Women, Petitions and Parliament in the Twentieth Century

To mark Women’s History Month 2023, guest blogger Henry Miller, Associate Professor (Research) at Durham University, explores how women continued to utilise petitioning as a medium for political activity even after they won the vote. There is a long tradition of women appealing to Parliament through petitions dating back to at least the late medieval period. In the nineteenth century, petitions to the House of … Continue reading Women, Petitions and Parliament in the Twentieth Century

Portraits, Plates and Pigs: Representations of National Leaders within the Material Culture of Scottish Radical Procession 1832-1884

Ahead of next Tuesday’s Virtual IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Sonny Angus, of the University of Edinburgh. On 18 May 2021, between 5.15 p.m. and 6.30 p.m., Sonny will be responding to your questions about his pre-circulated paper on the material culture of Scottish radical politics, 1832-1884. Details of how to join the discussion are available here, or by contacting seminar@histparl.ac.uk. … Continue reading Portraits, Plates and Pigs: Representations of National Leaders within the Material Culture of Scottish Radical Procession 1832-1884

‘Southwark men, who are but traitors’: merchants, rioters, radicals and the ‘good old cause’ in the mid-seventeenth century

In the latest History of Parliament blog we return to our local history study of Southwark. Following our medieval look at the constituency, today Dr Vivienne Larminie, Assistant Editor of the Commons 1640-1660 project, explores the borough in the mid-seventeenth century. By 1640 there had been no decrease in the independent spirit and propensity to disorder which had made the borough of Southwark so troublesome … Continue reading ‘Southwark men, who are but traitors’: merchants, rioters, radicals and the ‘good old cause’ in the mid-seventeenth century

Parliaments, Politics and People seminar: Petitioning, Parliament and Representation, 1780-1918

This evening the IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar series returns with a paper about Edmund Burke, Whiggism and party, given by Dr Max Skjönsberg. Ahead of the event, we look back to our final seminar of 2019 with a blog from Dr Henry Miller, reviewing his paper on the importance of petitions within nineteenth century political representation… The House of Commons received over 1 … Continue reading Parliaments, Politics and People seminar: Petitioning, Parliament and Representation, 1780-1918

The 1842 Chartist Petition – why over 3 million signatures translated into less than 50 votes

Today’s blog about the Chartist Petition of 1842 is part of our focus on wider electoral and political reform throughout this significant anniversary year in women’s political history – for more blogs in the series see here. The following blog has been written by year 10 work experience student, Layla Barwell from Dartford Grammar School for Girls. Layla spent the week with the public engagement … Continue reading The 1842 Chartist Petition – why over 3 million signatures translated into less than 50 votes

Public Petitioning and Parliament, 1689-1760

Today’s blog from Philip Loft, currently a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Cambridge, is part of our week of social media activity about all things petitioning, protest and franchise reform. This is ahead of our public event on the Thursday in Westminster, ‘Parliament and popular sovereignty in the 19th century’. Philip’s paper on petitioning before the development  of radical and mass-platform petitioning in the mid-eighteenth century … Continue reading Public Petitioning and Parliament, 1689-1760

Parliaments, Politics and People seminar: Gwilym Dodd, ‘Common petitions; Commons’ petitions; whose petitions? The supplicatory discourse of Parliament, c.1340-1450′

‘Parliaments, politics and people’ returned for the summer term with Gwilym Dodd’s paper on petitions in medieval parliaments. Dr Paul Hunneyball, Senior Research Fellow on the Lords 1603-1660 section, reports back… For its first session of the 2015 summer term, the Parliaments, Politics and People seminar welcomed Gwilym Dodd, of the University of Nottingham. His paper was entitled ‘Common petitions; Commons’ petitions; whose petitions? The … Continue reading Parliaments, Politics and People seminar: Gwilym Dodd, ‘Common petitions; Commons’ petitions; whose petitions? The supplicatory discourse of Parliament, c.1340-1450′