Ministerial broadcast

The first Ministerial Broadcast was made by Prime Minister Anthony Eden on 27 April 1956, and broadcast on the BBC. It came several months after Eden's Conservative Party won the 1955 general election, which was the first time an election had received significant coverage on television. The address was different to a Party Political Broadcast, as the opposition parties were not allocated air-time as well. This was acceptable for non-controversial topics – the broadcast in April addressed the visit of Soviet leaders Nikita Khrushchev and Nikolai Bulganin – but in October 1956 Eden made a second televised speech relating to the Suez Crisis, to which the Leader of the Opposition Hugh Gaitskell demanded a reply. The BBC's guidelines on Ministerial Broadcasts had been published in 1947, and stated that:

They should deal with facts, explain legislation approved by parliament, or appeal for public co-operation.[2]

If the opposition disagreed in any way with the government's broadcast (as Gaitskell did), they could ask permission to air a reply. In the case of the Suez Crisis, Eden refused to let Gaitskell give a reply, as he believed that the country should be united in times of conflict, and it would damage troops' morale if the government's efforts were put into question. The BBC Governors were then required to intervene, siding with Gaitskell, who was given permission to broadcast a reply. The Government were angry with the BBC's decision (especially as the BBC had earlier refused to let Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies make a radio address in support of Eden due to fears of bias), and Eden threatened to cut the BBC's funding by £1 million, but after a protest from the Director-General of the BBC Ian Jacob and Chairman of the BBC Alexander Cadogan, the threat was eventually dropped.[2][1]

Eden resigned as Prime Minister in January 1957 due to his poor handling of the Suez Crisis,[3] and was succeeded by fellow Conservative Harold Macmillan. On 31 August 1959, Macmillan was joined by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower for a live television debate, the first of its kind. Eisenhower was on a tour of Europe, and discussed the need for global peace, as well as the Anglo-US relationship. There were initial concerns from Labour that the broadcast would affect their chances at the next general election, but these were withdrawn and the broadcast went ahead as planned.[4]

After Labour defeated the Conservatives (then led by Alec Douglas-Home) in the 1964 general election, the new Prime Minister Harold Wilson inherited a large deficit. Combined with a less-competitive economy, and a move away from using the pound as a reserve currency, the decision was taken in 1967 to reduce the exchange rate for the US dollar (which was at that time fixed) by 14% from $2.80 to $2.40 per pound. A statement was released on 18 November 1967 by Chancellor of the Exchequer James Callaghan explaining the reduction, as well as outlining a 2.5% rise in interest rates and cuts to the defence budget. The next day, Wilson made a televised broadcast to defend his decision, stating that:

From now on, the pound abroad is worth 14% or so less in terms of other currencies. That doesn't mean, of course, that the pound here in Britain, in your pocket or purse or in your bank, has been devalued.[5]

Wilson was widely mocked for his statement, and met fierce opposition by parliamentarians,[6] including members of his own cabinet, such as Callaghan (who resigned from his post soon after), and his deputy George Brown.[5][7]

Conservative leader Edward Heath later gave a reply, accusing the government of failing to safeguard the nation's money.[7]

Heath subsequently won the 1970 general election, but by 1973 he was facing constant industrial action by coal miners over pay. This led to measures to ration electricity, including implementing a three-day week. He was unable to resolve the mineworkers' dispute, and announced his intent to call a general election in a televised broadcast on 7 February 1974, stating:

This time the strife has got to stop. Only you can stop it. It is time for you to speak, with your vote.[8]

Heath encouraged the mineworkers to pause the strike for the three-week campaign period, but he was not able to persuade them and they continued the strike as planned. Harold Wilson was re-elected at the February election, and agreed a 'National Plan for Coal' to invest more in coalfields, stopping further industrial action.[8] Former Chancellor James Callaghan succeeded Wilson as Prime Minister in 1976, but lost the government's majority on his first day in office.[9] Amid rising inflation and unemployment, Callaghan made a televised broadcast on 7 September 1978. It was widely expected that he would call an early general election,[10] but in reality he chose to stay on for the full five-year term. He said that:

The government must and will continue to carry out policies that are consistent, determined, that don't chop or change and that brought about the present recovery in our fortunes.[11]

His speech was strongly criticised by opposition leaders, with Liberal leader David Steel and Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher accusing Callaghan of "running scared".[11]

Callaghan was eventually forced to call an election on 28 March 1979, after he lost a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons by a margin of one vote. This came after a series of strikes and economic unrest dubbed the Winter of Discontent, which severely damaged the government's popularity. The next day, he made a second statement defending the government's record, and officially announcing the general election.[9][12] Opposition leader Margaret Thatcher made a response on 2 April (rescheduled from 31 March after the death of Airey Neave), ridiculing Callaghan's speech and encouraging the public to vote for her party at the election, which she went on to win.[13][14]

Margaret Thatcher did not give any further Ministerial Broadcasts in her time as Prime Minister, even in times of national crisis such as the Falklands War. In 1987 she was encouraged to give a broadcast about the spread of HIV/AIDS by Health Secretary Norman Fowler, but refused on the grounds of "bad taste".[15][16]

On 17 January 1991, John Major (who had succeeded Thatcher as Prime Minister the previous year) gave a broadcast about the decision to send British troops to fight in the Gulf War as part of Operation Desert Storm.[17][18]

Major also gave a broadcast after signing the Downing Street Declaration on 15 December 1993, which affirmed the right of self-determination for the island of Ireland. In his statement on 12th February 1996, he said that Northern Ireland needed to:

Put the poison of history behind us. We cannot go on spilling blood in the name of the past. We must all have the courage to look to the future. The time to choose peace is long overdue. But only the men of violence can decide whether they will talk instead of bomb, discuss instead of murder.[19]

There have been three ministerial broadcasts since the turn of the century. After Labour's landslide victory in the 1997 general election, Tony Blair became Prime Minister. Blair addresses to the nation on 26 March 1999, he announced a NATO in Kosovo and sent the British Troops After NATO military action against Yugoslavia.

Blair made his second televised broadcast at 10.00pm on 20 March 2003. In his address, he announced that British troops had been sent to fight in the Iraq War:[20]

On Tuesday night I gave the order for British forces to take part in military action in Iraq.

Tonight British servicemen and women are engaged from air, land and sea.

Their mission: to remove Saddam Hussein from power and disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction.

I know that this course of action has produced deep divisions of opinion in our country but I know also the British people will now be united in sending our armed forces our thoughts and prayers - they are the finest in the world and their families and all of Britain can have great pride in them.[21]

The next broadcast was made 17 years later by Boris Johnson, on 23 March 2020.[lower-alpha 1] In his speech, Johnson announced a nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the public ordered to stay at home and only leave for essential purposes:[22]

From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction - you must stay at home.

Because the critical thing we must do is stop the disease spreading between households...

...The people of this country will rise to that challenge.

And we will come through it stronger than ever.

We will beat the coronavirus and we will beat it together.

And therefore I urge you at this moment of national emergency to stay at home, protect our NHS and save lives.[23]

His broadcast was shown at 8.30pm on BBC One, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky News and the BBC News Channel, as well as on streaming service Amazon Prime, and attained overnight viewing figures of over 27 million, making one of the most most watched programmes in the history of British television.[24]

Johnson made a second broadcast on 10 May 2020 to announce the easing of lockdown measures in England, but this was criticised as being "divisive, confusing and vague".[25]