Category Archives: Legislation

From draper’s apprentice to attorney-general: Sir John Rolt and the 1867 Reform Act

Posted on October 23, 2017 by

With this year marking the 150th anniversary of the passing of the Second Reform Act, our MP of the Month is one of the lesser known architects of this measure, the attorney-general, Sir John Rolt, who, as one contemporary noted, … Continue reading →

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MP of the Month: John Tomlinson Hibbert (1824-1908)

Posted on August 29, 2017 by

This month marks the 150th anniversary of the passing of the 1867 Reform Act. Introduced by Benjamin Disraeli and Lord Derby’s Conservative government, it added around a million voters to the register, primarily in borough constituencies. This greatly exceeded the … Continue reading →

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Some parallels: the 1832 and 2018 boundary reviews

Posted on July 3, 2017 by

To celebrate the recent open-access publication of his article ‘‘One of the best men of business we had ever met’: Thomas Drummond, the boundary commission and the 1832 Reform Act’, our Research Fellow on the 1832-1868 project, Dr Martin Spychal, … Continue reading →

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MP of the Month: George Palmer, a ‘firm friend of the shipwrecked’

Posted on October 22, 2014 by

In September 2008 an exceptionally rare Gold Medal produced by the Royal National Institute for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck was sold at auction for £3,200. The medal, with its unique pendant in the shape of a lifeboat, was … Continue reading →

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Horsemeat in historical perspective: food adulteration in Victorian Britain

Posted on March 8, 2013 by

The recent scandal about beef and other ready meals containing horsemeat has shown how food can quickly become a hot political topic, with consumers and the media putting pressure on retailers and politicians for action. Following the publication of its … Continue reading →

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Wiping the slate: some laws recently repealed

Posted on February 3, 2013 by

Last week (31 Jan. 2013) saw the enactment of the Statute Laws Repeal Act, a legislative initiative aimed at tidying up the UK’s statute book by repealing a host of obsolete and defunct laws, ranging from the 1500s to the present … Continue reading →

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