Author: W4MP Editor

One Hundred Years Ago: Votes for (Some) Women

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Today is the centenary of the 1918 General Election when women over thirty and all men over the age of 21 were able to vote.

It also saw the first woman MP elected, though as Constance Markievicz was a member for ‎Sinn Féin she did not take her seat.

The photograph is of  House of Doors, by Kristina Clackson Bonnington, a sculpture that was in Westminster Hall last month. See https://old.parliament.uk/house-of-doors/ for more details.

House of Doors is supported by the Lord Speaker’s Advisory Panel on Works of Art and the Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art.

Find out more about House of Doors at www.houseofdoors.org

Changes to government email addresses

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The Government Secure Intranet (GSi) network is being phased out across government, which means that organisations will be dropping ‘gsi’ from their email addressees.

Some organisations have already made this change, such as the DVLA and the FCO, and others will be changing theirs in the near future.

The migration will be completed by 31 March 2019, after which date any messages sent to a .gsi address will not be delivered.

We have already pro-actively emailed all of the relevant organisations on our MPs’ Hotline List, and several of the addresses have already bounced. We will update each address as we receive confirmation of the changes.

Invitation to contribute to Inquiry into Bullying and Harassment

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Please note that links to the old Parliamentary intranet have been removed as of October 2023. Please use search on ParliNet to find relevant current details, if available.

https://parlinet.parliament.uk/house-of-commons-members-staff/

 

On 19 July, the House resolved to set up an Inquiry similar to the Dame Laura Cox QC inquiry into bullying and harassment, including sexual harassment, of the staff of Members of Parliament and others engaged in Parliamentary work on their behalf.

The Inquiry, launched today, is being conducted by Gemma White QC.

Please visit this page to learn more, and for details on how to contribute to the Inquiry

NEW: courses to help you with casework

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The House of Commons Library is offering four new ‘taster’ courses aimed at helping you answer common constituents’ questions in the areas of housing, special educational needs, employment law and anti-social behaviour.

The training will be provided in Westminster by experienced lawyers. You can sign-up via ACT by first logging into the ACT Learning Pool (via Office 365), and then clicking the links below:

Introduction to Housing Law for caseworkers
The Law and Special Educational Needs and Disability
An introduction to employment law for caseworkers
The Law and anti-social behaviour

Once you have registered, we will be in touch with further details.  If you have any questions, please contact [email protected] or call x3666.

Photographic exhibition of all 209 Female MPs seeks funding

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On 14th December 1918  women voted for the first time in Britain, and in the same year the first female MP was elected.

To mark 100 years since some women achieved the right to vote, the 209 Women project aims to take over parliament with 209 new photographic portraits of all female MPs, shot exclusively by female photographers, and make it free and open to the public.

To ensure that all of the women photographers involved receive support to make this visual statement, they need help, and have set up a funding page at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/209-women/

The aim is that the exhibition will hang in Westminster from 14th December to February 2019 (tbc). It will be curated by Hilary Wood, (founder of ‘209 Women’ and photographer), Tracy Marshall (Director of Development and Partnerships at Open Eye Gallery, Co- Director of Northern Narratives arts initiative) and Cheryl Newman (Artist, curator and former Director of Photography of the Telegraph magazine).

The exhibition is supported by Liverpool City Council. In February 2019, it will travel to Open Eye Gallery, to be exhibited in partnership with Culture Liverpool.

Behind the scenes: Diane Abbott (Labour), photographed by Karen Knorr. ©Karen Knorr.

A new way to book meeting and committee rooms in the House of Commons

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Please note that rooms can not be booked by members of the public.

For room bookings please consult the relevant pages on ParliNet, which are kept up to date. A self service room booking system is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and all bookings will be confirmed by email. Committee Rooms in the Commons or the Lords cannot be booked using the self service system.

 

Have you looked at POST’s publications recently?

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POST provides balanced and accessible overviews of research from across the biological, physical and social sciences, and engineering and technology. It places the findings of this research in a policy context for Parliamentary use.

The best known format for these briefings are ‘POSTnotes’: four page summaries of public policy issues based on reviews of the research literature and interviews with stakeholders from across academia, industry, government and the third sector; they are peer reviewed by external experts. POSTnotes are often produced proactively, so that parliamentarians have advance knowledge of key issues before they reach the top of the political agenda.

Find out more here: https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/offices/bicameral/post/publications/

House of Commons Library on BBC Westminster Hour

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As BBC Radio 4 puts it, ‘The House of Commons library is an indispensable part of life at Westminter conducting research for MPs and providing impartial briefs on everything from the environment and schools to Brexit’. They have given enormous support to w4mp over the years – and this lovely piece by reporter John Beesley is  an excellent tribute as they celebrate 200 years.

Listen here