Dr Lisa Berry-Waite's Avatar

Dr Lisa Berry-Waite

@lisaberrywaite.bsky.social

Historian of women & politics in modern Britain, heritage professional at UK Parliament, blog editor for the Women’s History Network, Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, BBC HistoryExtra’s ‘30 under 30’. Views my own lisaberrywaite.com

530 Followers  |  232 Following  |  24 Posts  |  Joined: 14.11.2024  |  1.8486

Latest posts by lisaberrywaite.bsky.social on Bluesky

It was a privilege to attend the President of Germany’s address in the Royal Gallery thanks to a staff ticket. An unforgettable experience.

08.12.2025 09:07 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Lisa stands to the left of Hope who is wearing a grey jacket and skirt, along with a Votes for Women sash.

Lisa stands to the left of Hope who is wearing a grey jacket and skirt, along with a Votes for Women sash.

Hope stands in the centre on the image wearing a grey jacket and skirt. She also has a dark hat on and sash which reads Votes for Women.

Hope stands in the centre on the image wearing a grey jacket and skirt. She also has a dark hat on and sash which reads Votes for Women.

Very excited to finally meet Hope, the life-size Lego suffragette 💚💜

Last week was UK Parliament Week, an annual education event which explores what @ukparliament.parliament.uk does.

It was great to see so many schools getting involved and meet Hope in Westminster Hall!

01.12.2025 08:24 — 👍 7    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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‘She is an Outsider in Public Life’: women parliamentary candidates, 1918-1923 - The History of Parliament Ahead of tonight’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar at the Institute of Historical Research, we hear from Lisa Berry-Waite, a Leverhulme-funded PhD

#OTD 1918 the Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act, giving women the right to stand for parliament, gained royal assent.

To find out more about early women parliamentary candidates, and the campaigns they ran, read @lisaberrywaite.bsky.social article. historyofparliament.com/2019/06/11/s...

21.11.2025 09:00 — 👍 9    🔁 5    💬 0    📌 0

Looking forward to the @histparl.bsky.social's Annual Lecture!

12.11.2025 10:31 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
The Palace of Westminster seen from New Palace Yard, ringed with autumnal trees with orange leaves.

The Palace of Westminster seen from New Palace Yard, ringed with autumnal trees with orange leaves.

The Palace of Westminster seen from New Palace Yard, ringed with autumnal trees with orange leaves.

The Palace of Westminster seen from New Palace Yard, ringed with autumnal trees with orange leaves.

A close up of the façade of the Palace of Westminster, ringed with autumnal trees with orange leaves.

A close up of the façade of the Palace of Westminster, ringed with autumnal trees with orange leaves.

Autumn at the Palace of Westminster 🍂

12.11.2025 10:07 — 👍 13    🔁 4    💬 1    📌 0
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MPs and the Second World War - The History of Parliament Ahead of Remembrance Day, and with 2025 marking 80 years since the end of the Second World War, Dr Kathryn Rix, Assistant Editor of our House of Commons,

In our latest article, Dr Kathryn Rix has looked at the 23 MPs commemorated in the Commons chamber who died during the Second World War.

Their biographies written by #HistParl are now accessible on Parliament's website, links to which you can find in Dr Rix's article below:

11.11.2025 08:30 — 👍 9    🔁 9    💬 0    📌 0
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"We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us" (Sir Winston Churchill, 1943)

28.10.2025 17:39 — 👍 7    🔁 5    💬 1    📌 0

Fascinating seminar last night by @satisfactory20.bsky.social on ‘The Speaker’s and the Suffragettes’. I especially enjoyed hearing more about the ‘suffragette chain’ which was recently donated to the Parliamentary Art Collection @ihr.bsky.social @histparl.bsky.social

29.10.2025 08:20 — 👍 5    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0
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Rediscovering Josephine Fiddes and her forgotten Australian novel – Robyn Floyd Josephine Fiddes was an English actress, vocalist, author and playwright who graced stages across three continents during the 19th century. Her creative output extended beyond acting to directing, …

New on the blog!

Dr Robyn Floyd (rkfloyd.bsky.social) explores Josephine Fiddes' story, an English actress, vocalist, author and playwright #womenshistory

Read it here:
womenshistorynetwork.org/rediscoverin...

29.07.2025 08:00 — 👍 5    🔁 4    💬 0    📌 0
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A great evening at the @histparl.bsky.social live podcast recording for ‘Tales from the Green Benches’ last night!

