Tag Archives: Registration

Vaccination and the Vote: a Victorian dilemma

Posted on March 22, 2021 by salmonphilip

With mass vaccinations underway across the nation, spare a thought for the Victorian pioneers of the UK’s first major vaccination programme, against smallpox. As well as battling against all sorts of safety fears and logistical problems, they unwittingly found themselves … Continue reading →

Posted in Elections, Local government, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Happy New Year from the Victorian Commons!

Posted on January 2, 2020 by salmonphilip

For eight years now we have been marking the new year with some highlights from the previous 12 months. The events of 2019 certainly focused attention on parliamentary history and the UK’s constitutional practices as never before. Taking our cue … Continue reading →

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MP of the Month: Thomas Neville Abdy (1810-1877) and electoral misconduct

Posted on November 25, 2019 by salmonphilip

Thomas Abdy’s political career provides a useful reminder of the chicanery, lies and corruption sometimes associated with 19th century English electioneering – venal traditions that became increasingly unacceptable during the Victorian era. Born into a naval family – his father … Continue reading →

Posted in Biographies, Constituencies, Corruption, Elections, MP of the Month, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ Thomas Jones Phillips (1790-1843): pioneering Tory election agent

Posted on August 6, 2019 by salmonphilip

If you think some of the recent electioneering tactics that have hit the headlines seem extraordinary, spare a thought for the voters of Monmouth in the 1830s. As a new episode of the BBC’s ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Constituencies, Elections, Wales | Tagged , | 6 Comments

‘A woman actually voted!’: Lily Maxwell and the Manchester by-election of November 1867

Posted on November 26, 2017 by Kathryn Rix

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the casting of a parliamentary vote by Lily Maxwell, a Manchester shopkeeper, more than half a century before the partial enfranchisement of women in 1918. On 26 November 1867, at a by-election in Manchester, … Continue reading →

Posted in Elections, women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

‘Register, register, register!’: political activity in October

Posted on October 12, 2012 by salmonphilip

In modern politics the month of October is usually dominated by coverage of the major party conferences. In Victorian times, it was the stand-off between the political parties in the voter registration courts, famously immortalised by Peel’s call to ‘register, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 7 Comments