107-585: Today , colloquially known as the Today programme , is BBC Radio 4 's long-running morning news and current-affairs radio programme . Broadcast on Monday to Saturday from 06:00 to 09:00 (starting on Saturday at 07:00), it is produced by BBC News and is the highest-rated programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks. In-depth political interviews and reports are interspersed with regular news bulletins, as well as Thought for
214-599: A Royal Navy officer, during which time he commanded the fast-patrol boat HMS Gay Charger . Having been turned down for a career at the Foreign Office , Lawson joined the Financial Times as a journalist in 1956, subsequently writing the Lex column . He progressed to become City editor of The Sunday Telegraph in 1961, where he introduced Jim Slater 's Capitalist investing column. In 1963, Lawson
321-582: A food writer and celebrity cook , Dominic Lawson , a journalist, and Tom Lawson, headmaster of Eastbourne College . Nigel Lawson was born on 11 March 1932 to a non- Orthodox Jewish family living in Hampstead , London. His father, Ralph Lawson (1904–1982), was the owner of a tea-trading firm in the City of London , while his mother, Joan Elizabeth (Davis) (died 1998), was also from a prosperous family of stockbrokers. His paternal grandfather, Gustav Leibson,
428-409: A Sunday. This has reduced the total number of continuity announcers required each day down from four to three. The Greenwich Time Signal , popularly known as "the pips", is broadcast every hour to herald the news bulletin, except at midnight and 18:00, and 22:00 on Sunday, when the chimes of Big Ben are played. There is no Greenwich Time Signal at 15:00 on Saturday or 11:00 and 12:00 on Sunday due to
535-541: A book expanding on his 2006 lecture to the CPS, An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming . He argued the case that, although global warming is happening, the impact of these changes will be relatively moderate rather than apocalyptic. He criticised those " alarmist " politicians and scientists who predict catastrophe unless urgent action is taken. In July 2008, the Conservative magazine Standpoint published
642-470: A broadcast signal from Radio 4 on 198 longwave to verify the annihilation of organised society in Great Britain. BBC Radio 4 broadcasts a wide variety of speech-related programming, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. Music is broadcast as in documentaries relating to various forms of both popular and classical music, and the long-running music-based Desert Island Discs . Sport
749-687: A continuous news service devoted to the Gulf War , Radio 4 News FM , with the main Radio 4 service transferring to long wave. Before this, Radio 4's FM frequencies had occasionally been used for additional news coverage, generally for live coverage of statements and debates in Parliament. By the start of the 1990s, Radio 4 had become available on FM in most of the UK - previously FM coverage had been restricted mainly to England and south Wales. This meant that it
856-586: A guest on his daughter Nigella 's cookery shows . Lawson served on the advisory board of the Conservative magazine Standpoint . In 2013, Lawson advocated Britain leaving the European Union . He argued that "economic gains [from leaving the EU] would substantially outweigh the costs". In the 2016 EU referendum , he supported Leave and was appointed chairman of the Vote Leave campaign. During
963-405: A lack of female broadcasters. In September 1972, Radio 4 employed the first female continuity announcers—Hylda Bamber and Barbara Edwards. For quite some time, the introduction of female newsreaders led to complaints from listeners; women discussing topics of feminist interest led to similar complaints. In addition, there has been long-running criticism by atheist and humanist groups of Thought for
1070-548: A matter of a few months, dramatically changing his appearance, and went on to publish the best-selling The Nigel Lawson Diet Book . On 1 July 1992, Lawson was given a life peerage as Baron Lawson of Blaby, of Newnham in the County of Northamptonshire . In 1996, Lawson appeared on the BBC satirical and topical quiz show Have I Got News for You , in which he secured his team a last-minute victory. He occasionally appeared as
1177-492: A meeting with the BBC in January 2012, and for Director-General George Entwistle , at the start of his brief period in charge of the BBC, to advocate that the next new Today presenter should be female. An interview with David Cameron conducted by John Humphrys in 2006 received 200 complaints concerning Humphrys' aggressive approach and "excessive" interruptions. Ceri Thomas became the programme's editor shortly afterwards and
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#17327763350841284-626: A merchant from Mitau (now Jelgava in Latvia), changed his name from Leibson to Lawson in 1925, having become a British citizen in 1911. Lawson was a great-nephew of the pianist Myra Hess . Lawson was educated at Westminster School in London (following in his father's footsteps), and won a mathematics scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford , where he gained a first-class honours degree in philosophy, politics and economics . For two years from 1954, Lawson carried out his National Service as
1391-464: A planned switch-off of long wave transmissions by 2025. BBC Radio 4's medium wave frequencies were switched off on 15 April 2024, which previously served as relays in areas with a weak LW signal to provide reception of BBC Radio 4 LW, such as Northern Ireland and south west England. Most were turned off at 12:27 PM BST and broadcast an endless closedown loop informing listeners to retune to other methods of reception. The final transmitter to change into
