The Westminster Hour

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The Westminster Hour
TheWestminsterHourLogoBBC.jpg
GenrePolitics and current affairs
Running time60 minutes
Country of originUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Home station BBC Radio 4
Hosted by Ben Wright
Recording studioBBC Millbank, Westminster
Original release12 April 1998 –
present
No. of episodes440+ [1]
Website www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006s624
Podcast www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02nrs6c/episodes/downloads

The Westminster Hour is a British political news review produced by BBC News, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 each Sunday evening between 22:00 (10 PM) and 23:00 (11 PM) UK time, with a national and international news bulletin at the beginning. The programme has been broadcast since 12 April 1998. [2]

Contents

The bells of the Westminster Clock Tower, including Big Ben, are broadcast live just before the programme starts. [3] There have been over 440 episodes broadcast. [1] Despite the reference in its title to the Palace of Westminster – meeting-place of the Houses of the United Kingdom Parliament – the programme also deals with topics and events connected with the work of the UK's devolved legislative assemblies in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and London.

Presenters

Ben Wright, one of the BBC's political correspondents, is the current presenter of The Westminster Hour. Previous hosts include Carolyn Quinn (a former presenter of Radio 4's Today programme) and Andrew Rawnsley (chief political commentator at The Observer ).

References

  1. 1 2 "Westminster Hour". Podchaser. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  2. ↑ "Westminster Hour - A Quinn-tessential guide - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  3. ↑ Roberts, Hannah (4 November 2023). "The sound of Big Ben's bongs to return to BBC Radio 4 next week". The Evening Standard . Retrieved 6 January 2026.
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