First televised Party Election Broadcast

The general election of 1951 was the first to feature televised party election broadcasts. The very first broadcast was on 15 October, when Viscount Samuel spoke for the Liberal Party (pictured above).

Politicians could see the value of speaking directly to the audience via the television, even though there were far fewer televisions than radios in circulation. However the first broadcasts were inevitably experimental in nature, as the political parties - who were responsible for the content - got to grips with the format.

Samuel appeared alone and spoke for fifteen minutes, but still managed to run out of time. He was followed by Sir Hartley Shawcross for the Labour Party and Anthony Eden for the Conservatives, who both used an interview format. Despite its shortcomings, press reaction generally favoured Samuel’s broadcast, possibly because he was already an experienced broadcaster. From these beginnings party election broadcasts grew in importance, so by 1959 they were a significant part of the election campaign.

The novelty of party election broadcasts has worn off for viewers, who are often tempted to put the kettle on when one comes on. This has forced politicians to try harder to keep them engaged. Today the Broadcasters Liaison Group - of all the UK broadcasters - co-ordinate party election and party political broadcasts, ensuring all political parties get a fair share of airtime.