1498-680: A regular slot for sports news and items, "Sports Desk", between 26 and 30 minutes past each hour, regularly presented by Garry Richardson (from 1981 to 2024), Jonathan Legard or Rob Bonnet and occasionally by Alison Mitchell , Karthi Gnanasegaram or Chris Dennis. From 1977 to 2024 it carried a daily horse racing tip . If Parliament is in session the previous day there will be a summary at about 06:50 (Yesterday in Parliament) presented by two from Robert Orchard , David Wilby, Rachel Hooper and Susan Hulme. Journalist and historian Peter Hennessy has made an assertion in one of his books that
1605-619: A replacement for the previous rating system for the local financing element of local government revenue. His dissent was confined to deliberations within the Cabinet, where he found few allies and where he was overruled by the Prime Minister and by the ministerial team of the department responsible ( Department of the Environment ). The issue of exchange-rate mechanism membership continued to fester between Lawson and Thatcher and
1712-519: A result of international agreements aimed at avoiding interference (all ITU Region 1 MW/LW broadcast frequencies are divisible by 9). At this point, Radio 4 became available across all of the UK for the first time and the station officially became known as Radio 4 UK, a title that remained until 29 September 1984. For a time during the 1970s Radio 4 carried regional news bulletins Monday to Saturday. These were broadcast twice at breakfast, at lunchtime and at 17:55. There were also programme variations for
1819-418: A test that the commander of a British nuclear-missile submarine must use to determine whether the UK has been the target of a nuclear attack (in which case he has sealed orders which may authorise him to fire his nuclear missiles in retaliation ), is to listen for the presence of Today on Radio 4's frequencies. If a certain number of days (said to be three) pass without the programme being broadcast, that
1926-458: A transcript of a double interview with Lawson and Conservative Policy Chief Oliver Letwin , in which Lawson described Letwin's views on global warming as "pie in the sky" and called on him and the Conservative frontbench to "get real". On 23 November 2009, Lawson became chairman of a new think tank, The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF), a registered education charity, involved in promoting climate change denial. In 2011, Bob Ward of
2033-579: A week, and across the BBC's output. Naughtie returned to Today before the 2015 general election . On 7 July 2015, the BBC announced that James Naughtie was to leave the programme, to become a Special Correspondent for BBC Radio 4 . Two days later, Nick Robinson was announced as Naughtie's replacement. In April 2018, Martha Kearney joined the team in a straight swap with Sarah Montague , who left to take over Kearney's old role as lead presenter of The World at One . On 19 September 2019, John Humphrys hosted his last edition of Today , after 32 years on
2140-484: A year after broadcast as streaming audio from Radio 4's listen again page and via BBC Sounds . A selection of programmes is also available as podcasts or downloadable audio files. Many comedy and drama programmes from the Radio 4 archives are broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra . Due to the capacity limitations of DAB and increasing sport broadcasts on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra , BBC Radio 4 DAB has to reduce its bit rate most evenings, such that after 7 p.m. its DAB output
2247-467: Is a frequent critic of the programme. Since its inception, notable guest editors have included: David Blunkett , who used the programme as an opportunity to "turn the tables" on John Humphrys in 2005; Rowan Williams , the Archbishop of Canterbury , whose appearance on 29 December 2006 encompassed discussions of his growing concerns about the "justification" for the invasion of Iraq , Britain's role in
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#17327763350842354-403: Is also not part of the station's output, apart from during news bulletins, although between 1994 and 2023, the station's long wave frequency was used to broadcast ball-by-ball commentaries of most Test cricket matches played by England. Consequently, for around 70 days a year, listeners had to rely on FM broadcasts or DAB for mainstream Radio 4 broadcasts – the number relying solely on long wave
2461-526: Is considered by many to be its flagship. There is no comparable British commercial network: Channel 4 abandoned plans to launch its own speech-based digital radio station in October 2008 as part of a £100m cost cutting review. The station is available on FM in most of Great Britain, parts of Ireland and the north of France; LW throughout the UK and in parts of Northern Europe, and the Atlantic north of
2568-452: Is contrary to satellite measurements, and Lawson similarly incorrectly implied that the correlation between CO 2 and sea levels was uncertain as well as that sea levels were rising more slowly since 1950 than before it. The Charity Commission requires that statements by campaigning charities "must be factually accurate and have a legitimate evidence base". They reviewed the GWPF, which
2675-509: Is no reason for concern. During his tenure, the rate of taxation also came down. The basic rate was reduced from 30 per cent in 1983 to 25 per cent by 1988. The top rate of tax also came down from 60 per cent to 40 per cent in 1988, and the four other higher rates were removed, leaving a system of personal taxation in which there was no rate anywhere in excess of 40 per cent. In 1986, the City of London's financial markets were deregulated in
2782-541: Is the second-most-popular British domestic radio station by total hours, after Radio 2 . It recorded its highest audience, of 11 million listeners, in May 2011, and was "UK Radio Station of the Year" at the 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2023 Radio Academy Awards . It also won a Peabody Award in 2002 for File on 4: Export Controls . Costing £71.4 million (2005/6), it is the BBC's most expensive national radio network and
