General Election 2024

In the UK, television coverage of general elections came into its own in the 1960s. It would take another 50 years before leaders’ debates finally made their debut on the nation’s TV screens. Even then, they almost didn’t happen.

“It literally fell into place as the election campaign started but it was very, very close. There was a very difficult moment at the end of the process where it looked as if it would fall apart,” recalls Sue Inglish, former BBC Head of Political Programmes and a key figure in ensuring that live debates became part of British political media culture.

Rishi Sunak’s announcement that we would have a general election on 4 July was a big surprise to voters, journalists and even his own MPs. A high-stakes gamble. Though not a surprise for some insiders who are alleged to have bet on the timing.

In TV newsrooms that May morning most eyes had been on an earlier scandal – watching former Post Office CEO Paula Venells finally, for the first time, give her tearful, tight-lipped evidence to the public inquiry. A searing watch on a rainy day.