Tag Archives: radicalism

Ballot boxes, bills and unions: Harriet Grote (1792-1878) and the public campaign for the ballot, 1832-9

Posted on May 16, 2022 by Martin Spychal

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the 1872 Ballot Act, which introduced secret voting at general elections in the UK. In this extended blog, our research fellow, Dr Martin Spychal, explores the role of Harriet Grote (1792-1878) in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Harriet Grote, Harriet Grote, women | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

‘Had she been a man, she would have been the leader of a party’: Harriet Grote (1792-1878), radicalism and Parliament, 1820-41

Posted on January 4, 2021 by Martin Spychal

In the first of his blogs on Harriet Grote (1792-1878), our research fellow Dr Martin Spychal, explores Harriet’s early life, her emergence as a central figure among London’s intellectual radicals during the 1820s and her arrival on the Westminster political … Continue reading →

Posted in Biographies, Harriet Grote, women | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

‘Unpopular only with people who made no allowance for eccentricity’: Henry Bulwer (1801-72), the diplomat MP

Posted on May 20, 2020 by Kathryn Rix

Our MP of the Month is Sir Henry Bulwer, best known as a controversial and colourful career diplomat. In this guest post, Dr Laurence Guymer, who has published extensively on Bulwer’s diplomatic career, explores how this intersected with his time … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest blog, MP of the Month | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

MP of the Month: George Williams (1765-1850) and Ashton-under-Lyne

Posted on November 28, 2018 by Kathryn Rix

In December 1832 the voters of Ashton-under-Lyne elected George Williams, ‘a Radical Reformer’, as the first MP for their newly enfranchised constituency. Born in Newfoundland, Williams had joined the British army in North America in 1777, aged just 12. After … Continue reading →

Posted in Biographies, MP of the Month | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

MP of the Month: Charles Gilpin (1815-1874)

Posted on September 27, 2017 by Martin Spychal

One of the most illuminating aspects of our work for the Victorian Commons is the discovery of significant, but long-forgotten, parliamentarians. September’s MP of the Month, Charles Gilpin (1815-1874), certainly falls under this description. As the first and only Quaker … Continue reading →

Posted in MP of the Month | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

A rather pale copy of the original: John Morgan Cobbett (1800-1877)

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Kathryn Rix

As we continue our research on the 1832-68 Commons project, one theme we are exploring is the importance of family connections in an MP’s parliamentary career. Long-standing family ties to an area could assist a candidate in securing election for … Continue reading →

Posted in Biographies, MP of the Month | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

New article on Thomas Attwood and the Birmingham School in latest issue of Parliamentary History

Posted on October 23, 2012 by millerhenryj

My article ‘Radicals, Tories or monomaniacs?: The Birmingham currency reformers in the House of Commons, 1832-67’ has just been published in the latest issue of Parliamentary History, 31 (2012), pp. 354-77. The article grew out of research for the 1832-68 … Continue reading →

Posted in Biographies, Constituencies, Publications, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments