‘Manifest injustice and glaring violation of all truth’: Disputing controverted elections in the 18th-century Parliament

In the latest blog for the Georgian Lords, Dr Charles Littleton considers the way in which 18th-century elections were frequently decided on the results of petitions in Parliament, after the initial returns were challenged. The weeks before this year’s election in the USA have been marked with commentary considering the potential for voter fraud, disenfranchisement, and the role of the courts. Although on a much … Continue reading ‘Manifest injustice and glaring violation of all truth’: Disputing controverted elections in the 18th-century Parliament

‘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

Children and Parliament in Medieval England

Continuing the theme of children and Parliament following Helen Sunderland’s blog about schoolgirls’ visits to the House of Parliament, 1880-1918 from earlier this week, senior research fellow for our Commons 1461-1504 project, Dr Simon Payling, explores the relationship between children and Parliament in the later middle ages… It is not surprising that children, whether as individuals or a group, appear very rarely in the records … Continue reading Children and Parliament in Medieval England

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

Why political history still matters

Dr Katrina Navickas from the University of Hertfordshire was the keynote speaker at the History of Parliament Trust and Durham University’s Parliaments and Popular Sovereignty conference, which was held at the People’s History Museum in Manchester in November 2017. She offers a blog on the importance of political history today… There is lively public interest in the origins of popular representation in the British political … Continue reading Why political history still matters

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

Women and Parliament in the Fifteenth Century

2018 is the centennial anniversary of the Representation of the People Act 1918 under the terms of which, for the first time in the history of the British Politics, some women were permitted to vote in Parliamentary elections. In order to mark this step in the progression of equality for women in our country’s political system we will be publishing a series of blogs about … Continue reading Women and Parliament in the Fifteenth Century