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People's History Museum blog

PHM is the national museum of democracy, telling the story of its development in Britain: past, present, and future.

On this blog we share posts from the PHM team and other experts, with behind the scenes stories, coverage of PHM's exhibitions and events, and highlights from the museum's unique collection.

Image of A photo of the author in a lab coat. They have round glasses, pinky-purple hair, and are smiling.

Museum careers: what does textile conservation involve?

7 December 2023


Textile conservation is an essential role at People’s History Museum (PHM) due to our large collection of banners and other textile objects.  The Conservation Studio at PHM is the site of this work to preserve, mend and examine the objects in our collection.  Yubi Coates (they/them), Textile Conservation MPhil student at the University of Glasgow, spent their placement in The Conservation Studio, getting hands on with banners and flags.  In this blog, they tell us about what they learnt during their placement.  



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Image of National Union of Journalists Official Picket armband, around 1985. Image courtesy of People's History Museum.

Strike action in PHM’s collection, past and present

15 November 2023


After a year marked by ongoing strike action, People’s History Museum have uncovered strike related objects in the museum’s collection.  These objects, collected from 40 years of picket lines, represent major UK strikes of the 1980s and 1990s, with more recent acquisitions illustrating contemporary strike action.



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Image of Left to right: National Health Service Act; Public Health pamphlets from 1892 to 1970.

Mental Health Policy in the NHS: 75 years on  

10 October 2023


On 5 July 2023, the National Health Service (NHS) celebrated its 75th birthday.  Launched by Minister of Health Aneurin Bevan in 1948, the NHS aimed to bring free and reliable healthcare to all.  The establishment of the NHS as a universal healthcare system was a key moment in health equality and in socialist policy.  However, it is not without its difficulties.

Sarah Thompson-Cook is a Mental Health Nurse and Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing at Manchester Metropolitan University.  In this blog, she explores the history of mental health services in the NHS, and the ongoing crisis recognised by organisations such as the Socialist Health Association.



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Image of child holding a sign with text ‘Nobody should have to lie on a toilet floor!’ for Changing Places toilet campaign. Image courtesy of changing-places.org.

Welcome Project at PHM

15 September 2023


In this blog we’ve asked People’s History Museum’s (PHM) Interim Director Becky Peters to introduce the new Welcome Project at PHM, which is revitalising the museum’s visitor experience, as the exciting first steps begin on site today.



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Image of Image taken by photographer Jake Hardy, who attended the Black Lives Matter protests in Manchester during May and June 2020. People’s History Museum’s contemporary collection © Jake Hardy

The raised fist: a history of the symbol

4 September 2023


Art historian Simon Faulkner considers the history and meanings of the raised fist symbol using examples that include posters and photographs from People’s History Museum’s collection.



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