Really interesting to learn more about their oral history project and hear from two of the projects’s more recent interviewees, Anne Milton and Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston
#histparl

05.06.2025 11:46 — 👍 5    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 1
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A night in Parliament: Militant Suffragettes and Parliament - The History of Parliament We are delighted to post this guest blog in our Women and Parliament series from one of the public historians who has been at the forefront of activities to

#OTD 1913 Emily Wilding Davison was hit by the King's horse at Epsom derby, dying 4 days later.

One of the most prolific Suffragettes to interact with Parliament, guest contributor Vicky Igliowski-Broad explored Davison's wide-ranging dealings with the House:

04.06.2025 11:30 — 👍 17    🔁 14    💬 1    📌 0
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Beyond Formal and Informal: Giving Back Political Agency to Female Diplomats in Early Nineteenth Century Europe – Bart Mooibroek When researching diplomatic challenges in early nineteenth century Europe, such as the Eastern Question or the Congress of Vienna, the subject matter can appear male dominated. The former refers to…

New on the blog!

Bart Mooibroek explores the diplomatic career of Dorothea Lieven, and how female diplomats have been studied more broadly in history #womenshistory #diplomatichistory

womenshistorynetwork.org/beyond-forma...

02.06.2025 08:17 — 👍 11    🔁 4    💬 0    📌 0
Parliament and the Second World War - Heritage Collections UK Parliament In this online exhibition, Parliament's War Effort, we highlight a selection of the people who protected Parliamentary democracy in wartime.

You can find the online version of the display here: heritagecollections.parliament.uk/exhibits/war...

16.05.2025 08:30 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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To mark #VE80, ‘Parliament’s War Effort’ display is now in Westminster Hall @ukparliament.parliament.uk

It tells the story of 12 individuals who contributed to Parliament’s war effort #WW2

It was great to write about Eleanor Rathbone MP, Edith Summerskill MP & Sir Geoffrey Blake for the display

16.05.2025 08:28 — 👍 2    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0
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A wonderful evening celebrating the paperback launch of ‘Necessary Women: The Untold Story of Parliament's Working Women’ by @satisfactory20.bsky.social and Elizabeth Hallam Smith 👏

Plus a fab location @antiquaries.bsky.social

02.04.2025 08:40 — 👍 12    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0

And a huge thanks to @vickyig.bsky.social for looking over the draft version of it!

31.03.2025 08:15 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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The Road to Women's Suffrage Read this brief history of women’s suffrage in England - the fight for women to gain the vote on the same terms as men. We explore the individuals and organisations involved in the fight for women’s s...

As we come to the end of #WomensHistoryMonth, I wanted to share my new intro piece on #womenssuffrage for @englishheritage.bsky.social

It looks at the individuals & organisations involved, the impact of WW1 & the legislative reforms of 1918 and 1928

www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histor...

31.03.2025 08:13 — 👍 17    🔁 8    💬 1    📌 1
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Emotion and Space in the Mid-Victorian Women’s Suffrage Movement – Lucy McCormick Separate Spheres The doctrine of the ‘separate spheres’ – women’s confinement in the home while men freely roamed the public world – is entrenched in popular imaginings of Victorian life. Historian…

New blogpost!

Lucy McCormick writes about emotion and space in the mid-Victorian Women's Suffrage Movement. She explores how anti-suffragists weaponised emotion in relation to politicised spaces, and how suffragists renegotiated these links.

Read here: womenshistorynetwork.org/emotion-and-...

24.03.2025 10:25 — 👍 32    🔁 15    💬 0    📌 1

Very excited to share that I've started a secondment @ukparliament.parliament.uk as a Programme Manager, leading on the initial planning for the 100 year anniversary of the 1928 #EqualFranchise Act!

Thrilled to be working on such an important milestone in the history of British democracy!

26.03.2025 08:46 — 👍 7    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Graphic of the word 'History' composed of people with the additional text: Applications invited for RHS Scouloudi Public History Grants, 2025. New funding programme, closes 23 May'.

Graphic of the word 'History' composed of people with the additional text: Applications invited for RHS Scouloudi Public History Grants, 2025. New funding programme, closes 23 May'.

Today we launch a new funding programme: Scouloudi Public History Grants bit.ly/4bF4zJK

Grants will support collaborative projects between historians in Higher Education and those in the galleries, libraries, archives and museums sectors, as well as community history groups.

#Skystorians 1/2 👇

18.03.2025 14:28 — 👍 105    🔁 77    💬 1    📌 0
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‘A woman actually voted!’: Lily Maxwell and the Manchester by-election of November 1867 - The History of Parliament More than half a century before the partial enfranchisement of women in 1918, Lily Maxwell, a Manchester shopkeeper, cast a parliamentary vote. Dr Kathryn Rix

#DYK that years before some women were given the franchise in 1918, one woman, Lily Maxwell, actually voted in an election?

