Red Pepper

A guest blog by Archivist Heather Roberts

Happy 20^th birthday to Red Pepper!  Red Pepper is a popular socialist magazine established in 1995. It followed after the demise of The Socialist, a newspaper printed by the Socialist Movement. Unlike its predecessor however, Red Pepper is without overt nods to one political party and has a strong and loyal following with a content focus on socialism, feminism and the green-left.  At the Labour History Archive & Study Centre we hold the archive of the newspaper. The collection mainly contains issues of Red Pepper and The Socialist; minutes and business plans of Red Pepper and spans the years 1991-2007.  The collection was donated in 2011 by Red Pepper’s editor Hilary Wainwright.

Find out more about how to visit the Archive to view Red Pepper and our other amazing collections

‘How Election! shaped my political views’

Sixteen year old work experience student Sylvie Copley provides her thoughts on the parties after spending two and half days working on Election! Britain Votes. 

When I started work experience at the museum I knew nothing about politics – apart from that the man in charge is a Conservative. Now after two days working on Election! Britain Votes I feel as though I can give a justifiable opinion on the current situation.

I got my first insight into the world of politics and how the voting system works from looking round the exhibition. From initial viewing I had made up my mind that I was a supporter of the Green Party – that didn’t last long. After spending a bit more time there, I overheard a TV interview of the leader of the Green Party, Natalie Bennett and quickly changed my mind.

My next job was to sort out the voting slips for the public which had 6 questions for them to ‘vote’ with and I recorded the details here.

A lot of the responses had very extreme responses which aided my opinion on the questions. For example, the government are ‘trying to reduce population by poisoning us e.g. cancer.’ – Which I knew I didn’t agree with. Others however, I did agree with such as example ‘It’s patronising to suggest women can only win if male competition is removed.’

On my second day I looked more at each of the parties. I was asked to find and print off many of the election posters for each of the parties and so got a tiny insight into what each of them meant. From these, I had decided that one’s targeting other parties obviously didn’t have enough to say about themselves and I most definitely disagreed with the UKIP poster about paying for maths and science students to be educated for free – our future does not just revolve around numbers!

However some visitors of the museum disagree with me. As one of my final tasks I had to collect and record their responses to the four questions. A response I got – in favour of the party I so disagreed was ‘UKIP or in the absence a decent fascist party.’ a comment which I did not agree on. None-the-less each opinion which was written (even the quite aggressive ones!) moulded my opinion of answering these questions. The questions were:

1. Will you be voting and why? – ‘Yes- There are too many people voting in pointless ‘games’ such as ‘I’m a celebrity’ and ‘Big Brother.’ – get off your arses Britain and vote for better terms and conditions’ and ‘Yes – People fought and died to let this woman have a vote!’.
2. Why do you think voter turnout has been so low in recent years? – ‘A lack of connection between mainstream politics and real change in people’s lives’ and ‘People are fed up with sleaze, dishonesty, and control by corporate entities, bank scandals, promises unfulfilled’
3. What is your prediction for this year’s general election? – ‘With a bit of luck this government will be out on its ear. HURRAH!’ and ‘Whoever wins, the government will remain in power.’
4. What qualities do you want in an MP? – ‘Tall, dark and handsome.’ And ‘Don’t vote for a party. Vote for a person. Someone who will represent local interests.’

Many of the responses I picked were for their comedy, passion and simply because the argument was good. Through the visitors opinions at the exhibition I have been taught any different opinions and extreme ideas within politics. I have come to realise that many people get very aggressive in the way our countries ran – however I believe by sticking to voting we can continue to have our say and have no need for the aggression at all.

This led me on to researching each of the three main parties, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party. Each of which I was not impressed! To sum it up, I found the Labour Party wanted to tax the rich, and Lib-Dems were stuck in between and Conservatives hadn’t really done much! As much as I agree that a lot of things politicians promise do not get done, surely we should carry on voting for the member of our constituency. In the long run politicians will carry on changing, but in the short run the people who make the biggest difference to our lives are our local representatives, our vote therefore will still count.

Videobooth – Does ‘First Past the Post’ Produce Fair Election Results?

A guest post by volunteer Amber Greenall-Heffernan 

The videobooth gives visitors the chance to feedback on their experience here at the museum, as well as telling us what they think about certain topics. This month’s question for the videobooth was ‘Does ‘First Past the Post’ Produce Fair Election Results?’

‘First Past the Post’ is a voting system used in the UK which, at both a constituency level and national level, means that the candidate or party with the highest amount of votes wins. In most cases, this leads to a single party majority in the House of Commons. However, ‘First Past the Post’ has been criticised as an unfair system. One of our visitors believed that it encourages people to vote tactically, rather than vote for what they really want or lead them not to vote at all, because they think that their vote is worthless.

