Tales from the Green Benches: An Oral History of Parliament

On 4 June 2025 the History of Parliament team hosted a live episode of the Tales from the Green Benches podcast, recorded in the Palace of Westminster! Series hosts Dr Emma Peplow and Dr Alex Lock welcomed a live audience to the Attlee Suite of Portcullis House, where they discussed the History of Parliament’s Oral History Project in more detail, along with some special guests. They were joined by...

One point that all of our oral history interviewees agree on is that being MP is more than just a job: it is a lifestyle. Becoming a Member of Parliament is all-consuming and can impact upon marriages, parenting, financial security and more. Whilst some enter into this aware of the toll it can take, others find the reality of this role hard to manage. And in our period, where MPs' actions and expe...

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 th...

Westminster is a place built on relationships, both within the Parties and across the House. But what happens when these relationships become strained? In this episode we look behind the curtain at the role of the Whips- the figures in charge of Party discipline. Using reflections from those who were appointed to the Whips’ office during their time in Parliament, as well as those who were the subj...

For many MPs the hardest part of a political campaign is not a General Election, but actually being chosen by your party to contest a seat. In this episode Emma and Alex take a closer look at the selection process- exploring what parties wanted from their candidates, how a certain type of seat could affect your parliamentary career, and how some MPs from our period (1950s to the early 2000s) were...

Many of us have an interest in politics or want to help a cause, but most won’t turn this passion into a career in Parliament!  Within the History of Parliament’s Oral History project we don’t just ask former MPs about their time in the Chamber, but ask questions about individuals’ upbringing or family life, all in an effort to work out why these people found themselves affiliated to a certai...

In this special episode Emma and Alex take a deeper look into the History of Parliament’s Oral History archive itself, discussing the methods and techniques used by our interviewers and reflecting on some of their own interviews- the good, the bad, and the awkward… Presented by Dr Emma Peplow and Dr Alex Lock, produced by Melissa FitzGerald at Zinc Audio. With additional writing from Dr Priscila P...

Entering the Houses of Parliament as a new MP is one of the few experiences universal to all interviewees within the History of Parliament’s Oral History project. Stepping foot into this historic building could be a humbling experience, particularly with its winding maze of corridors!  In this first episode we look at how different Members responded to this potentially daunting physical envir...

Introducing Tales from the Green Benches: An Oral History of Parliament, a new podcast from the History of Parliament Trust. Many of us will be familiar with the image of the House of Commons’ infamous green benches. But what does it really feel like to be in the Chamber, working in the ‘mother of Parliaments’? This is what the History of Parliament Trust’s Oral History project seeks to find out,...