2889-446: Is to be taken as evidence that the orders must be executed. The true conditions are of course secret, and Hennessy has never revealed his sources for this story, leading Paul Donovan, author of a book about Today , to express some scepticism about it. However, the longwave signal of Radio 4 is capable of penetrating to surface depths where submarines can rise, although it does not have the range required to be heard at this depth far from
2996-594: Is usually in mono, even though many of its programmes are made in stereo (including its flagship drama "The Archers"), these can be heard in stereo only on FM, Digital TV on Freeview & Freesat (Ch. 704), Sky, Virgin and on line via BBC Sounds. BBC World Service, which uses BBC Radio 4 FM & DAB frequencies between 01:00 and 05:20, is in stereo, but only on Radio 4 FM & DAB and not on its own dedicated DAB channel. BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcasts in mono on DAB, but has always been in stereo on Digital TV (Freeview / Freesat Ch 708), Sky, Virgin and online. Announcers carry out
3103-543: The 1970 general election , before becoming Member of Parliament (MP) for Blaby in Leicestershire in February 1974 , holding the seat until he retired at the 1992 general election . In 1977, while an opposition whip , Lawson co-ordinated tactics with rebellious government backbenchers Jeff Rooker and Audrey Wise to secure legislation providing for the automatic indexation of tax thresholds to prevent
3210-441: The 1990–1992 recession which saw unemployment rise nearly as high as the level seen before the boom began. Lawson reflected on the 1987 general election in his memoir and wrote that the 1987 manifesto was not thought through properly and if it had not been for the economic growth of the country at the time, then the manifesto would have been a disaster because "as it was, it was merely an embarrassment". The March 1988 budget
3317-720: The Azores to about 20 degrees west; DAB ; Digital TV including Freeview , Freesat , Sky and Virgin Media , and on the Internet. Freesat, Sky and Virgin have a separate channel for Radio 4 LW output in mono, in addition to the FM output. The longwave signal is part of the Royal Navy's system of letters of last resort . In the event of a suspected catastrophic attack on Britain, submarine captains, in addition to other checks, check for
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3424-635: The BBC National Programme . The letters LO continued to be used internally as a designation in the BBC for technical operations in the London area (for example, the numbering of all recordings made in London contained LO). The code LO was changed to LN in the early 1970s. When the British Broadcasting Company first began transmissions on 14 November 1922 from station 2LO in the Strand , which it had inherited from
3531-541: The Grantham Research Institute said that the GWPF was "spreading errors" and "the 'facts ' " Lawson "repeats are demonstrably inaccurate". Ward also criticised Lawson for repeating in a 2010 BBC radio debate that Antarctic ice volumes were unchanged even after his error was highlighted by his opponent, Professor Kevin Anderson . Ward said that Lawson provided no evidence to back his claim which
3638-619: The Greenwich Time Signal pips or the chimes of Big Ben . The pips are only accurate on FM, and LW; there is a delay on digital radio of three to five seconds and online up to 23 seconds. Radio 4 broadcasts the Shipping Forecast which, in August 2017, was 150 years old. According to RAJAR , the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 9.2 million with a listening share of 11.1% as of December 2023. BBC Radio 4
3745-541: The House of Lords from 1992 to his further retirement in 2022. He remained active in politics as the president of Conservatives for Britain , a campaign for Britain to leave the European Union , and was a prominent critic of the EU . He also served as the chairman of the think tank The Global Warming Policy Foundation and was an active supporter of Vote Leave . Lawson was the father of six children, including Nigella Lawson ,
3852-605: The Kyoto Protocol and claiming that there were substantial scientific uncertainties surrounding climate change . In 2005, the House of Lords Economics Affairs Select Committee , with Lawson as a member, undertook an inquiry into climate change. In their report, the committee recommended the HM Treasury take a more active role in climate policy , questioned the objectivity of the IPCC process, and suggested changes in
3959-539: The Marconi Company (one of six commercial companies which created), but technology did not yet exist either for national coverage or joint programming between transmitters . Whilst it was possible to combine large numbers of trunk telephone lines to link transmitters for individual programmes, the process was expensive and not encouraged by the General Post Office as it tied up large parts of
4066-650: The Samuel Smiles self-help variety ), privatisation and a dash of populism . Lawson's definition of Thatcherism Following the Thatcher government's re-election in 1983 , Lawson was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer , succeeding Geoffrey Howe . The early years of Lawson's chancellorship were associated with tax reform . The 1984 budget reformed corporate taxes by a combination of reduced rates and reduced allowances. The 1985 budget continued
4173-531: The Study on 4 / Options adult education slot from Radio 4's FM frequencies. Consequently, the full Radio 4 schedule became available on FM for the first time. However, adult educational and Open University programming returned to Radio 4 in 1994 when Radio 5 was closed to make way for the launch of BBC Radio 5 Live and were broadcast until the end of the 1990s on Sunday evenings on longwave only. Between 17 January 1991 and 2 March 1991 FM broadcasts were replaced by
4280-538: The Today programme. Message boards dedicated to the Today programme were discontinued around mid-2008 and listeners were invited to use the general BBC 'Have Your Say' board. A podcast, Beyond Today , was launched on 29 October 2018. Presented alternately by Tina Daheley and Matthew Price and aimed at a younger audience, the production team contains the same number of women from black and ethnic minority backgrounds as it does men. Another podcast, The Today Podcast ,
