highlighting the unique insights that oral history interviews provides.
These insights cover not only the various milestones of a political career, such as the motivation to get involved in politics, joining a party, finding a seat and encounters with the Whips Office, but also the emotional effect political careers can have on personal lives, as well as the experience of historically underrepresented MPs who have found their way onto the green benches.
Featuring clips from our interviews with Ann Widdecombe, Michael Heseltine, Chris Smith, Helene Hayman and more, this podcast offers a unique insight into life in Parliament at the end of the twentieth century and beginning of the twenty-first. What drove these individuals to enter political life? How did they secure their seat or win an election? And what impact did this job have on their personal life? Find out in ‘Tales from the Green Benches: An Oral History of Parliament’.
Listeners can subscribe in advance and listen to a trailer for the series on our webpage here, or search for ‘Tales from the Green Benches’ wherever you get your podcasts.