The general response from our videobooth was that we should use the Proportional Representation system instead. This is a system which makes the seats won proportional to the percentage of votes. One visitor thought that we also should have a less centralised national government, with more devolved powers given to local councils.

What do you think?

Election! Britain Votes: Results round one

Work experience student Sylvie Copley has analysed the first wave of responses to questions asked in our current changing exhibition Election! Britain Votes. 

Election! Britain Votes opened on Saturday. As well finding out more about how elections work, visitors can share their opinion on our electoral system. We’ve already had 116 responses to our ballot paper questions.

1. Would having an elected House of Lords make our democracy more representative, and therefore fairer?
2. – 84% Yes and 16% No.
3. In order to increase the number of female MPs should parties have to meet quotas for female candidates?
4. – 52% Yes and 48% No.
5. Should we lower the voting age to 16 years old?
6. – 48% Yes and 52% No.
7. Should we allow prisoners to vote?
8. – 32% Yes, 30% Yes, but only some, dependent on their crime and 38% No.
9. Should the UK adopt a different voting system?
10. – 50% Yes, proportional representation, 23% Yes, alternative voting and 27% No, keep first past the post.
11. Should the queen still play a part in the political process?
12. – 39% Yes and 61% No.

Some visitors gave a dissenting opinion on the ballot papers such as ‘This is a protest vote, it’s all a load of rubbish’. One conspiracy theorist even went as far as saying the government are ‘trying to reduce population by poisoning us e.g. cancer.’

Others gave responses for their votes. ‘It’s patronising’ one respondent said, ‘to suggest women can only win if male competition is removed.’ Although as shown above, the rest of the voters did not see this as clear cut. The most surprising response was the majority vote opting for proportional representation instead of our current system – even though in 2010 when a referendum was held, the nation declined the change.

Come and have your say. Election! Britain Votes is on display until the 28 June 2015.

We want your election photographs!

A guest post by volunteer Helen Antrobus

The People’s History Museum, the national museum of democracy, holds the largest collection of political material in the country. On Saturday 14 February, Election! Britain Votes will open at the People’s History Museum. The exhibition combines past and present, giving visitors a chance to explore the history and process of general elections whilst also following the unfolding events of the 2015 general election…which is where you come in.

We are looking for the photographs and stories of people who are actively engaging in the 2015 general election campaign, to include in the exhibition, so that it can be continuously updated with new leaflets, photographs, and election material! We would like photographs from anybody who has been actively involved in the general election so far, from canvassing and campaigning, from any party and any constituency.

You can tweet us, facebook us, or send them via e-mail to: exhibitions@phm.org.uk

On this day: Mandela is freed

A guest post by archive volunteer Fran Devine

On 11 February 1990 Nelson Mandela was released after spending 27 years in South African prisons, most of them on Robben Island, where he and other African National Congress members were sentenced to hard labour. It would be another 4 years until a democratic election, open to all South African adults for the first time, resulted in him becoming president.

The Labour History Archive & Study Centre at the People’s History Museum houses many photos of the anti-apartheid movement in Britain, as well as a wide range of pamphlets from South Africa, Britain, and elsewhere, including a few in support of Britain’s economic links with apartheid South Africa. Anyone is welcome to come and look at them and much more. See our website for visiting information.

The Weekend in Wales

A guest blog by Archivist Heather Roberts

Since the Pride film was released in summer last year, the Labour History Archive & Study Centre at the PHM has seen a wonderful increase in interest in our Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) and LGBT collections.  We’ve even had more material donated!  Please join us in welcoming the contribution to the LGSM holdings by Bruce Currie, former LGSM member.

The collection consists mainly of facsimile material of LGSM members at the weekend in Wales, including photographs of the community dance made famous in the Pride film, a beautifully written testimony by Bruce of the weekend and pamphlets and information from the LGSM in general.

The collection has not been catalogued online yet but is nevertheless available for research.  To see this wonderful material, please use our enquiry form here, referencing “Bruce Currie LGSM Papers, ref ACC.1442”.

If you’re interested in LGBT history, please swing by the People’s History Museum for the first ever LGBT History Festival this Valentine’s Sunday.

MCR women biking through – from suffrage to cycling equality – Saturday 7 March 2015

A guest blog by Glynis Joy Francis, Founder of Team Glow, about why they chose the People’s History Museum for their event

Team Glow was launched in 2011, the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. To celebrate women’s achievements in Manchester we recruited 100 women to cycle the Manchester 100 Sportive Christie Charity ride. We have changed the face of women’s cycling in Greater Manchester and the NW, in fact we have been making social history since then so this years IWD theme of ‘Breaking Through’ is a wonderful fit with our endeavours to bring about greater equality in the world of cycling.

Cycling to Suffrage talk and exhibition reminds us of the journey women have travelled to have the freedom we have today and Half the Road film reminds us just how hard it still is for women to have equality in the sport. Our photographic project M’crWomenBike will show us just how many different reasons and in different styles women ride their bike. Given our sense of ordinary people, women, exploring freedom and making social history with and on a bicycle it made absolute sense to make the connection with the People’s History Museum, because still the idea of women cycling is an idea worth fighting for.

 

HALF THE ROAD: The passion, pitfalls & power of women’s professional cycling.

A documentary written & directed by Kathryn Bertine

Filmed & edited by Kevin Tokstad

Modern society has long believed that women hold up half the sky in terms of equality and progression. So when it comes to the sport of professional cycling, why aren’t women receiving half the road?

HALF THE ROAD is a documentary film that explores the world of women’s professional cycling, focusing on both the love of sport and the pressing issues of inequality that modern-day female riders face in a male dominated sport. With footage from some of the world’s best UCI races to interviews with Olympians, World Champions, rookies, coaches, managers, officials, doctors and family members, HALF THE ROAD offers a unique insight to the drive, dedication, and passion it takes for a female cyclist to thrive.  Both on and off the bike, the voices and advocates of women’s pro cycling take the audience on a journey of enlightenment, depth, strength, love, humour and best of all, change & growth.

Kathryn Bertine: ‘I began this documentary with the assumption it was about women’s professional cycling. A few months in, I realized the film was about equality and society, as told through the medium of cyclists. Half The Road is my hope that someday the whole world will see sports not as “men’s” or “women’s” but as equal athletes on equal playing fields.’

Cycling to Suffrage talk and exhibition, Sat 7 March 2015, 1.00pm – 2.00pm. Tickets are free but booking is required via Eventbrite.

Half the Road film screening, Sat 7 March 2015, 2.30pm – 4.30pm. Tickets £5, book via Eventbrite

If you are looking for a space to hold an event, then we have excellent venue hire facilities at the PHM.  Just visit our Venue Hire page for more information.

We want your propaganda!

Curator Chris Burgess explains how you can help map this year’s election campaigns

On Saturday 14 February PHM goes all things voting. The museum’s next exhibition, Election! Britain Votes will provide an infographic display about how elections work; contain a whirlwind history of elections, with an object from every election since 1900 and an ever evolving display about the 2015 general election. And this last section is where we want your help.

As the campaign hots up we want museum visitors to see an ever changing display of literature from all the political parties, all in one place. We have been collecting leaflets and posters for a while. But we want to constantly update the display and this is where you can help. If a leaflet or magazine drops through your door, or a party sends you an email or digital advert (after you’ve read it, agreed or disagreed with what it says) send it to us. Either scan it and email it, or stick it the post. Depending on what we receive we might add it to the collection afterwards.

Please email material to exhibitions@phm.org.uk

By post to: Exhibitions, People’s History Museum, Left Bank, Spinningfields, Manchester, M3 3ER.

My work placement: Amna Khan

In another guest blog, Placement Student Amna Khan discusses her recent placement at the PHM.

A student at the University of Manchester pursuing a Management and Leisure degree, I chose the People’s History Museum to carry out my placement in order to complete an assignment. I was at the Museum for a mere ten days but in that time I was able to assimilate myself within the organization interacting with the friendly staff and observing visitors for an hour each day. This experience gave me a real life taste of how a leisure business functions on a day to day basis.

Within the first few days, I helped out front of house communicating with customers, shadowed the commercial income officer processing invoices and posted blogs as well as videos. As the museum is a charitable organization, the former tasks helped me to understand an atmosphere of retail, one quite different to one that may be found in a business pursuing profit maximization or growth. The latter to an extent was a situation in which I was interacting further with customers as well as realizing the true potential of market research campaigns such as the video-booth.

I also was given the opportunity to meet with two senior members of staff learning about the structure and culture of the organization. One of which being a Human Resources Manager, which is what I aspire to be so it would be apt to state my career decision was further confirmed. On my last day, I shadowed the Development Officer in her meeting with a bride to be as the museum also organizes events and meetings.

Although it is certainly difficult to pinpoint the element I found most stimulating, if I was to choose it would be the observing of visitor behaviour during the observational research for an hour each day. Perhaps because it meant that I was able to understand human behaviour in a context quite different to what would be laid out in a textbook. It was also useful to me to design a panel titled “Your vote is beyond important” for National Voter Registration Day, a day that aims to inspire young people to vote. Though many people feel their vote does not matter, it is imperative to know even a single vote can make a difference and we must not reject this right of ours if we want change within the country.

In summary, the People’s History Museum represents a history of revolution and change in Britain and as my supervisor stated in our very first conversation, “a museum of ideas”. As well as that, the rich heritage entwined within the collections brings to life these ideas as I found out during the object handling induction. I will be returning to the museum for the next month or so to read Hitler’s memoirs, “Mein Kampf” in the museum’s archive.