2022 marks the 150th anniversary of the passing of the 1872 Ballot Act which introduced the requirement for a secret ballot in British parliamentary and local elections. Our symposium will take this as the starting point for a broader examination of the history of voting reform. It will consider the culture and conduct of Victorian elections and the circumstances that led to the passing of the Act; it will deal with the debates around the secret ballot, the impact of the Act at home (especially in Ireland), its influence abroad, and the subsequent history of electoral administration, relating some of these issues to currently debated questions of electoral fraud and voter identity.
The symposium seeks to bring together historians, political scientists and representatives from organisations such as the Electoral Commission and the UK Boundary Commissions. It is being held in honour of Valerie Cromwell who was Reader in History at the University of Sussex and Director of the History of Parliament Trust between 1991 and 2001. It is being jointly organised by History & Policy at the IHR and the History of Parliament, and has been made possible thanks to a generous donation by Lady Valerie’s husband, Sir John Kingman.
his seminar will explore the history of Trade Union Education - both learning for activists and broader learning for members. It will discuss current issues and how to shape future Trade Union Learning. It aims to guide the planning for a much larger all-day conference in early February 2023.
Join us for a lively debate on a highly topical area. The loss of the Union Learning Fund and almost all Trade Union Education funding was of course deplorable. On the other hand, the Unison College shows the appetite for growth and new ideas. There is almost universal agreement that UK skills are comparatively low, yet government funding in Adult Education and employer investment in skills remain completely inadequate. The Pandemic has shown the capability of online learning, helping thousands of Union members and activists to access education, including many women and others who might previously have found it difficult to find time to travel to a classroom - but is this at the cost of face to face solidarity? What is the role for Unions in their members’ education?
Chair: Professor John Holford of Nottingham University who will both Chair and provide an initial historical overview, looking at the key issues including the role of employers, funding from government, the Trade Union Curriculum, the role of the TUC and meeting the needs of a rapidly changing trade Union membership.
Speakers:
Twenty years since its foundation in 2002, History & Policy welcomes back its founding members, Simon Szreter, Pat Thane, Alastair Reid and Virginia Berridge, as well as the key figures in the subsequent development of the network, including Mel Porter, Lucy Delap, Andrew Blick and Philip Murphy. This event will follow the format of the Radio 4 series ‘The Reunion’, as founding members discuss the aims behind H&P, its achievements over the past two decades and its plans for the future. Over the course of two panel discussions and a drinks reception H&P will examine its past, present and future, and give thanks to the network of members whose contributions and engagement have made it all possible.
Programme
Welcome Claire Langhamer (Director of the Institute of Historical Research) & Opening Remarks Sir Anthony Seldon
Chair: Philip Murphy (Current H&P Director)
Speakers: Pat Thane, Simon Szreter, Alastair Reid and Virginia Berridge (Co-Founders).
Chair: Simon Szreter (Co-Founder and Editorial Director).
Speakers: Duncan Needham, Mel Porter, Lucy Delap, Andrew Blick, Fiona Holland and Chris Williams (Deputy Director and Senior Associates).
Closing remarks
The Chancellors examines how the Treasury has been able to fight off attempts by Prime Ministers, from Blair to Johnson, to cut it down to size. Based on in-depth interviews with the Chancellors and key senior officials, it gives the insiders’ view of exactly how the Treasury has been able to dominate policy-making for 25 turbulent years, a period that spans the global financial crisis, austerity, the Scottish referendum, Brexit and the pandemic. Faced with a stuttering economy, can the Treasury continue to exercise such remarkable influence?
Panel:
Chair: Philip Murphy (History & Policy)
On the 21 June History & Policy organised a special online round table discussion on Digital History and Government Recordkeeping. An expert panel considered a range of questions including:
Speakers:
Chair: Philip Murphy (Director of History & Policy)
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H&P is based at the Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, University of London.
We are the only project in the UK providing access to an international network of more than 500 historians with a broad range of expertise. H&P offers a range of resources for historians, policy makers and journalists.