Category: Oral history

Health and Medicine, History of Parliament Trust, LGBTQ+ History, Oral history, Post-1945 history

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 in the early 1980s it was a frightening, confusing time. Little was known about this new disease, other than it appeared to be deadly to … Continue reading HIV and Parliament: memories from our Oral History Project

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20th century history, History of Parliament Trust, Oral history, Women and Parliament

‘Neither fish, fowl nor good red herring’: Baroness Nicholson’s experiences of hearing loss

Emma Nicholson, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, born 1941, was the MP for Torridge and West Devon 1987‒97. Elected as a Conservative MP, she crossed the floor to join the Liberal Democrats in 1995. After losing her seat in 1997 she was created a life peer, and served as a Member of the European Parliament for South East England for ten years (1999‒2009). Interviewed in 2013 … Continue reading ‘Neither fish, fowl nor good red herring’: Baroness Nicholson’s experiences of hearing loss

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20th century history, Elections, England and Scotland, History of Parliament Trust, Oral history, Post-1945 history, Women and Parliament

Identifying the Attlee Family Cars: Prime Ministers’ Props

To coincide with the third BBC Radio 4 series of Prime Ministers’ Props, our senior research fellow, Dr Martin Spychal, discusses the intriguing (and still partially inconclusive) research journey behind identifying the cars used on the campaign trail by Clement and Violet Attlee… Over the past few years I’ve worked as a researcher on the BBC Radio 4 series Prime Ministers’ Props, presented by Sir … Continue reading Identifying the Attlee Family Cars: Prime Ministers’ Props

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20th century history, Elections, History of Parliament Trust, Oral history, Post-1945 history

Cooperation and the Co-operative Party

The Co-operative Party was founded in 1917, volunteer interviewer Peter Reilly reflects on his recent oral history interview with David Lepper, a former ‘Labour Coop’ MP and what it meant to be a member of the Co-operative Party. Recent interviews I have conducted for the History of Parliament Trust Oral History Project remind us that UK parties are ‘broad churches’ encompassing a range of views. … Continue reading Cooperation and the Co-operative Party

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20th century history, Factions, History of Parliament Trust, Oral history, Post-1945 history

The Monday Club

Continuing our series on factions, Alfie Steer, historian of modern and contemporary Britain, discusses one of the more controversial party factions, the Monday Club, and reflects on the limitations our oral history archive has encountered with such topics. On Monday, 3 February 1961, the Prime Minister Harold Macmillan addressed the South African parliament. Now remembered as the ‘Winds of Change’ speech, Macmillan’s address both acknowledged the growing calls … Continue reading The Monday Club

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20th century history, Elections, Electoral Reform, History of Parliament Trust, Oral history, Post-1945 history, Women and Parliament

All-Women Shortlists: 30 Years On

During the 1993 Labour Party Conference, all-women shortlists were endorsed by the party. In the following general election in 1997, the number of women MPs doubled. In this blog, Alfie Steer explores our oral history archive and discusses the controversy of AWS and its impact on Parliament. This year marks thirty years since the Labour Party first introduced all-women’s shortlists (AWS) for parliamentary selections. Its … Continue reading All-Women Shortlists: 30 Years On

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Elections, Electoral Reform, History of Parliament Trust, Local History, Oral history, Post-1945 history

How MPs navigated changing constituency boundaries

The Boundary Commissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland submitted their 2023 Boundary Reviews in June, presenting their recommendations to the Speaker of the House of Commons on the reorganisation of UK parliamentary constituencies. Out of 650 existing constituencies in the UK, only 65 will remain unchanged. Dr Emmeline Ledgerwood, our Oral History Project Manager, reflects on the impact boundary changes have had on MPs … Continue reading How MPs navigated changing constituency boundaries

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20th century history, Elections, Health and Medicine, History of Parliament Trust, NHS at 75, Oral history, Post-1945 history, Social history, Women and Parliament

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 trail. This summer we celebrated the 75th anniversary of the NHS. Alongside the tributes to those who work so hard to keep it running, there … Continue reading 75 Years of the NHS – on the campaign trail

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'The Story of Parliament', Conferences/seminars, Elections, Events, Factions, History of Parliament Trust, Oral history, Post-1945 history, Women and Parliament

Parliamentarians on their past: Memories of the 1983 General Election

In June, the History of Parliament were delighted to welcome an audience to the first lecture of our contemporary history series ‘parliamentarians on their past’ that uses our oral history archive. Here our Oral History Intern, Alfie Steer, reflects on the lecture ‘Memories of the 1983 General Election’ and explores the background to the 1983 general election. To mark the fortieth anniversary of the 1983 … Continue reading Parliamentarians on their past: Memories of the 1983 General Election

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20th century history, History of Parliament Trust, Oral history, Post-1945 history, Women and Parliament

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 all parties from Northern Ireland, mainland Britain and the Republic of Ireland, one of the crucial figures was Mo Mowlam, Secretary of State for Northern … Continue reading Mo Mowlam and the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement

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