It's #MPMonday and this #WHM23 we are looking at Jennie Lee. Elected MP for North Lanarkshire during a by-election in March 1929, Lee was just 24. The Equal Franchise Act (reducing the voting age to 21) didn't come into effect until the general election in May, making Lee below voting age when elected!

@histodon #20thCentury #Election #VotingAge

Bondfield entered parliament following leadership roles in various Trade Union organisations. However the role of Minister for Labour was doomed to fail, particularly when the Wall Street Crash caused unemployment to boom.

Read more about Bondfield here:
http://ow.ly/JC5O50DW6u8

@histodon #MPMonday #WomensHistoryMonth #WomensHistory #WHM23 #WHM #TradeUnion

#MPMonday today is Margaret Bondfield, MP for Northampton 1923-24 & Wallsend 1926-31. In June 1929 Bondfield was appointed Minister of Labour in Ramsay MacDonald's government, becoming the first ever female cabinet minister and female privy counsellor.

#WHM23 #WomensHistoryMonth #WomensHistory @histodon

#MPMonday is William Bankes. Bankes first entered Parliament for Truro in 1810 and was well known in Regency England for his work as an explorer and Egyptologist.

In 1841, Bankes had to flee the country to avoid prosecution for homosexual offences. Read more in this blog 👇 http://ow.ly/9VYH50Dnwrg

@histodon #LGBTplusHM #LGBTHM23 #19thCentury

In 2018, Chris discussed his life and parliamentary career for our #OralHistory project.

Read and listen to his reflections in this blog👇 http://ow.ly/t6mX50DhvBJ

@histodon #LGBTHM23 #LGBTplusHM #MPMonday

#MPMonday is Chris Smith, Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury 1983-2005, former cabinet minister, and the first MP to choose to publicly come out. #LGBTHM23 #LGBTplusHM @histodon

Colquhoun represented Northampton North until 1979. While her time in Parliament was relatively short, she campaigned fiercely for women's rights, human rights and environmental issues and was often at odds with other MPs. Read more 👇 #LGBTplusHM http://ow.ly/4Ulg50HVBQF @histodons #MPMonday #Parliament #Campaign

#MPMonday is Maureen Colquhoun, the first MP elected for the newly formed constituency of Northampton North in Feb 1974. Colquhoun was the first openly lesbian and openly LGBTQ+ MP. Find out about her life and career👇#LGBTplusHM #LGBTHistory http://ow.ly/3sA550MzPmP

@histodons #Northampton #Election

Find out more about Gower's life, both in and outside of Westminster, by listening to our podcast, featuring Dr Spychal in conversation with Sammy Sturgess. Click 👇 http://ow.ly/7YHM50HKj73

@histodon #LGBTHM #LGBTplusHM #LGBTQ #MPMonday #Wesminster #Podcast

#HistParl's Dr Martin Spychal studied Gower's diaries and reflected on how Gower utilised his position of privilege to navigate life as a queer man in late nineteenth-century Britain. You can find Dr Spychal's blog series on Gower👇 @VictorianCommons http://ow.ly/j8Jk50MxM13

@histodon #MPMonday #LGBTHM #LGBTplusHM #LGBTQ #19thCentury

#MPMonday is Lord Ronald Gower. MP for the Scottish county of Sutherland from 1867-74, he entered Parliament aged just 21. During much of his career, he kept a diary, in which he described his life in 19thc. LGBTQ+ society. Find out more👇
http://ow.ly/A1c250HKiQC

#LGBTHM #LGBTplusHM #LGBTQ #19thCentury #Parliament @histodon

Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is one of the best-known accounts of a late medieval pilgrimage. In this blog, Dr Hannes Kleineke reflects on the enjoyment parliamentarians derived from a 15thC. pilgrimage👇

https://thehistoryofparliament.wordpress.com/2021/07/29/were-all-going-on-a-summer-pilgrimage/

@histodons @histodon #15thCentury #Pilgrimage #Canterbury #Medieval #MPMonday

#DYK Geoffrey Chaucer, author of the Canterbury Tales, was an MP? Chaucer was elected as knight of the shire for Kent in 1386. Find out more about Chaucer's political career this #MPMonday 👉http://ow.ly/icAw50Msqox

@histodons @histodon #Chaucer #14thCentury #Kent

During a parliamentary debate on whether King James I truly intended to honour his guarantee of free speech, Alford called for a cessation of all business ‘until we shall be a free Parliament’. with guaranteed free speech. Find out about his career: https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604-1629/member/alford-edward-15656-1631

@histodons @histodon #17thCentury #FreeSpeech #MPMonday #JamesI

#MPMonday is Edward Alford, who first entered Parliament for Beverley in 1593. Alford, a Sussex squire, was known as someone talented but bluntly-spoken and was one of the foremost champions of the Commons’ right to free speech.

@histodons @histodon #16thCentury #Sussex #FreeSpeech #Parliament

This #MPMonday, we are looking at Jill Knight, MP for Birmingham Edgbaston from 1966 to 1997. From the age of 13, Knight decided she wanted to pursue a career in politics. You can find out more about her career via our #OralHistory project: http://ow.ly/rTHy50MhaVX

@histodons @histodon #20thCentury #WomensHistory #WomenInPolitics

In 2018, #HistParl worked with Dartford Grammar School for Girls on a year 10 work experience placement. In the blog below, our work experience student Layla Barwell reflected on O'Connor and his remarkable campaign for the Chartist petition in 1842👇
http://ow.ly/bqqS50LgpzK

@histodons @histodon #Petition #MPMonday #Campaign

O'Connor was a leading figure in the Chartist movement. When Parliament rejected the People’s Charter, he became associated with ‘physical force’ Chartists who argued for using violence to gain political rights. Find out about him in our schools' section👇 http://ow.ly/4o3g50Lgpuw

@histodons @histodon #MPMonday #Chartist #Rights

This #MPMonday we are looking at Feargus O'Connor who first entered Parliament for County Cork in 1832. O'Connor was an Irish Chartist leader and was involved in multiple working-class political movements. While he was known as a great orator, he fell out with many political leaders.

@histodons @histodon #IrishHistory #19thCentury #Parliament

This #MPMonday, why not take a look at some of The Victorian Commons' MP of the month blogs? From Sir Charles Tilston Bright, a pioneering telegraph engineer, to Sir William Payne Gallwey, whose cause of death was rather unusual.. You can find them and more here: http://ow.ly/wxsu50Ll9MK
#Histodons #Victorian #Politicians #Parliament