I am broadly interested in C19th and early C20th parliamentary politics and political cultures including gender, early feminism and a mix of working class politics and religion. My existing research 'The soul of the Labour Movement' is a detailed examination of the Victorian morality and spirituality upon which the life of the Labour movement was built and includes the wider contribution of the women's movement, children's associations and radical literary traditions. My current research concerns early female pioneers in politics, focusing largely on female MPs between 1919 and 1931 primarily as 'sex-candidates'. I examine the contribution of early female MPs but also reassess the importance of the 1918 Representation of the People Act on British democracy, in relation to women and the emergence of female politicians - I am particularly interested in Nancy Astor, who was the first female MP to sit in the House of Commons and whose papers are held at the University of Reading. After spending several years working in heritage, I remain interested in archives and collections, material culture, museums and heritage.