My article on the Motherwell by-election is now available to read in @parlhistjournal.bsky.social It explores the reasons for Dr. Robert McIntyre's victory and how he became embroiled in a sponsorship saga.

Apologies for the delay, but we’re delighted to see our latest issue out in the wild! There are plenty of fascinating articles to get your teeth into, but we’re especially excited by the number from early career historians! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/doSea...

Apologies for the delay, but we’re delighted to see our latest issue out in the wild! There are plenty of fascinating articles to get your teeth into, but we’re especially excited by the number from early career historians! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/doSea...

Really enjoyed writing this reflection on the Ilford North contest, which has been considered an important 'stepping-stone' to the 1979 victory. I argue here that the by-election was simply a return to the Conservative column of a formerly safe seat. Read more here:

And, as it’s Budget week, we have a whole host of articles on all things budgets, tax, and government finance:

Just two days to go!

#OTD in 1990, Margaret Thatcher resigned as prime minister. Naturally, we have published many articles on this period, here are just a few:

#OTD 6 Nov. 1707 Queen Anne delivered the speech from the throne to the first Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. D. W. Hayton of @qubhistory.bsky.social explores Scottish representation in the first British House of Commons here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

We're going to be raising a glass to John Wilkes on his 300th birthday at 17:57. Do join us, and share a toast to Wilkes and Liberty! #HistParl

Today is the 300th birthday of the 18th century radical John Wilkes. We are making 3 articles from our journal about Wilkes #OpenAcess for the next two months. Peter D.G. Thomas explores the aftermath of Wilkes's election as the MP for Middlesex in 1768: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

The latest edition of Parliamentary History will be landing through our subscriber’s letterboxes in the next few weeks! Please do subscribe to get access to these and the many fascinating articles in our archives.

Other fascinating articles to get stuck into include: Samuel Lane on ‘Episcopal Attendance at the Parliaments of Edward III’ Alex Beeton on ‘Private sollicitations’: Educational Reform and the Long Parliament, 1642–53

We’re delighted that @jamesepeate.bsky.social is one of the early career contributors to the next edition of Parliamentary History on ‘Rough Work on the Hustings’: Sheridan, Cobbett, and Newspapers in the General Election of 1806. Subscribe here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1750...

You’ll have plenty of articles to tuck into, with fascinating and original subjects including educational reform during the Long Parliament, ‘Constitutional Alienation’ during the 1911-14 Ulster Crisis, and the 1945 Motherwell by-election.

Next month’s edition of Parliamentary History will be the first mostly composed of articles by doctoral and early career scholars, with four drawn from winning entries to our annual essay prize. There’s still plenty of time to enter this year’s competition: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1750...

1/ Our editor Richard Gaunt has written a chapter on the 1828 County Clare by-election for @iaindale.bsky.social's new book. Daniel O'Connell, a Catholic, was elected to the House of Commons in a major development in the Catholic emancipation campaign. We will have a special issue in 2029

@chloechallender.bsky.social will have an article on women's modes of entry to the early nineteenth-century parliament in our next issue, coming in October. More to follow!

I've just completed the index for @jonathanmcgovern.bsky.social's book 'The Early Parliaments of Henry VIII - an important and very comprehensive work of parliamentary history, coming soon from @boydellandbrewer.bsky.social boydellandbrewer.com/book/the-ear...

A good opportunity to reflect on all the informative and interesting subjects covered by In Our Time over the years, especially on Parliamentary history! The Great Reform Act episode is one of our favourites, what are yours? www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

There’s still plenty of time to submit an entry to the Parliamentary History Essay Prize!

For #WorldPhotographyDay we are revisiting our blog on a pioneering photographer who was also an Irish MP. Edward King Tenison drew on the work of William Henry Fox Talbot (also an MP) to develop the use of paper negatives. Find out more about him here: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2017/06/27/m...

#OnThisDay 1834 the Radical MP Joseph Hume argued that a new House of Commons should be built, complaining of over-crowding and the ‘pestilential air’. Find out more about the old House of Commons in our post: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2021/01/25/l...

Hervey's summons to the Lords has traditionally been attributed to Walpole's need for more star talent in the Upper Chamber, but might it also have been to do with an earlier promise following Hervey's duel with William Pulteney? @parlhistjournal.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Sheridan's skill as an orator is well attested. However, the real experts are the editors of the Sheridan project, currently being undertaken between the universities of Leeds and Aberystwyth. ahc.leeds.ac.uk/english/dir-...