4387-533: The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal , it was reported that Lawson claimed £16,000 in overnight allowances by registering his farmhouse in Gascony as his main residence . Lawson was involved with the climate change denial movement and believed that the impact of man-made global warming had been exaggerated. In 2004, along with six others, Lawson wrote a letter to The Times opposing
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4494-558: The tax burden being increased by inflation (typically in excess of 10% per annum during that parliament). On the election of Margaret Thatcher 's government, Lawson was appointed to the post of Financial Secretary to the Treasury . Although this is the fourth-ranking political position in the UK Treasury , Lawson's energy in office was reflected in such measures as the ending of unofficial state controls on mortgage lending ,
4601-488: The "orderly" dismantling of the eurozone . Lawson was interviewed about the rise of Thatcherism for the 2006 BBC TV documentary series Tory! Tory! Tory! . In 2010, he appeared on the Analysis programme to discuss banking reform. Lawson said that an unintended consequence of the 1986 Big Bang saw investment banks merge with high street banks and put their depositors' savings at risk. In 2019, he appeared on
4708-446: The BBC announced that Radio 4 will stop broadcasting opt-outs on long wave with the last opt-outs airing on 31 March 2024. The two displaced programmes, Daily Service and Yesterday in Parliament moved to BBC Radio 4 Extra . The daily amount of Shipping Forecasts was reduced to be broadcast 2 times on weekdays and 3 times on weekends. Test Match Special moved to BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra on 31 July 2023. These end ahead of
4815-540: The BBC documentary series Thatcher: A Very British Revolution , and discussed Thatcher's rise and fall. In a debate with other former cabinet ministers and prominent journalists, Lawson argued that political life is more in need of ideas and direction than grand political visions. In 1955 Lawson married Vanessa Mary Addison Salmon (1936−1985), granddaughter of the Lyons Corner House chairman Alfred Salmon , and had four children: After his first marriage
4922-563: The Cabinet, he served as the Financial Secretary to the Treasury from May 1979 until his promotion to Secretary of State for Energy . He was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer in June 1983 and served until his resignation in October 1989. In both Cabinet posts, Lawson was a key proponent of Thatcher's policies of privatisation of several key industries. Lawson was a backbencher from 1989 until he retired in 1992 and sat in
5029-580: The Day . It has been voted the most influential news programme in Britain in setting the political agenda, with an average weekly listening audience around 6 million. Today was launched on the BBC Home Service on 28 October 1957 as a programme of "topical talks" to give listeners an alternative to listening to light music . The programme's founders were Isa Benzie and Janet Quigley . Benzie gave
5136-691: The Day , a slot dedicated exclusively to religious discussion during Radio 4's flagship morning news programme. Radio 4 has been criticised for being "too middle class " and of "little interest" to non-white listeners. Nigel Lawson Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby , PC (11 March 1932 – 3 April 2023) was a British politician and journalist. A member of the Conservative Party , he served as Member of Parliament for Blaby from 1974 to 1992, and served in Margaret Thatcher 's Cabinet from 1981 to 1989. Prior to entering
5243-581: The Director-General, Greg Dyke , and Andrew Gilligan. On Friday 5 November 2010, the programme was not broadcast due to 48-hour strike action at the BBC. Transmission continued the next day, in spite of ongoing industrial action, as Evan Davis and Sarah Montague decided to break the strike. "Radio 4 on the whole is good for using serious female presenters, but the Today programme lets it down badly", commented former Today newsreader Alice Arnold early in 2013, pointing out that Sarah Montague
5350-522: The Exchequer was longer than that of any of his predecessors since David Lloyd George , who served from 1908 to 1915. Both men's records were subsequently beaten by Labour's Gordon Brown , who was chancellor from 1997 to 2007. After retiring from front-bench politics, Lawson decided to tackle his weight problem . He was 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm) tall; he lost five stone (70 pounds, 30 kg) from 17 stone, or 238 pounds (108 kg) to 12 stone, or 168 pounds (76 kilograms) – ( BMI 34 to 24) in
5457-635: The HM Treasury and headed by Lord Stern of Brentford . According to the Stern Review, published in 2006, the potential costs of climate change far exceed the costs of a programme to stabilise the climate. Lawson's lecture to the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) think tank , published 1 November 2006, opposed the Stern Review and advocated adaptation to changes in global climate rather than reducing greenhouse gas emissions . In 2008, Lawson published
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#17327763350845564-478: The Saturday Afternoon drama and the omnibus edition of The Archers respectively. Only pips broadcast on FM and LW are accurate. On digital platforms there is a delay of between three and five seconds, and up to 23 seconds online. Radio 4 programmes cover a wide variety of genre including news and current affairs, history, culture, science, religion, arts, comedy, drama and entertainment. A number of
