History UsefulNotes / PartyPoliticalBroadcasts

Unlike in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates, politicians and political parties are not allowed to buy advertising time on TV in the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom. Instead, political parties are allocated a strictly limited number of free five- and ten-minute slots on TV per year, which they can use to get their message across to the nation. In the televisual dark age before 1982, when there were only three television channels, [=PPBs=] were scheduled simultaneously on all channels so there was no escape from the tedium; nowadays [=PPBs=] are shown on all the major terrestrial channels, but at different times so if you are particularly unlucky you may see the same message several times (if that happens, you can simply tune to a non-terrestrial channel). Related phenomena are the Party Election Broadcasts which go out nightly during the three weeks or so of a General Election campaign -- each party gets a number of [=PEBs=] dependent on how well it polled in the previous election and how many candidates it's putting up, so the Conservative, Labour, and Liberal Democrat parties may each get four or five [=PEBs=] in a campaign, while the British National Party, UK Independence Party, or the Official Monster Raving Looney Party only get one. Because the parties are not involved in a futile arms race to increase advertising in competition with their rivals, this system means that British politics is less dependent on campaign contributions.

Almost every last advertising trope can be found here. But all in all what you have most often is the given party's leader saying [[MeaninglessMeaningfulWords general things in a likable tone]] in front of a [[{{Glurge}} montage of little kids, pensioners, single mothers and emergency services personnel]] saying how the party is the best thing since sliced bread.

The third dullest thing to be routinely shown on British television, after the budget speech and ''Series/PointsOfView''. Famously, a 1992 [=PEB=] from the Conservative Party featuring then PM John Major depicted him as he went back to the area of UsefulNotes/{{London}} where he grew up, and was less a fish out of water than a fish in deep space. He still won, however.

One very ridiculous Labour PEB in 2005 was directed by Creator/AnthonyMinghella (of ''Literature/TheEnglishPatient'' fame) and consisted of lots of soft-focus shots of Tony Blair and UsefulNotes/GordonBrown professing how well they worked together and really loved each other and so on and so forth -- the HoYay was immediately jumped on and mocked into the ground (for example, here's a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxNHAtD1KCo#t=3m02s YouTube clip]] of it on ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou''). Andrew Rawnsley, author of ''End of the Party'', joked that it took an editor of Minghella's skill to present Blair and Brown as actually being friends, given that by then their relationship had collapsed into more or less open feuding.

->''"This is John Major's kettle. This is the kettle that will be in the kitchen of the most powerful man in the country... if you vote Conservative. And this is Tony Blair's kettle. You can trust Tony Blair's kettle. You can trust Tony Blair."''
--> -- Rory Bremner's take on the 1997 party election broadcasts.

Unlike in the United States, in Britain politicians and political parties are not allowed to buy advertising time on TV. Instead, political parties are allocated a strictly limited number of free five and ten minute slots on TV per year, which they can use to get their message across to the nation. In the televisual dark age before 1982, when there were only three television channels, PPB's were scheduled simultaneously on all channels so there was no escape from the tedium; nowadays [=PPBs=] are shown on all the major terrestrial channels, but at different times so if you are particularly unlucky you may see the same message several times (if that happens, you can simply tune to a non-terrestrial channel). Related phenomena are the Party Election Broadcasts which go out nightly during the three weeks or so of a General Election campaign- each party gets a number of [=PEBs=] dependent on how well it polled in the previous election and how many candidates it's putting up, so the Conservative, Labour, and Liberal Democrat parties may each get 4 or 5 [=PEBs=] in a campaign, while the British National Party, UK Independence Party, or the Official Monster Raving Looney Party only get one. Because the parties are not involved in a futile arms race to increase advertising in competition with their rivals, this system means that British politics is less dependent on campaign contributions.

* After the Queens' Speech.

