Jennifer Davey

York: exploring the local history of a Victorian constituency This blog, which explains some of the key features of our constituency articles, and how they might be of use to those interested in the history of a particular locality, originally appeared on the…

For #YorkshireDay we are revisiting some of our past articles. Here we looked at the constituency of #York, one of relatively few seats where a Chartist candidate stood during our period: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2020/07/30/y...

‘A negative achievement’: Behind the scenes of the House of Lords Act 1999 - The History of Parliament The House of Lords Act 1999 was the last major reform to membership of the House of Lords; removing the rights of all but 92 hereditary peers to sit in the House. This act was intended to be a ‘first…

During the King's Speech of July last year, the government proposed a bill which would remove all hereditary peers from the House of Lords.
But reform to the Lords is not new. Find out about the changes made in 1999 and debates around it, in this article from Dr Emma Peplow:

A new free exhibition, curated by Dr @teadevotee.bsky.social, at Bruce Castle Museum & Archive spotlights trailblazing MP Joyce Butler (Wood Green, 1955–79) - a pioneer of women’s rights, peace activism, & consumer protection.

Congrats Lyndsey on the successful launch of this project! 🎉

This looks great!

"We had come out week after week in this bitter summer weather, in the piercing cold and drenching rain of an English July..."

(Suffrage activist, July 1927).

Those were the days...

Tebbit was well known for his forthright views and confidence in the face of critics.

Former MP Hugo Summerson described one memorable run-in with hecklers in a 2017 interview:

Norman Tebbit, who died yesterday, was one of the most prominent, and controversial, politicians of his era.

Former Conservative MP Michael Stern reflected on Tebbit's reputation as a minister and parliamentarian in a 2017 interview with our #OralHistory project:

UCL – University College London UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

Modern British History maternity leave cover (7 months in first instance) teaching position, predominantly 20th century, UCL History Dept. Starts 1 October 2025. Friendly department with excellent students and great library resources. PhD required. Deadline 24 July.

Parliament Matters: A podcast about the institution at the heart of our democracy Join two of the UK’s leading parliamentary experts, Mark D’Arcy and Ruth Fox, as they guide you through the often mysterious ways our politicians do business and explore the running controversies…

🎉 Parliament Matters podcast hits 100 episodes tomorrow!

Across 100 episodes, we've heard insights from politicians, academics, historians, and others about the institution at the heart of our democracy: Parliament.

Subscribe below to keep hearing more 🔽
buff.ly/HIjYCWm

GIF showing glimpses of the online course 'Applied Public History: Places, People, Stories'

Interested in historic #places, and public or #community #history? Did you know there's a free online course from @ihr.bsky.social, presented by me, along with colleagues & guests showcasing brilliant case-study projects? Advice, practical tips and inspo! www.coursera.org/learn/uol-pu...

APEX Awards The APEX awards are a new funding opportunity designed to promote collaboration across academic disciplines through the support of world-leading interdisciplinary research projects.

Given the need for more interdisciplinary and curiosity-driven research, we are offering up to £200k awards for research on the boundary between social science/humanities and science or engineering
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/apex...

Could a dead person be elected to #Parliament?
Yes - or at least this was the case in May 1728, when Sidney Wortley Montagu was declared the winning candidate in the disputed 1727 general election return for Peterborough, even though he had died six months earlier.
#HistParl

Beyond the Census: John Rickman and Parliament - The History of Parliament Professor Julian Hoppit, Honorary Professor of British History at UCL, will be discussing John Rickman and his career in Parliament.

At 5:30pm today Julian Hoppit will be speaking at the IHR Parliaments, Politics & People seminar, where he will be discussing John Rickman and his career in Parliament.

The seminar will be taking place online via Zoom. Find out more and how to attend below: historyofparliament.com/2025/06/10/j...

Call for Papers: What is a Parliament? Are parliaments institutions, organisations, corporations or something else? Does it make sense to ask the question Who is Parliament? or should parliaments always be considered a thing or set of relations of some kind? This interdisciplinary one-day workshop will consider such questions from all points of view, from the metaphysical to the political, historical, legal and anthropological, as well as how our different understandings of parliaments affect the way we study, critique and run them. We welcome papers operating at all levels of abstraction and those concerned with concrete cases. Our aim is for the workshop to include scholars working in different academic disciplines, from different intellectual traditions, and who are at all career stages from PhD onwards. If you are interested in presenting a paper, please send a title and abstract of no more than 250 words to Stephen Holden Bates (s.r.bates@bham.ac.uk) by 4th July 2025. The workshop will be held on Friday 19th September in Birkbeck’s Keynes Library (46 Gordon Square, London). It is being co-convened by Stephen Holden Bates (University of Birmingham), Paul Seaward (History of Parliament Trust) and Ben Worthy (Birkbeck, University of London) and co-sponsored by the Department of Politics at Birkbeck, the Department of Political Science & International Studies at the University of Birmingham and PSA Parliaments. The workshop will be free, and refreshments and lunch will be provided. Early career researchers who have a paper accepted will be able to apply for funding from PSA Parliaments to cover some or all travel expenses on a case-by-case basis.