5671-402: The UK's coastal waters. In 2001, the Today programme created a system of message boards allowing the users of its web site to challenge thinking on current affairs with all those contributing. Available statistics indicate the amassing, over five years, of up to 18,000 separate discussions – topic threads – sometimes with as many as 3,000 contributions per thread. However, on 16 November 2006
5778-604: The UK's contribution to future international climate change negotiations. The report cited a mismatch between the economic costs and benefits of climate policy and also criticised the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets set in the Kyoto Protocol. In response to the report, Michael Grubb, chief economist of the Carbon Trust , wrote an article in Prospect magazine, defending the Kyoto Protocol and describing
5885-525: The abolition of exchange controls in October 1979 and the publication of the Medium Term financial Strategy. This document set the course for both the monetary and fiscal sides of the new government's economic policy , though the extent to which the subsequent trajectory of policy and outcome matched that projected is still a matter for debate. In the Cabinet reshuffle of September 1981, Lawson
5992-414: The affair, and the consequences for British armed forces; and Peter Hennessy , who, on 28 December 2007, led a visit to HMS Vigilant (a British Trident submarine) alongside its base at Faslane . Others including Queen Noor of Jordan (2005), Bono (2004) and Sarah, Duchess of York (2004) have also pitched in for this one-day editorial stint to promote their causes and interests. The programme has
6099-433: The basis that the best way to enlighten viewers is to take two people and force them into a sort of intellectual-masturbation death match. Graham Linehan appeared on the show last year to discuss his adaptation of The Ladykillers and found himself ambushed by questions that weren't just hostile, but sometimes completely bizarre." Expert Women's Days, intended by the BBC as a training exercise intended in part to increase
6206-612: The boom largely to the effects of various measures of financial deregulation . Insofar as Lawson acknowledged policy errors, he attributed them to a failure to raise interest rates during 1986 and considered that had Thatcher not vetoed the UK joining the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in November 1985 it might have been possible to adjust to these beneficial changes in the arena of microeconomics with less macroeconomics turbulence. Lawson also ascribed
6313-510: The closedown loop was the Plymouth relay on 774 kHz at 4:59 PM BST. These relays stopped broadcasting the closedown loop and fell silent completely by 30 April 2024. An online schedule page lists the running order of programmes. The station broadcasts a mix of live and pre-recorded programmes. Live programming includes breakfast programme Today , magazine programme Woman's Hour , consumer affairs programme You and Yours , and (often)
6420-669: The committee's report as being "strikingly inconsistent". Lawson responded to Grubb's article, describing it as an example of the "intellectual bankruptcy of the [...] climate change establishment". Lawson also said that Kyoto's approach was "wrong-headed" and called on the IPCC to be "shut down". At about the same time as the release of the House of Lords report, the UK Government launched the Stern Review , an inquiry undertaken by
6527-481: The daily newspapers. From July 1978, Today returned to its previous length and Up to the Hour was dropped. Jack de Manio became its principal presenter in 1958. He was held in affection by listeners, but became notorious for on-air gaffes (announcing a documentary on Nigeria titled The Land of Niger as The Land of Nigger , and referring to Yoko Ono as "Yoko Hama, or whatever her name is", for instance). In 1970
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#17327763350846634-502: The difficulty of conducting monetary policy to Goodhart's law . Lawson's tax cuts, beginning in 1986, resulted in the "Lawson Boom" of the British economy, which halved unemployment from more than 3,000,000 by the end of 1989. However, this may have led to a rise in inflation from 3 per cent to more than 8 per cent during 1988, which resulted in interest rates doubling to 15 per cent in the space of 18 months, and remaining high despite
6741-435: The end of December, guest editors have been invited to commission items for one edition of the programme. These usually reflect their social or cultural interests and at the end of each edition the guest editor is interviewed by a member of the regular presenting team about the experience. Guest editors participating in the inaugural year of this feature were Monica Ali , Thom Yorke , Stephen Hawking , and Norman Tebbit , who
6848-420: The following duties from Broadcasting House: Newsreaders read hourly summaries and longer bulletins from New Broadcasting House. In 2012 the BBC announced that it would be reducing its main presentation team from 12 to ten. Other continuity announcers for whom it is not known whether they are freelance or BBC employees, include Joanna Kean, Kelsey Bennett, Arlene Fleming (who also used to read
6955-524: The forces supporting the Countryside Alliance: the public schools that laid on coaches; the fusty, belch-filled dining rooms of the London clubs that opened their doors, for the first time, to the protesters; the Prince of Wales and, of course, Camilla ... and suddenly, rather gloriously, it might be that you remember [why you voted Labour] once again." He resigned from his post on Today . In
7062-557: The government had known this prior to publishing it. In his live interview with presenter John Humphrys, just after 6.07 a.m., Gilligan asserted that the dossier and the Government "probably knew" that one of the main claims in the dossier "was wrong". Gilligan's anonymous source for the claim was Dr David Kelly , a key adviser on biological weapons who had worked in Iraq – though it was never established whether Dr Kelly had actually used
