Budget Day Coverage

What's expected to happen tomorrow?

Presenters on the Green outside Parliament, some special programmes on Sky and the BBC?

Sky: Jeff Randall Live special at 9am, then Boulton and Co at 10am, then Dermot Murnaghan presenting from 11am

BBC2: The Budget 2012 from 11:30am presented by Huw Edwards, with analysis by Robert Peston, Stephanie Flanders and Nick Robinson

ITV1: The Chancellor's Budget from 12:15pm presented by Alastair Stewart, with analysis by Tom Bradby, Richard Edgar and Laura Kuenssberg

Most definitely wont be watching the BBC with Peston trying to run the show.

Think I'll be watching the ITV1 coverage, Alastair Stewart usually does a pretty decent job.

Was it last year ITV didn't do a budget programme, or am I confusing it with a different special programme?

Despite the usual bias against ITV during any special news coverage, I often find their Budget coverage to be very "to the point" and accessible, with enough detail but not overly analytical or waffly.

And if I'm not mistaken, ITV's Budget programmes have rated higher than the BBC's over the last couple few years.



They did do a Budget programme last year, yes. There was one year when they didn't - but it was a good while ago. Anybody remember? 2005/6?

2007 I think. Did we still have the god awful hour long lunchtime news then?

Also on the News Channel too.

Couple of questions though, I presume PMQs is on first before The Budget & I presume BBC Parliament is doing a straight feed of the event, with no interuptions from the studio.

(Does R4LW still do a 'clean feed, while R4FM does a mix of the Commons & presenters/pundits. I guess R2 is Jeremy Vine, while 5Live also does it's own coverage?)

I don't think so. I think the extended Lunchtime News ended some time in 2006, although I'm happy to be corrected. I know it made the transition to the new look adopted in January 2006, but I'm sure it didn't last until the end of the year.

That was when they had that terrible "The Pulse" segment where members of the public called in. It was ever so cringe-worthy. I was so glad when they got rid of it and went back to half an hour.

As for tomorrow, I think I'll be watching ITV News. I do like Huw Edwards, but it's the likes of Robert Peston and Nick Robinson who I just cannot stand. Having said that, I'm no great fan of Tom Bradby, but Alastair Stewart and Laura Kuenssberg more than make up for him. Like BBCNicky, I think ITV do these big occasions very well, especially considering their limited resources. In many ways, I actually think that's what makes ITV's coverage of such things better. The BBC has so many resources to draw upon that it thinks it has to do everything all at once. They sometimes end up overstretching themselves. ITV have a tendency to get straight to the point, which is a bonus when dealing with something as complicated as the Budget.

Friday 1st September 2006 was when the last hour long Lunchtime News was shown.

I don't know why ITV stopped showing it one year but then decided to resume it there after, one would assume the Loose Women are on ITV2 tomorrow?

I never liked The Budget when I was a child, as they always took off Childrens ITV for it, in the pre-Blair days when they announced the budget on a Tuesday afternoon.

That's right - thanks for the clarification.

I'd forogotten about the pre-Blair days when things like the Budget and PMQs occurred during mid-afternoon. I have vivid childhood memories of switching over BBC2 (when hopping between children's programmes on BBC1 and ITV!) and seeing Margaret Thatcher articulating something completely incomprehensible to me at the time in front of green benches! If I was at my grandparents' house, my grandma would usually tell me to turn her off - she was always staunchly Labour Isn't it funny what sticks in your mind?