Parliament meets in Oxford for the first time in 350 years
On Thursday 19 November 2015 the Bodleian Libraries and the Department of Politics and International Relations are hosting the UK Parliament’s Science and Technology Select Committee, chaired by local MP Nicola Blackwood. This special sitting in Oxford will take place as part of Parliament Week 2015, a programme of events and activities coordinated by the House of Commons.
The occasion offers an opportunity for Oxford to mark this year’s historic political anniversaries, commemorating both 1625 and 1665 when Parliament met in the University of Oxford’s Divinity School, which is now part of the Bodleian Library. 2015 is also the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta and marks 750 years since the first De Montfort Parliament.
As happened in 1665, MPs will sit in the Divinity School. This time, however, they will have an audience of Oxfordshire Sixth Form students and will take evidence on a current committee inquiry – Science in Emergencies: UK lessons from Ebola.
Dr Elizabeth Frazer, Head of DPIR says, ‘Select Committees are part of the way Parliament works, and understanding what they do and how they do it is part of our political education. I’m delighted that we are able to engage with Oxfordshire Sixth Form students at this special event.’