This edition of Sheridan's 'The Rivals' claims that, in speechmaking, Sheridan was "the peer of Fox, Burke, and Pitt in a time full of great orators". Is this a widely accepted claim today? @histparl.bsky.social #parlisky #skystorians 1/2🧵

The Parliamentary History Essay Prize 2025 is open! The prize is worth £500 and winners will have their essay published in our journal! The submission deadline is 30 Nov 2025! For details 👇 🧵1/4 @histparl.bsky.social @georgianlords.bsky.social @victoriancommons.bsky.social

Looking forward to this symposium marking the 250th anniversary of Daniel O'Connell's birth here at the Edmund Burke Theatre @tcddublin.bsky.social, organised by @tlrhub.bsky.social

. @bettovanwaarden.bsky.social shows that, when it came to parliamentary broadcasting, roles were reversed and Westminster, the original model parliament, in fact came to study other parliaments. Read free 👇 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @HistParl #History #Parliament

Sir Robert Newman, MP for Exeter 1918-31, was the only interwar Con. MP to be deselected but successfully hold his seat. Paul Auchterlonie explores his role in supporting legislation for women, for which Eleanor Rathbone called him a 'Guardian Angel'. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Mikel Urquijo studies the neutrality of parliamentary presidency and speakership by comparing the models of the UK to continental Europe. The differences can be explained by historical development. The article is free to read 👇 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #Parliament #Europe

In our latest issue, @chountisdefabbri.bsky.social takes a novel look at Edmund Burke's opposition to parliamentary reform, in terms of partisanship and the interplay between domestic and imperial politics. Read free 👇 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #Parliament #History

Jonathan McGovern compares an early draft of John Hooker's 'The Order and usage how to keep a parliament in England in these days' (c. 1571) to it's final print. Hooker's careful revisions give us further confidence in his work. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #Parliament #History #Tudor

Richard Wendorf discusses Lord Chesterfield's previously unpublished 1761 history of the Excise Crisis. It shows how members of the Lords applied pressure on the Court. Wendorf's article is free to read 👇 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @georgianlords.bsky.social #Parliament #History

In our latest issue, Colin Helling explores how the Scottish parliament pushed against its marginal position in 17th century Stuart diplomacy. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #Scotland #Parliament #History

Exciting news! Our new issue is out now! We'll be sharing a bit about each of the articles over the coming days, but in the meantime explore for yourself 👇 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/17500206... #skystorians #politics #parliament

My review of Robin Eagles's biography of John Wilkes, Champion of English Freedom, is now published in @parlhistjournal.bsky.social Delighted to conclude that "it is the best biography of Wilkes that I have read"! @georgianlords.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author...

@histparl.bsky.social @parlhistjournal.bsky.social Is it true that this tradition comes from pre-reformation times when the @houseofcommons.parliament.uk met in Saint Stephen's Chapel in the Palace of Westminster and that MPs were actually bowing to the tabernacle behind the speaker's chair?

Latest research in the @victoriancommons.bsky.social office: Richard Watson, Whig MP for Canterbury, 1830-5, and Peterborough, 1852, described by Charles Dickens as a 'good liberal' with 'not the least nonsense about him'. Dickens dedicated David Copperfield to Watson and his wife Lavinia.

Great post from our colleague @emmapeplow.bsky.social, featuring some familiar 19thC names.

Dr Stuart Handley posts his final blog for @histparl.bsky.social before his retirement after many years of service across the Commons 1690-1715, the Lords 1660-1715 and now the Lords 1715-90 (aka the Georgian Lords) at the end of May... historyofparliament.com/2025/04/25/f...

Congratulations to our colleague Robin and to @hillaryburlock.bsky.social and Tatjana too!

Labour in the 1940s were the party of policy dynamism and the Conservatives... not. Right? @kitkowol.bsky.social's fascinating 'Blue Jerusalem' shows otherwise. To complement our read of it, we've made S.J.D Green's 'The 1944 Education Act' free to read 👇 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

#OTD 1721 Robert Walpole became First Lord of the Treasury, assuming the title 'Prime Minister' for the first time. In this article on the #HistParl website, Dr Robin Eagles (@georgianlords.bsky.social) explored Walpole's rise to power: historyofparliament.com/2021/04/03/s...

We've finished the excellent 'The Blazing World'. To cap our read through, here's Scott Sowerby's article on the 1685 Parliament, free to read👇 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.... He shows that Tories were more divided in their attitude to James II than had been recognised. #skystorians

I visited the archives @exetercathedral.bsky.social and looked at a lovely bound copy of material relating to Henry Sacheverell. We have a special issue about him (see below), but I couldn't resist the physical material- and just look at those woodcuts! #skystorians #archives 🧵1/2

We're also looking forward to several events on the way. Look out for information about a major conference at the University of Worcester co-organized with @chrisjmonaghan.bsky.social and sponsored by @pastpresentsoc.bsky.social and @parlhistjournal.bsky.social on the Warren Hastings trial...

George Canning, Prime Minister for just 5 months in 1827, was known for his quick wit and practical jokes. But the term 'jester' was also used by his political opponents as a criticism of his parliamentary style... #AprilFoolsDay Read his bio here: ow.ly/XAuq50yP2vf

Next up, it's Andrea McKenzie's 'Inside the Commons Committee of Secrecy: George Treby's Shorthand and the Popish Plot'. Enjoy! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...