Organise! Organise! Organise! Collective Action, Associational Culture and the Politics of Organisation in the British Isles, c.1790-1914

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 Politics of Protest in Britain: Race Riots in 1980-81

To mark Black History Month 2020, today’s post comes from guest blogger Dr Simon Peplow, senior teaching fellow at the University of Warwick. Dr Peplow is a researcher of modern British race, ethnicity, and migration history and his book ‘Race and Riots in Thatcher’s Britain‘ was released in paperback this month. In this blog he looks into parliamentary responses to the Race Riots that took … Continue reading The Politics of Protest in Britain: Race Riots in 1980-81

The royal scandal that helped change British politics: the 1820 Queen Caroline affair

On 5 June 1820 Caroline of Brunswick returned to England to take her place as Queen Consort to George IV. But the breakdown in the couple’s relationship would become a matter of parliamentary and national importance. This blog from Dr Philip Salmon, editor of our Commons 1832-68 project, explores the impact of the Queen Caroline Affair on British politics. Two hundred years ago the Prince … Continue reading The royal scandal that helped change British politics: the 1820 Queen Caroline affair

Early modern Parliament and Coffee

The History of Parliament team is very fond of a cup of coffee to help power through a day of research, particularly when trying to stay focused working from home! Coffee has a long and interesting place within parliamentary history as Dr Robin Eagles, editor of our House of Lords 1715-90 project, explores… On 12 March 1739 Lord Delawarr reported from a committee tasked with … Continue reading Early modern Parliament and Coffee

‘Where the disease is desperate, the remedy must be so too’: debating the 1721 Quarantine Act

The latest blog for the Georgian Lords considers the topical issue of quarantine. In the 1720s the government was forced to update its quarantine legislation, but as Dr Charles Littleton of our Lords 1715-1790 project shows, it received spirited opposition from members of the House of Lords… In the face of pressure from opposition parties and its own back-benchers, the Johnson government substantially amended the … Continue reading ‘Where the disease is desperate, the remedy must be so too’: debating the 1721 Quarantine Act

Who Killed Cock Robin? Peterloo and Satire

Our blog series to mark the bicentenary of the Peterloo Massacre continues today with the first of several pieces from Dr Katie Carpenter, who is an AHRC Creative Economy Engagement Fellow with the Citizens Project at Royal Holloway, and the Parliamentary Archives. Katie has been researching Peterloo in the Parliamentary Archives as part of the Citizens Project’s forthcoming Massive Online Open Course, From Peterloo to … Continue reading Who Killed Cock Robin? Peterloo and Satire

Political protest in the age of Peterloo

Today’s blog from the editor of our House of Commons 1832-68 section, Dr Philip Salmon, is the first of many pieces in which we will discuss the Peterloo Massacre that took place in St Peter’s Field, Manchester on 16th August 1819. He outlines the political climate within which this infamous episode occurred and provides context for the blogs that are to follow in the series. … Continue reading Political protest in the age of Peterloo

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

Bishops and Popular Opinion in the Era of Catholic Emancipation and the Reform Bill

Today’s post is a guest blog from PhD candidate Nicholas Dixon of Pembroke College, University of Cambridge. Nicholas shares this blog on the back of his paper from the ‘Parliaments and Popular Sovereignty: Political Representation in the British world, 1640-1886’ conference. The History of Parliament organised this event in partnership with Durham University History Department and the People’s History Museum in Manchester in November 2017. He discusses to what … Continue reading Bishops and Popular Opinion in the Era of Catholic Emancipation and the Reform Bill

Protesting MPs: Peterloo and its aftermath

The Green Party MP Caroline Lucas is due to appear in court tomorrow after her involvement in anti-fracking protests during August.  In a public statement Lucas argued that she ‘firmly believe[s] in the right to peaceful protest.’ She is, of course, not the first MP whose commitment to a cause has led to arrest and prosecution. Among the most famous cases are those associated with … Continue reading Protesting MPs: Peterloo and its aftermath