On 21 May 1838 an estimated 150,000 people assembled on Glasgow Green for a mass demonstration. There they witnessed the launch of the People’s Charter, a list of demands for political reform. The changes they called for included voting by secret ballot, equal-sized constituencies and, most importantly, that all men should have the vote.
The Chartists, as they came to be known, were the first national mass working-class movement. In the decade that followed, they collected six million signatures for their Petitions to Parliament: all were rejected, but their campaign had a significant and lasting impact.
With
Joan Allen Visiting Fellow in History at Newcastle University and Chair of the Society for the Study of Labour History
Emma Griffin Professor of Modern British History at the University of East Anglia and President of the Royal Historical Society
and
Robert Saunders Reader in Modern British History at Queen Mary, University of London.
The image above shows a Chartist mass meeting on Kennington Common in London in April 1848.
President Trump says he plans to control revenue f....
BBC Sounds
To celebrate Melvyn Bragg’s 27 years presenting ....
The Supreme Court is expected to rule this year on....
Five years ago, a mob attacked the United States C....
President Trump campaigned on promises to put “A....
Overnight, the U.S. military launched strikes on V....
On the night of his inauguration, President Trump ....
Happy New Year! In this special episode, the Polit....
BBC Sounds
To celebrate Melvyn Bragg’s 27 years presenting ....
We look back on some of the highlights from 2025 w....
As we approach 2026, the NPR Politics Podcast is t....
As we approach 2026, the NPR Politics Podcast is t....
Editor's note: This episode originally aired on De....
As we approach 2026, the NPR Politics Podcast is t....
BBC Sounds
To celebrate Melvyn Bragg’s 27 years presenting ....
As we approach 2026, the NPR Politics Podcast is t....
As we approach 2026, the NPR Politics Podcast is t....
As we approach 2026, the NPR Politics Podcast is t....
It was another busy week in Washington. We discuss....
President Trump used his prime-time speech Wednesd....
BBC Sounds
To celebrate Melvyn Bragg’s 27 years presenting ....
Only 36% of Americans approve of President Trump�....
As we approach 2026, the NPR Politics Podcast is t....
President Trump has built a brand as the sports-fa....