Written by Richard Ward, Archives Officer 2025 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Britain holding its first national referendum. Prime Minister Harold Wilson made the call for the electorate to decide whether to stay or leave the European Common Market. Westminster …
Written by Richard Ward, Archives Officer As the 1980s dawned British governance was at a crossroads. Following on from the previous turbulent decade both the Conservative and Labour default mode was to attack regardless of the consequences. Frequently engaging themselves in …
Earlier this year the Mikron Theatre Company toured a play dramatizing the life and times of Jennie Lee billed as the story of “The Radical MP You’ve Never Heard Of”. While over at the National Theatre audiences have flocked to …
Expanding on our ‘Year Like No Other’ series here’s the inaugural ‘Decade Like No Other’ blog and where better to kick off than 1980s Britain. I’ll focus on seven landmark events across the ten-year span and how Parliament initially reacted …
Beginning a new series of blog posts on ‘Inside the Act Room’ titled From the Backbenches celebrating backbench MPs who may not have reached Number Ten or achieved senior ministerial status yet still made a significant contribution in Parliament. Starting …
By Mari Takayanagi, Senior Archivist Following the recent State Visit to the UK by the Emperor and Empress of Japan, this blog looks at historic visits to Parliament by members of the Japanese royal family and other Japanese dignitaries, as …
The archive collections of Parliament mainly consist of paper and parchment records from Acts of Parliament and deposited plans to journals and letters. But you can also find an interesting variety of physical objects within the collection, so here is …
This year marks the 200th anniversary of the poet Lord Byron’s death. His eventful life and times are well chronicled with hundreds of books and articles written about him. However, relatively little has been recorded regarding his political beliefs and …
Sometimes in life you must take a chance regardless of the consequences. One hundred years ago Labour leader Ramsey Macdonald found himself in this position. With no clear victor determined from a General Election, he grasped the opportunity to lead …
Since 2022 the Parliamentary Archives' social media platforms have inducted historical figures from our collections into a richly diverse Hall of Fame. In this article, I’ll be celebrating a selection of inductees divided into six categories as they are rewarded …
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