Almost every last advertising trope can be found here. But all in all what you have is the appropriate leader saying [[MeaninglessMeaningfulWords general things in a likable tone]] in front of a [[{{Glurge}} montage of little kids, pensioners, single mothers and emergency services personnel]] saying how the party is the best thing since sliced bread.

Often the only way to tell apart the opposition broadcasts is to look at the title, save the far right parties.

The third dullest thing to be routinely shown on British television, after the budget speech and ''Series/PointsOfView''. Famously, a 1992 [=PEB=] from the Conservative Party featuring then PM John Major depicted him as he went back to the area of London where he grew up, and was less a fish out of water than a fish in deep space. He still won, however.

One very ridiculous Labour PEB in 2005 was directed by Creator/AnthonyMinghella (of ''Literature/TheEnglishPatient'' fame) and consisted of lots of soft focus shots of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown professing how well they worked together and really loved each other and so on and so forth - the HoYay was immediately jumped on and mocked into the ground. ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxNHAtD1KCo#t=3m02s YouTube clip]] of it on ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou''). Andrew Rawnsley, author of ''End of the Party'', joked that it took an editor of Minghella's skill to actually present Blair and Brown as friends, given that by then their relationship had collapsed into more or less open feuding.

Creator/JohnCleese, however, made an intentionally ridiculous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKp7HDv01hk 1987 broadcast]] for the SDP/Liberal alliance, the predecessor to today's Liberal Democrats.

Unlike in the United States, in Britain politicians and political parties are not allowed to buy advertising time on TV. Instead, political parties are allocated a strictly limited number of free five and ten minute slots on TV per year, which they can use to get their message across to the nation. In the televisual dark age before 1982, when there were only three television channels, PPB's were scheduled simultaneously on all channels so there was no escape from the tedium; nowadays [=PPBs=] are shown on all the major terrestrial channels, but at different times so if you are particularly unlucky you may see the same message several times. Related phenomena are the Party Election Broadcasts which go out nightly during the three weeks or so of a General Election campaign- each party gets a number of [=PEBs=] dependent on how well it polled in the previous election and how many candidates it's putting up, so the Conservative, Labour, and Liberal Democrat parties may each get 4 or 5 [=PEBs=] in a campaign, while the British National Party, UK Independence Party, or the Official Monster Raving Looney Party only get one. Because the parties are not involved in a futile arms race to increase advertising in competition with their rivals, this system means that British politics is less dependent on campaign contributions.

The third dullest thing to be routinely shown on British television, after the budget speech and ''Series/PointsOfView''. Famously, a 1992 [=PEB=] from the Conservative Party featuring then PM John Major descended into {{Narm}} as he went back to the area of London where he grew up, and was less a fish out of water than a fish in deep space. He still won, however.

-->''This is John Major's kettle. This is the kettle that will be in the kitchen of the most powerful man in the country... if you vote Conservative. And this is Tony Blair's kettle. You can trust Tony Blair's kettle. You can trust Tony Blair.''

The third dullest thing to be routinely shown on British television, after the budget speech and ''PointsOfView''. Famously, a 1992 [=PEB=] from the Conservative Party featuring then PM John Major descended into {{Narm}} as he went back to the area of London where he grew up, and was less a fish out of water than a fish in deep space. He still won, however.

One very ridiculous Labour PEB in 2005 was directed by Creator/AnthonyMinghella (of ''TheEnglishPatient'' fame) and consisted of lots of soft focus shots of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown professing how well they worked together and really loved each other and so on and so forth - the HoYay was immediately jumped on and mocked into the ground. ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxNHAtD1KCo#t=3m02s YouTube clip]] of it on ''HaveIGotNewsForYou''). Andrew Rawnsley, author of ''End of the Party'', joked that it took an editor of Minghella's skill to actually present Blair and Brown as friends, given that by then their relationship had collapsed into more or less open feuding.

John Cleese, however, made an intentionally ridiculous [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKp7HDv01hk 1987 broadcast]] for the SDP/Liberal alliance, the predecessor to today's Liberal Democrats.