7169-409: The late 1970s and early 1980s, under editors Ken Goudie and Julian Holland , Today made moves to broaden its appeal away from broadcasting a lot of national politics with London-centric bias. Presentation was split for a time between London, usually by John Timpson, and from Manchester, usually by Brian Redhead. The objective was to make it more of a balanced, national programme. The on-air humour of
7276-514: The middle of 1986 (employment growth having resumed over three years earlier). Lawson also changed the budget deficit from £10.5 billion (3.7 per cent of GDP) in 1983 to a budget surplus of £3.9 billion in 1988 and £4.1 billion in 1989, the year of his resignation. During these years, however, the UK's current account deficit similarly rose from below 1 per cent of GDP in 1986 to almost 5 per cent in 1989, with Lawson asserting that an external deficit based on private-sector behaviour
7383-691: The music, film, books, arts and culture programme Front Row . Continuity is managed from Broadcasting House with news bulletins, including the hourly summaries and longer programmes such as the Six O'Clock News and Midnight News , and news programmes such as Today , The World at One and PM , which by early 2013 had returned to Broadcasting House after 15 years at BBC Television Centre in White City . The news returning to Broadcasting House has also meant that newsreaders can provide cover for continuity, which regularly occurs at 23:00 each night and 16:00 on
7490-400: The news bulletins and the religious talk that had become Thought for the Day in 1970. In May 1977, Radio 4 controller Ian McIntyre cut it to two 25-minute parts, filling the gap with Up to the Hour . The new format was unpopular with BBC staff, including Peter Donaldson who on at least one occasion openly ridiculed the programme on air. It also provoked comments in the diary columns of
7597-515: The news) and Richard Evans. Criticism voiced by centre-right newspapers in recent years have a perceived left political bias across a range of issues, as well as sycophancy in interviews, particularly on the popular morning news magazine Today as part of a reported perception of a general "malaise" at the BBC. Conversely, the journalist Mehdi Hasan has criticised the station for an overtly " socially and culturally conservative" approach. There has been criticism of Today in particular for
7704-489: The number of female interviewees on Today , took place in several locations in 2013. BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC . The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasting House , London . Since 2019, the station controller has been Mohit Bakaya . He replaced Gwyneth Williams , who had been
7811-520: The parts of England not served by BBC Local Radio stations. These included Roundabout East Anglia , a VHF opt-out of the Today programme broadcast from BBC East 's studios in Norwich each weekday from 6.45 a.m. to 8.45 a.m. Roundabout East Anglia came to an end in August 1980, ahead of the launch of BBC Radio Norfolk . All regional news bulletins broadcast from BBC regional news bases around England ended in August 1980, apart from in
7918-474: The preceding decade and that experts in the IPCC found no increase in extreme weather events. In a follow-up programme on the BBC's presentation of these claims, Peter A. Stott of the Met Office said Lawson was wrong on both points. Lawson was a critic of David Cameron 's coalition government economic policy, describing spending cuts consultation plans as a "PR ploy". In November 2011, he called for
8025-419: The programme changed its board policy so that only the producers of Today could start a thread, but all contributors could still join in with them. This action appeared to have been unpopular with past contributors and, it seems, many stopped dealing with Today in favour of other outlets. After the changes there were fewer contributions, but, on occasion, contributions made by the public were featured on-air in
8132-458: The programme format was changed so that there were two presenters each day. De Manio left in 1971, and in the mid-1970s the team of John Timpson and Brian Redhead became established. Timpson had been critical of the content, style and professionalism of Today ; describing it once as "not so much a programme, more a way of telling the time" and being filled with "eccentric octogenarians, prize pumpkins, and folk who ate lightbulbs and spiders". In
8239-460: The programme in an interview as "a bunch of misogynists", but later retracted this statement by saying she had been "careless" in her vocabulary. In 2011, Guardian journalist Kira Cochrane and colleagues researched the female–male ratio in the British media for a month. Concerning Today they found 83.5% of the contributors were male and the remaining 16.5% female. The issue was thought important enough for culture minister Ed Vaizey to request
8346-440: The programme its name and served as its first de facto editor. It was initially broadcast as two 20-minute editions slotted in around the existing news bulletins and religious and musical items. It became part of the BBC's Current Affairs department in 1963, and started to become more news-orientated. The two editions also became longer, and by the end of the 1960s it had become a single programme two hours in length that enveloped
8453-428: The programme, but the tough, confrontational interviewing they encountered led to accusations that the BBC was biased. Criticism was particularly directed against Redhead, who was often seen as being on the left. Chancellor Nigel Lawson accused him, during a live interview in 1988, of having been a Labour voter all his life. The style of the male interviewers was analysed and contrasted with the approach of MacGregor, who
8560-484: The programmes on Radio 4 take the form of a "magazine" show, featuring numerous small contributions over the course of the programme— Woman's Hour , From Our Own Correspondent , You and Yours . The rise of these magazine shows is primarily due to the work of Tony Whitby , controller of Radio 4 from 1970 to 1975. The station hosts a number of long-running programmes, many of which have been broadcast for over 40 years. Most programmes are available for 30 days or over
