Tag Archives: 1970 general election

Paul Walter

Vintage election nights: the time a painter had to come on screen to extend the Swingometer

By Paul Walter | Fri 9th February 2018 - 11:55 am

I have always remembered the classic moment when, during the BBC general election night TV coverage of 1970, a painter had to be brought on to extend the swingometer. This was because the Conservative swings were unexpectedly high, and the swingometer didn’t go far enough to cover some of them.

In these days of high tech, it is difficult to believe that such a thing happened. Indeed, as I have recalled the incident over the years, I don’t think many people have believed me.

Continue reading »
Posted in General Election and TV and film | Also tagged and | 1 Comment
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Andy Daer
    We're talking about two different things here. The reasons our potential workforce doesn't fit with what the economy and society require are one thing, and the ...
  • David Raw
    Very sorry to mention this, but I'm old enough to remember when Rumswoth in Bolton West had a a Liberal M.P. (my late friend Arthur Holt). But now, sadly, in a ...
  • Peter Wrigley
    Here's an extract from a Jonathan Liew article in today's Guardian (4th August): " . . .[W]hat if migration is only a problem to those who want it to be? Wh...
  • Rif Winfield
    One thing we should bear in mind is that Andy Burnham seems genuinely convinced of the need for adopting proportional representation (although he will have diff...
  • Peter Martin
    "the jobs are there, the young people are there........." It's not so simple. We aren't talking about fitting round pegs into round holes. The...