📢📢📢 CfP: What is a Parliament?

Interdisciplinary workshop on 19th September 2025 in London.

Full details below.

Kindly sponsored by Birkbeck, the University of Birmingham and @psa-parliaments.bsky.social

Please apply and/or spread the word!

Coming up next week. Do sign up via the @conunitucl.bsky.social website👇

Photo of a late mediaeval ivory comb with elaborate decorations in the form of wild animals. (c) Trustees of the British Museum

A new biography on the anvil: Edward Harley, 2nd earl of Oxford, son of 'the Great Man', Robert Harley.
Like his father, Oxford was an inveterate collector, one of his possessions being 'Queen Bertha's Comb', which he had acquired in 1720. It later passed into the hands of Horace Walpole...

Peter McLagan (1823-1900): Scotland’s first Black MP This is the first article in a new series for the Victorian Commons on Peter McLagan (1823-1900), by Dr Martin Spychal, Senior Research Fellow on our House of Commons 1832-1868 project. McLagan was…

In the first of an important new series, drawing on sources ranging from photographs to parliamentary reports, @martinspychal.bsky.social looks at the life and career of Scotland's first Black MP, Peter McLagan, MP for Linlithgowshire, 1865-93. victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2025/06/12/p...

If you're watching the Spending Review statement today, our latest explainer unpicks what will happen in Parliament.

To end the week, yesterday we had a retirement party for Stuart Hanley, who first joined HPT in 1987, and has contributed so much to our work over the years. bsky.app/profile/geor...

On Wednesday, we recorded a live podcast in Parliament showcasing our oral history project and heard from two of our most recent interviewees. The discussion was wide-ranging -from the Whip's Office to Brexit, via ten minute rule bills (& teddy bears). bsky.app/profile/lisa...

On Tuesday evening, the IHR seminar we support hosted Wendy Ugolini for a fascinating paper on The Recording Angel (the Parliamentary War Memorial in Westminster Hall). bsky.app/profile/hist...

Throughout the week, we began preparations to leave our current home at Bloomsbury Square. @georgianlords.bsky.social wrote a brilliant piece on the history of the square bsky.app/profile/geor...

It started with a review of a draft of our Annual Report: collectively, the team has written over 1 million words of scholarship, recorded over 150 hrs of oral history, collaborated on funding bids, CDAs, and MA placements, and hosted numerous public events. It is an astonishing range of work.

It is such a privilege to be the Director of @histparl.bsky.social and this week has been full of so many highlights, it is tricky to know where to start. So here goes...

The evolving electoral system: the 1835 and 1865 general elections compared This year marks the 190th anniversary of the 1835 general election and the 160th anniversary of the 1865 general election. Our assistant editor Dr Kathryn Rix looks at some of the ways in which the…

This year marks the 190th anniversary of the 1835 election and the 160th anniversary of the 1865 election. In our latest post @kathrynrix.bsky.social looks at how electioneering had evolved in the 30 years between these two contests. #HistParl
victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2025/05/15/t...

Really enjoyed this - although any discussion of 1865 reminds me of an undergraduate tutor, who felt v strongly that "things had never been the same since then".

Come and join us for a live podcast, with our brilliant oral history team and guests - Anne Milton and Gisela, Baroness Stuart. Details below...

Striking insight into the 18th-century Lords mid-session.
In 1781 a female witness is made very uncomfortable by 2 peers while giving evidence at the bar in a divorce case, after which one (the duke of Queensberry) 'had a very comfortable nap by the fire, lolling his legs on the Bishops' bench...'

Built by the sons of the factory reformer and MP (for Oldham 1832-1847) John Fielden.

Whitehall’s whispering mandarin | Mark D’Arcy | The Critic Magazine A tribute to Sir Roy Stone, whose secretive role at the heart of Westminster made government possible…

Sir Roy Stone - one of the most powerful & effective people in UK gov’t in the 21st century that you’ve likely never heard of - died suddenly yesterday.

This lovely tribute, written on his retirement by the BBC’s longtime parliamentary correspondent, is worth a read

thecritic.co.uk/issues/may-2...