Find out how in this article, originally posted on the @victoriancommons.bsky.social website:
#WHM

historyofparliament.com/2025/03/14/l...

17.03.2025 15:10 — 👍 16    🔁 11    💬 1    📌 0
Sites of Suffrage Memory: a HerStory Maps project This map seeks to **geolocate the memorials to the Women's Suffrage Movement ** all over the world. --- It is a small contribution to the decades-long effort by activists and scholars to raise publi...

Do you live near a women's suffrage memorial? Help researchers at Aix-Marseille uni to map it alongside hundreds of others.
Celebrate and value global histories of democracy and feminist activism - a powerful message given ebbing support in the twenty-first century
framacarte.org/fr/map/sites...

17.03.2025 20:53 — 👍 266    🔁 134    💬 24    📌 3
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Margaret Bondfield (Re) Discovered by Dr. Paula Bartley In our latest post, Dr. Paula Bartley reflects on some of the archival challenges of studying women’s history in her latest excellent book, Labour Women In Power: Cabinet Ministers in the Twe…

#OTD 17 March 1873, trade unionist Margaret Bondfield was born. Read more about her on the blog, as Dr. Paula Bartley reflects on some of the archival challenges of studying women’s history womenshistorynetwork.org/margaret-bon...

17.03.2025 21:50 — 👍 16    🔁 3    💬 0    📌 2
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Working Women in History | The National Archives To mark Women’s History Month, we take a long view of working women. Our guest host, Jessamy Carlson invites three historians to explore the lives of

Thrilled to be a guest on The National Archives' podcast exploring the lives of working women in history with @vickyig.bsky.social @jessamycarlson.bsky.social & Kath Maude! Enjoyed talking about the Metropolitan Police Women Patrols #WomensHistoryMonth
media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/wo...

18.03.2025 08:38 — 👍 22    🔁 6    💬 0    📌 0
Black and white photograph of Vanda Salmon, smiling and wearing a long coat and floral hat, leaning on crutches

Black and white photograph of Vanda Salmon, smiling and wearing a long coat and floral hat, leaning on crutches

Fantastic conference on Lived Experiences of the Westminster Parliament at Warwick today - great to speak on Vanda Salmon papers @chuarchives.bsky.social on panel with @lisaberrywaite.bsky.social and @emmapeplow.bsky.social. Thanks @chloechallender.bsky.social @brendantam.bsky.social for organising

14.03.2025 16:06 — 👍 15    🔁 5    💬 1    📌 1
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Fab day at the Lived Experiences of the Westminster Parliament conference organised by @chloechallender.bsky.social & @brendantam.bsky.social

Great to talk about women MPs & parliamentary space (e.g. Lady Members’ Rooms), and be on a panel with @satisfactory20.bsky.social & @emmapeplow.bsky.social

14.03.2025 16:31 — 👍 5    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
A monochrome photograph of a group of suffragettes dressed in mock prison garb, standing and waving inside a bus. The bus has a poster from the Women's Social and Political Union displayed on the front.

A monochrome photograph of a group of suffragettes dressed in mock prison garb, standing and waving inside a bus. The bus has a poster from the Women's Social and Political Union displayed on the front.

We’ve launched our new look LSE Digital Library!
Take a look digital.library.lse.ac.uk

13.03.2025 11:31 — 👍 74    🔁 24    💬 1    📌 10
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A brilliant evening at the Speaker’s House #WomensHistoryMonth event last week!

Great to talk to guests about Jean Winder (the first female permanent Hansard reporter) and showcase a photograph of Jean with her colleagues in 1947 from the Parliamentary Art Collection.

13.03.2025 09:05 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Great to part of this #WomensHistoryMonth episode on The National Archives' podcast, On the Record, talking about the Metropolitan Police Women Patrols. Especially with my wonderful former colleagues Kath Maude, @vickyig.bsky.social, and @jessamycarlson.bsky.social!

12.03.2025 08:46 — 👍 5    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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With #WomensHistoryMonth underway, it was brilliant to celebrate the work of colleagues at the Speaker’s House event @ukparliament.parliament.uk

Well done @lisaberrywaite.bsky.social and Penny McMahon for their display on the formidable women who contributed to Parliament’s War Effort during WW2 👏🏻

07.03.2025 10:58 — 👍 14    🔁 6    💬 1    📌 0

@lisaberrywaite is following 20 prominent accounts