8667-413: The rotating list of presenters in 1986. Peter Hobday , who had first broadcast on the programme in the 1950s, was a regular presenter from the early 1980s and a favourite with listeners because of his relaxed, urbane style. By this time the programme was benefiting from publicity gained after it became known that Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was a regular listener. Ministers thus became keen to go on
8774-508: The show. His last major guests were former Prime Ministers David Cameron and Tony Blair , as well as drag personality Dame Edna Everage . The longest-serving presenter on Today was John Humphrys , who presented the programme for 32 years and 260 days between 1987 and 2019. Among the newsreaders are Chris Aldridge , Viji Alles, Charles Carroll , Lisa Costello, Mark Forrest, Caroline Nicholls, Tina Ritchie, Alan Smith , Tom Sandars , and Jane Steel. Beginning in 2003, for over one week at
8881-570: The so-called " Big Bang ". In an interview in 2010, Lawson said that an unintended consequence of the Big Bang and the associated end of the separation that had existed between merchant and retail banking was the financial crisis of 2007–2008 . The trajectory taken by the UK economy from this point on is typically described as "The Lawson Boom " by analogy with the phrase "The Barber Boom " which describes an earlier period of rapid expansion under
8988-438: The southwest as until January 1983 there was no BBC Local Radio in the southwest so these news bulletins and its weekday morning regional programme, Morning Sou'West , continued to be broadcast from the BBC studios in Plymouth on VHF and on the Radio 4 medium wave Plymouth relay until 31 December 1982. The launch of Radio 5 on 27 August 1990 saw the removal of Open University , schools programming, children's programmes and
9095-748: The station controller since 2010. Broadcasting throughout the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands on FM , LW and DAB , and on BBC Sounds , it can be received in the eastern counties of Ireland , northern France and Northern Europe . It is available on Freeview , Sky , and Virgin Media . Radio 4 currently reaches over 10 million listeners, making it the UK's second most-popular radio station after BBC Radio 2 . BBC Radio 4 broadcasts news programmes such as Today , The World at One and PM heralded on air by
9202-568: The station was transferred to the new British Broadcasting Company which in 1923 took up the nearby Savoy Hill for its broadcasting studios. At midnight on New Year's Eve 1923, the twelve chimes of Big Ben were broadcast for the first time to mark the new year. In 1927 the company became the British Broadcasting Corporation . On 9 March 1930 2LO was replaced by the BBC Regional Programme and
9309-489: The summer of 2003, Today once again found itself at the centre of allegations of political bias, this time against a Labour government. The controversy arose after Today broadcast a report by its correspondent Andrew Gilligan . The report alleged that a dossier the British Government had produced to convince the British public of the need to invade Iraq had been "sexed up" (deliberately exaggerated), and that
9416-458: The telephone network. The stations that followed the establishment of 2LO in London were therefore autonomously programmed using local talent and facilities. By May 1923, simultaneous broadcasting was technically possible at least between main transmitters and relay stations , the quality was not felt to be high enough to provide a national service or regular simultaneous broadcasts. In 1924, it
9523-415: The tenure as chancellor of Anthony Barber in the Conservative government of Edward Heath (1970–1974). Critics of Lawson assert that a combination of the abandonment of monetarism , the adoption of a de facto exchange-rate target of 3 Deutsche Marks to the pound , and excessive fiscal laxity (in particular the 1988 budget ) unleashed an inflationary spiral . In his defence, Lawson attributed
9630-528: The trend of shifting from direct to indirect taxes by reducing National Insurance contributions for the lower-paid while extending the base of value-added tax . During these two years, Lawson's public image remained low-key, but from the 1986 budget (in which he resumed the reduction of the standard rate of personal income tax from the 30 per cent rate to which it had been lowered in Howe's 1979 budget ), his stock rose as unemployment began to fall from
9737-399: The two presenters and the split of locations made the programme very popular and influential. Brian Redhead was quoted, "If you want to drop a word in the ear of the nation, then this is the programme in which to do it." This pairing lasted until Timpson's retirement in 1986. Other presenters during this period included Libby Purves in the late 1970s. John Humphrys and Sue MacGregor joined
9844-584: The words Gilligan attributed to him. In the furore that followed Gilligan's report, Kelly's name became public and he was forced to appear before the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. Shortly afterward he was found dead following presumed suicide. In the ensuing public inquiry (the Hutton Inquiry ), which reported in January 2004, the BBC was heavily criticised. This led to the resignation of the BBC's chairman, Gavyn Davies ,
9951-530: Was Edward Stourton until 2009. Other more occasional presenters include the BBC's Stephen Sackur and Tim Franks . Evan Davis and Justin Webb were the newest regular presenters to join the roster until Mishal Husain in 2013. Husain became the second regular female presenter when Naughtie began to cover the Scottish Independence referendum as a Good Morning Scotland presenter for two days
10058-422: Was (then) the only female presenter among the regular presenters. During 2010, editor Ceri Thomas acknowledged that the gender balance was not ideal, but faced criticism for saying in an interview that the programme was not going to be the "first place you'll see those changes because it's just too tough an environment for novices, frankly". Radio 4 presenter Mariella Frostrup described the men involved in running
