An influx of rookie MPs entered the House of Commons after the post-war 1945 General Election. One of the new intakes was the celebrated playwright, Benn Levy who’d won the Eton & Slough seat for the victorious Labour Party. …
This blog article was written by Ann Moghaddami to mark UK Disability History Month (UKDM). The blog looks at how the records held in the Parliamentary Archives reflect changing legislative and societal attitudes to disability, family life and sex, one …
This year marks the centenary of the Royal British Legion. This blog written by Katherine Emery, Assistant Archives Officer, will be looking at the early years of the Legion, especially the support towards disabled ex-servicemen. The Legion was originally founded …
This article was written by Miriam Gibson, Archives Assistant (Graduate Trainee). Content warning: This article uses contemporary quotes which contain offensive language and details of the transatlantic slave trade, which some readers may find upsetting. “The storm is fast gathering; every instant …
Continuing our series on the history of Jewish MPs we turn our attention to Sydney Silverman. A politician unafraid to tackle the most serious subjects that others refused to be drawn upon. This blog was written by Richard Ward, Assistant …
In August 2021 Henley Royal Regatta changed its dress code to allow women to wear trousers in the Steward's Enclosure after a petition the previous year by University of Oxford rower Georgia Grant called the dress code ‘draconian’. [1] The …
Over the past year of Elizabeth Tower blog posts from the Parliamentary Archives, we’ve taken a deeper look at the Ayrton Light, Big Ben and the quarter bells and the decorative shields which adorn the Tower’s façade. As restoration of …
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the passing of the Importation of Plumage (Prohibition) Act. So, here’s ten things you need to know about this seminal piece of legislation. This blog was written by Richard Ward, Assistant Archives Officer. …
In this period, Poplar was one of the poorest areas of London, with high levels of unemployment, poverty and hunger. Under the Poor Law, initiatives to alleviate these issues by the Poplar Poor Law Union had to be funded by …
Since the medieval period, permission for building roads and other public works has been granted by acts of Parliament. Permission to build canals and railways has been granted this way since the eighteenth century, and since 1794 promoters of these …
