''Politics Live'' is a

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

political programme which launched on 3 September 2018. It is presented by

Jo Coburn Joanne Dawn Coburn (born 12 November 1967) is a British journalist with BBC News, a regular presenter of '' Politics Live'' (and formerly also '' Sunday Politics'' along with Andrew Neil) and previously had special responsibility for ''BBC Brea ...

and features at least four guests debating the political stories of the day, as well as reports and other content. It is broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

weekdays at 12:15 (11:15 on Wednesdays), with the Fridays being used for highlights from proceedings from the UK Parliament, the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyr ...

, the

Senedd The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gov ...

and the

Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameral , house1 = , leader1_type = S ...

. The series replaced ''

Daily Politics ''Daily Politics'' was a BBC Television programme which aired between 6 January, 2003 and 24 July, 2018, presented by Andrew Neil and Jo Coburn. ''Daily Politics'' took an in-depth review of the daily events in both Westminster and other areas ...

'' which ran in the same time-slot until July 2018. In the announcement, the BBC stated that the new series "will offer viewers a fast-moving, conversational show, featuring a blend of political interviews, discussion and video content designed to be shared digitally, ensuring ''Politics Live'' connects with the lives of people around the country." An extended programme of 105 minutes is broadcast on Wednesdays, to include

live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music * Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of album ...

coverage of

Prime Minister's Questions Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs, officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister, while colloquially known as Prime Minister's Question Time) is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, currently held as a single session every W ...

which is simulcasted on

. The programme is not broadcast at weekends or when

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

is in recess, or for other occasions such as a

Queen's Speech A speech from the throne, or throne speech, is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign, or a representative thereof, reads a prepared speech to members of the nation's legislature when a session is opened, outlining t ...

Background

The BBC's long-running lunchtime political programme ''

'' ended in 2018 after 15 years on the air. ''Politics Live'' was first announced on 12 July 2018 in a statement from the BBC's press office.

Format

''Politics Live'' was a Monday to Friday show that aired at 12:15pm to 1:00pm except Wednesday when it was aired from 11:15am to 1:00pm because of

. On occasions programmes were shown earlier or later to accommodate party speeches and budget speeches, on some occasions

will simulcast ''Politics Live'' for special programming, such as party conferences and budgets with the ''Politics Live'' crew. In March 2020, ''Politics Live'' broadcasts was suspended by the BBC, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although PMQ's restarted, ''Politics Live'' did not as Coburn anchored PMQ's for ''BBC Newsroom Live'' directly from the Commons lobby in Westminster for BBC News which was on air during the pandemic. ''Politics Live'' did not resume until May 2020 on Wednesdays only with Coburn hosting with guests at home or in the studio two meters away from each other because of UK lockdown rules. After the summer recess, the BBC changes their programming plan by scaling down ''Politics Live'' to 4 days a week (Monday to Thursday with the same times as before), with a review programme, ''Politics UK'' airing in the timeslot on Fridays.

Special broadcasts

*Monday 14 January 2019 — A special programme ahead of a vote on Theresa May’s Brexit deal. *Tuesday 15 January 2019 — A special programme during and after a vote on Theresa May’s Brexit deal. *Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 January 2019 – A special programme after a vote of no confidence in Theresa May's government. *Friday 24 May 2019 – A special programme after Theresa May's resignation statement in Downing Street. *Monday 22 July 2019 – A special programme concerning the Liberal Democrat hustings. *Wednesday 3 March 2021 – A special 3 hours 45 minute special covering the 2021 budget by Chancellor

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, lastly as ...

. *Friday 23 September 2022 – A special programme after covering the September 2022 mini-budget by Chancellor

Kwasi Kwarteng Akwasi Addo Alfred Kwarteng (born 26 May 1975) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Spelthorne (UK Parliament constituency), S ...

Journalists

* Jonathan Blake, Political Correspondent * Adam Fleming, Chief Political Correspondent * Chris Mason, Political Editor (appears on Wednesdays for PMQs) *

Vicki Young Vicki Young (born ) is a British journalist. She has been the deputy political editor of BBC News since October 2020. She was formerly the chief political correspondent and has contributed to BBC coverage of seven general elections. She has oc ...

, Deputy Political Editor

Previous journalists

John Pienaar John Adrian Pienaar (born 2 October 1956) is a British journalist who currently works for Times Radio, previously rising to prominence as deputy political editor for BBC News. Early life Pienaar was born in Middlesex. His parents, Eric and Joha ...

, Deputy Political Editor * Laura Kuenssberg, Political Editor

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Politics Live 2018 British television series debuts 2010s British political television series 2020s British political television series BBC television news shows British political television series English-language television shows