PHM to unveil 2025 banners exhibition

The People’s History Museum 2025 Banner Exhibition opens on Saturday 18 January. Running until 29 December 2025, the exhibition includes banners produced by trade unions, political parties, the co-operative movement, peace campaigns and others over more than a century of campaigning. Among the historic trade union banners represented in this year’s exhibition is that of the National Union of Railwaymen, Hither Green branch banner, made … Continue reading PHM to unveil 2025 banners exhibition

The Journalism and Writing of Madeline Alberta Linford

Michael Herbert (ed.), “M.A.L” The Journalism and Writing of Madeline Alberta Linford, self-published through Lulu.com and available here, 2024, p/b, pp. 540, £15.99, ISBN 978 14452 05465 Madeline Linford (1895-1975) was a pioneer. She was the first woman on the editorial staff of the Manchester Guardian and edited the first women’s page for the paper from 1922 to 1939. (‘Women’s World’ columns, often merely sops … Continue reading The Journalism and Writing of Madeline Alberta Linford

Class Encounters: John Harland, ballad collector

In the fourth of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Jennifer Reid encounters the collector of Lancashire dialect poets, John Harland John Harland 1806–1868 was a renowned journalist and ballad collector. Although originally from Kingston-upon-Hull, as chief reporter for the Manchester Guardian he was aware of all the Lancashire dialect poets and worked hard to immerse himself in people’s lives in Manchester. … Continue reading Class Encounters: John Harland, ballad collector

Labour history on show: highlights from the People’s History Museum collection

From the first ever minute book of the Labour Representation Committee to Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s jacket, People’s History Museum is offering people the opportunity to see some of the vast collection of objects in its care that help reflect the story of the Labour Party. Among the highlights of the collection now online to mark the centenary of the first Labour government that … Continue reading Labour history on show: highlights from the People’s History Museum collection

Collection encounter: Ramsay MacDonald – behind the politics

Drop in to the John Rylands Library in Manchester on Saturday 20 January for an opportunity to see objects relating to James Ramsay MacDonald (1866-1937), the UK’s first Labour Prime Minister, and talk to archivists about his role in the Labour movement and the man behind the politics. Marking the centenary of the first Labour government, this free event, organised jointly by the John Rylands … Continue reading Collection encounter: Ramsay MacDonald – behind the politics

In tune: The Manchester Rambler

Our series on labour history and song continues with a Ewan MacColl classic on access to the land that still resonates today, as Hazel Perry remarks The Manchester RamblerEwan MacColl (Ewan McColl, 1932) I can’t remember the first time I heard The Manchester Rambler however, I did hear it many times when attending the ninetieth anniversary celebrations of the Kinder Scout Mass Trespass in Hayfield … Continue reading In tune: The Manchester Rambler

CfP: Beyond the Fragments: 45 Years On

Call for papers: Beyond the Fragments: 45 Years On Friday 28 June 2024People’s History Museum, ManchesterKeynote speakers: Sheila Rowbotham, Lynne Segal, and Hilary Wainwright 2024 marks the forty-fifth anniversary of the publication of the seminal socialist-feminist text Beyond the Fragments: Feminism and the Making of Socialism. Within its pages, activists Sheila Rowbotham, Lynne Segal and Hilary Wainwright wove sharp political analysis and personal reflections in … Continue reading CfP: Beyond the Fragments: 45 Years On

In tune: The Bury New Loom

In the second of our ‘In tune’ series on music and labour history, ballad singer Jennifer Reid introduces a song about a travelling loom engineer – and a young woman in need of his services – that is guaranteed to make you smile. The Bury New LoomJennifer Reid (traditional) I once sang The Bury New Loom for an event at Manchester International Festival in collaboration … Continue reading In tune: The Bury New Loom

1923: a year that changed politics forever

The North West Labour History Society is holding a celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the 1923 general election that led to the first Labour government, and telling the stories of some of the newly elected MPs of 1923. The event takes place at Manchester Central Library on Saturday 11 November, starting at 10am. North West Labour History Society. Continue reading 1923: a year that changed politics forever