The House of Commons Committee of Privileges has its origins in 1995 when, in the light of scandals such as ‘cash for questions’, a Committee of Standards and Privileges was established to monitor and regulate the conduct of MPs. In 2012 it was divided into separate committees, one for Standards and the other for Privileges, and the latter has been in the news recently over … Continue reading Parliament’s Committees of Privileges
Ahead of next Tuesday’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Maria Tauber of the University of Warwick. On 14 March, between 5.30 p.m. and 6.30 p.m., Maria will discuss MPs and political communication in the eighteenth century The seminar takes place on 14 March 2023, between 5:30 and 7:00 p.m. You can attend online via Zoom. Details of how to join the discussion … Continue reading “I have got rid of all the fateague, all the mortification that attends the fruitless endeavours to serve ones country”: The struggle of being an MP in the 18th century
Continuing with our new blog series on ‘Factions‘, Dr Robin Eagles, editor of our House of Lords 1715-1790 project looks at the dramatic fallout between John Wilkes and John Horne that led to the splitting of the Bill of Rights Society. Few political rifts were played out in public more dramatically than the falling out between John Wilkes and John Horne (later Horne Tooke). The two had … Continue reading The Rivalship of Pompey and Caesar: the rift between John Wilkes and Parson Horne and the splitting of the Bill of Rights Society
In the latest blog for the Georgian Lords, Stuart Handley considers the duke of Newcastle’s resignation honours list in 1756. #HistParl #twitterstorians Continue reading The Duke of Newcastle’s “resignation honours list” of 1756
John Wilkes was well known for treading a fine line in his outspoken comments against the government, but in 1763 Parliament decided he had gone too far. Here Dr Robin Eagles, editor of our House of Lords 1715-1790 project, reflects on the case Parliament built against him and how they finally expelled Wilkes from the Chamber… On 19 November 1763 Colonel Bate, reporting affairs in … Continue reading How to expel an MP from Parliament: The ejection of John Wilkes in 1764
Call for Papers, deadline – 17 February 2023 The History of Parliament and the School of History, University of East Anglia, would like to invite proposals for papers for ‘Politics Before Democracy: Britain and its world, c.1750-1914’. This two-day conference, hosted at UEA on 19-20 April 2023, will bring together established academics, early career researchers and postgraduate students working in the field of British political … Continue reading Politics before Democracy Conference
Every December mince pies fly off the shelf, but our love for them never seems to last past Christmas. In 1783, William Pitt’s government was disparagingly nicknamed after this ‘phenomenon’. Dr Robin Eagles, editor of our House of Lords 1715-1790 project, reflects on whether the label of the ‘Mince Pie Administration’ was a fair prophecy for Pitt’s government. On 19 December 1783 William Pitt accepted … Continue reading The Mince Pie Administration or Plum Pudding Billy
As 2022 draws to an end Dr Charles Littleton considers the tercentenary of the Atterbury Plot, the failed plan for a Jacobite insurrection in England in 1722. The investigation of the conspiracy by Parliament in 1722-23 had far-reaching effects, as it consolidated the incoming premiership of Robert Walpole and contributed to the weakening of English Jacobitism. As its name suggests, the direction of the ‘Plot’ … Continue reading Of Pretenders and Prime Ministers: Robert Walpole and the Atterbury Plot 300 years on
Durham University, in collaboration with the History of Parliament, and supported by the Leverhulme Trust, are hosting a conference in Durham, Thursday-Friday 20-21 July 2023. The Call for Papers will close on 31 January 2023. The conference forms part of Dr Naomi Lloyd-Jones’s Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship, during which she is investigating the development of modern party organisation. For further details of the event see … Continue reading Organise! Organise! Organise! Collective Action, Associational Culture and the Politics of Organisation in the British Isles, c.1790-1914
The human side of working in Parliament can often be forgotten, but in today’s blog Dr Robin Eagles, editor of our House of Lords 1715-1790 project, explores where parliamentarians went when in need of ‘relief’ in the old palace of Westminster… It is easy to forget when studying Parliament, but members of both Houses and other visitors to the old palace of Westminster spent long … Continue reading Spending a penny in the old palace of Westminster
The History of Parliament 