Reviews

Support trulyindependent journalismOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorFind out moreThere are very few moments of history that are scheduled. Usually, they arrive with the sound of a gunshot in Sarajevo, or a stifled cough in the Wuhan wet market, but little warning. Elections, however, are that rarest of things: history arriving right on time, and just when we’re expecting it.This is a fact that captivates newspaper journalists, radio commentators and, more than anyone, television broadcasters. Election nights are, at their heart, a televisual event, offering up a viewing marathon for Haribo-chomping political nerds. But the moment when the exit poll is released – as polls close at 10pm – is also a chance for broadcasters to stamp their ownership on a moment of change. And it is a moment that has, generally, belonged to our public broadcaster, the BBC.The job of announcing the exit poll on the BBC belonged, for many years, to David Dimbleby, before he handed over to his anointed successor, Huw Edwards, in 2019. But Edwards has had a tricky couple of years and, in his stead, the BBC brought in Clive Myrie – a veteran news presenter, who also took over the Mastermind hot seat from John Humphrys – and former political editor Laura Kuenssberg. They made a strange, indecisive combo: Myrie is an adequate, if not especially nimble, emcee, whereas Kuenssberg has come to represent much of the BBC’s struggles with impartiality. Their Mad Libs version of the announcement – alternating sentences as they ran through the projection – had nothing of the gravitas of Dimbleby or Edwards.Follow live coverage of the general election hereSky’s election team included (from left) Trevor Phillips, presenter Beth Rigby, political editor Kay Burley, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and former Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson More