Democracy and protest
Our records tell the story of Britain’s democracy and the rights of its citizens. They include foundational legal documents and the records of pioneering MPs. We also see protests against racism and inequality, campaigns for workers’ rights, and the struggle for the vote.
Democracy and protest highlights in pictures
Records revealed
List of suffragettes arrested from 1906–1914
More than a thousand people who supported women’s right to vote were arrested for their activism. This document records them – and includes some famous names.
James Callaghan's notes on policy ideas
These handwritten pages offer a window onto a Prime Minister’s thinking about the issues of the day. In 1978, they ranged from education to the environment.
Angry letter sent during the ‘Bread or blood’ riots
This angry letter offers a rare view of the words of ordinary people at the time, threatening violence in response to falling living standards in rural England.
Printed circular produced by the National League of the Blind
In 1920, hundreds of members of the National League of the Blind (NLB) marched 200 miles to campaign for support. This printed circular explains what happened.
A letter by the women workers at Fords of Dagenham
A handwritten letter written by sewing machinists working at Dagenham car plant who famously went on strike for equal wages in the late 1960s.
Stories from the collection
The story of The Imperial Typewriters dispute
Read about The Imperial Typewriters dispute
The Imperial Typewriters dispute in Leicester saw over 500 workers, largely from South Asia, go on strike over discrimination in 1974.
-
The 1888 matchgirls' strike
In 1888, the women and girls employed by Bryant & May in the East End of London went out on strike. Why did these workers feel so driven to remove their labour?
-
Section 28: impact, fightback and repeal
What was the everyday reality for LGBTQ+ people in the 80s and 90s living under the infamous Section 28, and how was it eventually repealed?
-
The origins of Section 28
Section 28 of the 1988 Local Government Act negatively affected LGBTQ+ lives for decades. How did such a seismic piece of legislation come about?
-
Robert Wedderburn
Robert Wedderburn (1762–1835) was a British-Jamaican radical preacher, abolitionist and writer.
-
Margaret Bondfield
Margaret Bondfield (1873–1953) was a trade unionist and Labour politician. In 1929 she became Britain’s first female cabinet minister.
-
Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst (1858–1928) was a tireless political activist, who led the WSPU – the militant faction of the movement for women’s suffrage.
-
Shapurji Saklatvala
One of the first MPs of Indian heritage, Shapurji Saklatvala (1874–1936) was an agitator for change, which led to his surveillance by the Security Service.
-
Alice Hawkins
Alice Hawkins (1863–1946) was a working class suffragette and trade unionist, who boldly campaigned for the rights of women.
-
William Cuffey
William Cuffey (1788–1870) was a disabled, working-class campaigner. He was a leading figure in the Chartism movement, famed for his powerful oratory.
-
The Mangrove Nine
The trial of nine black protestors who were arrested while demonstrating in Notting Hill in the early 1970s became a public platform to criticise police racism.