Historically Underrepresented MPs
Tales from the Green Benches: An Oral History of Parliament · History of Parliament Trust
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Show Notes
During much of the twentieth century, the stereotypical image of an MP was of a white, straight, male. But, as our archive of oral history interviews suggests, the makeup of the House of Commons would go through a significant change as we approached the millennium. However this doesn’t mean that Westminster, as both a location and an environment, adapted to meet this.
In this episode we look at those Members who didn’t fit into this traditional image of an MP: women, Members from minority ethnic backgrounds, Members who identified as LGBTQ+, or those from working class families, for example; people that we have, for the sake of this episode, termed ‘historically underrepresented’. Using reflections from the members themselves, Emma and Alex explore the difficulties that many faced during their time in the Chamber.
Presented by Dr Emma Peplow and Dr Alex Lock, produced by Melissa FitzGerald at Zinc Audio. With additional writing from Dr Priscila Pivatto and script editing from Connie Jeffery. All interviews are deposited at the British Library. Find a catalogue of interviews on our website.
Artwork by [email protected].
Find more from the History of Parliament Trust at www.historyofparliament.com and follow this link to find information about our publication ‘The Political Lives of Postwar British MPs’.
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More information:
British Library Reference Codes:
Diana Maddock interviewed by Isobel White, C1503/0157
Bryan Magee interviewed by Sandy Ruxton, C1503/0049
Parmjit Dhanda interviewed by Peter Reilly, C1503/0208
Hilary Armstrong interviewed by Emma Peplow, C1503/0103
Helene Hayman interviewed by Emmeline Ledgerwood, C1503/0115 B
Janet Fookes interviewed by Emma Peplow, C1503/0066
Jenny Tonge interviewed by Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite, C1503/0148
House of Commons Library briefings used in the episode:
- SN06652 ‘Female Members of Parliament’,
- CBP7483 ‘Social background of Members of Parliament 1979-2019’
- N01250 ‘Women in Politics and Public Life’
Find out more about the gender balance within Westminster in this article from the Institute for Government.
And find articles about underrepresented MPs on the History of Parliament website.
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