Start of television broadcasts from the House of Commons

First discussed in 1964, television cameras were finally allowed to transmit proceedings live from the House of Commons on Tuesday 21 November 1989. The first broadcast was of the Queens's Speech Debate, with Ian Gow the first MP to speak.

Broadcasting came to Parliament gradually, with regular radio broadcasts from the House of Commons starting in 1978, and television entering the House of Lords in 1985. Filming of the Commons was heavily regulated. Eight cameras were installed and allowed to film head and shoulder shots of any MP who was speaking, shots of the Speaker and occasional wide shots of the entire chamber.

Reaction shots of MPs were not permitted, and the rules agreed by the Select Committee on Televising of Proceedings of the House stated that this applied particularly during "incidents of disorder or altercations between the Chair and other Members".

These rules were relaxed as the experiment was a success, arguments that television would somehow trivialise Parliament were swept away, and MPs realised the benefits of having their words reach a wider audience. Today almost all proceedings of both houses of Parliament are available on the dedicated channel BBC Parliament.