10165-581: Was a key proponent of the Thatcher government's privatisation policy. During his tenure at the Department of Energy he set the course for the later privatisations of the gas and electricity industries and on his return to the Treasury he worked closely with the Department of Trade and Industry in privatising British Airways , British Telecom , and British Gas . [A] mixture of free markets , financial discipline , firm control over public expenditure , tax cuts , nationalism, " Victorian values " (of
10272-431: Was alleged to be giving subjects an easier time. The "Big 8:10" interview that follows the 8 am news had become an important institution of British politics, a position it retains. After Brian Redhead died in January 1994, James Naughtie became a member of the team. Peter Hobday presented the programme regularly until 1996; Sarah Montague replaced MacGregor in 2002. Carolyn Quinn was a regular presenter until 2008 as
10379-519: Was asked about this issue. "I'm not going to rule out the confrontational interview as it is on occasion necessary... [A]ll the evidence we've got shows that the audience is overwhelmingly behind John Humphrys in general and support our right to do [this] kind of interviews." In a 2012 article decrying the BBC's attitude to science reporting, Guardian science columnist Martin Robbins wrote: "The Today programme claims to be serious, but seems to work on
10486-409: Was broadcast on medium wave with a network of VHF FM transmitters being added from 1955. Radio 4 replaced it on 30 September 1967, when the BBC restructured and renamed its domestic radio stations, in response to the challenge of offshore radio . It moved to long wave in November 1978, taking over the 200 kHz frequency (1,500 metres) previously held by Radio 2 - later moved to 198 kHz as
10593-401: Was exacerbated by the re-employment by Thatcher of Alan Walters as a personal economic adviser. After a further year in office in these circumstances, Lawson felt that public criticism from Walters (who favoured a floating exchange rate ) was making his job impossible and he resigned. He was succeeded in the office of chancellor by John Major . Lawson's six-year tenure as Chancellor of
10700-471: Was felt that technical standards had improved enough for London to start to provide the majority of the output, cutting the local stations back to providing items of local interest. Each of these main stations were broadcast at approximately 1 kilowatt (kW): Each of these relay stations were broadcast at approximately 120 watts (W): The BBC Home Service was the predecessor of Radio 4 and broadcast between 1939 and 1967. It had regional variations and
10807-578: Was launched on 5 October 2023 and is presented by Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson . They discuss the news stories as featured on The Today Programme . Today found itself in the midst of controversy again in 2002, when its editor Rod Liddle wrote a column in The Guardian that was extremely critical of the Countryside Alliance and which raised questions about his own impartiality. In the article, he wrote that catching "a glimpse of
10914-484: Was now a small minority. The cricket broadcasts took precedence over on-the-hour news bulletins, but not the Shipping Forecast , carried since Radio 4's move to long wave in 1978 because long wave can be received clearly at sea. Initially the power was 100 watts on 350 metres (857 kHz ). 2LO was allowed to transmit for seven minutes, after which the "operator" had to listen on the wavelength for three minutes for possible instructions to close down. On 14 November 1922
11021-434: Was possible for the main Radio 4 service to be transferred from LW to FM, and this took place on 16 September 1991 with opt-outs - extra shipping forecasts, Daily Service and Yesterday in Parliament , joined in 1994 by Test Match Special . Longwave also occasionally opted out at other times, such as to broadcast special services, the most recent being when Pope Benedict XVI visited Britain in 2010 . On 30 May 2023,
11128-467: Was promoted to the position of Secretary of State for Energy . In this role his most significant action was to prepare for what he saw as an inevitable full-scale strike in the coal industry (then state-owned since nationalisation by the post-war Labour Party government of Clement Attlee ) over the closure of deep coal mines whose uneconomic operation accounted for the coal industry's business losses and consequent requirement for state subsidy . He
11235-526: Was recruited by Conservative Central Office to assist with speech-writing for prime ministers Harold Macmillan and Sir Alec Douglas-Home in the lead-up to the 1964 general election . After returning to journalism as editor of The Spectator from 1966 to 1970, Lawson was selected as the Conservative candidate for the Eton and Slough constituency in 1968. He contested the seat unsuccessfully at
11342-527: Was remembered for taking almost two hours to deliver due to continuous interruptions and protest from opposition members. Scottish National Party MP Alex Salmond was suspended from the House , and several MPs voted against the amendment of the law bill (which is typically agreed by all members of the House). Lawson opposed the introduction of the Community Charge (nicknamed "the poll tax ") as
11449-623: Was subsequently split with its campaigning arm and renamed the Global Warming Policy Forum without charitable status , while the charitable section retained the original title. Lawson's son, Dominic Lawson , is also a climate change denier , taking a similar viewpoint as his father in his columns in the Independent on Sunday . In a BBC Radio interview in August 2017, Lawson claimed that "official figures" showed "average world temperature has slightly declined" over
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