Tory Leadership Debate – BBC Five Live interview
Rob McLoughlin discussed the outcome of the BBC’s Prime Ministerial Debate in a live interview on BBC Radio Five Live’s Drive programme on Tuesday 19 June, 2019.
Rob said that it was unique in post-war Britain to have just 160,000 people (the membership of the Conservative Party) choose the Prime Minister for a party with no majority. It was clear from the televised debate that no candidate wanted to risk a General Election with Jeremy Hunt saying it should only follow Brexit.
Normally an opposition would be claiming it was unconstitutional and that the Government had no mandate but Labour have so many other issues internally that the argument is not being advanced.
Rob talked about the complexities of making a tv programme such as this with multiple candidates and joked that the format would never replace Holby City which he said “can be curious but certainly has more drama”. He described how quickly such programmes are often assembled and how difficult they can be.
On one special with John Prescott and Michael Heseltine for Granada TV, Rob recalled how Ming Campbell became stuck in a taxi. Attempts to replace Campbell with another Lib-Dem MP led to the party to threaten an injunction to stop the broadcast as they wanted parity with Labour and Tory heavyweights.
Rob commented: “You have to take it on the chin when vetting of the audience goes wrong despite best efforts – the systems are never perfect.”  (This followed controversy over past tweets from one contributor to the Prime Ministerial Debate.)
Rob defended the decision to have no audience pointing out that balance across one single party was difficult to achieve. Individual audience members can sometimes stir the pot; Mrs Thatcher was famously caught off-guard over questions about the sinking of the Belgrano in an edition of Nationwide in the 1980s. Mrs Thatcher was said to have met her match when repeatedly challenged by a well-informed member of the public.
Drive is broadcast live from MediaCity UK.
Rob also appeared on the programme recently to discuss The Jeremy Kyle Show and ITV.

Brexit minister grilled at Lancashire business conference

Brexit minister Kwasi Kwarteng spoke at the Brexit for Business Conference hosted by the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce in April. Held in Preston’s Guild Hall, the conference attempted to address business concerns over Brexit uncertainty.

The minister was interviewed by award-winning broadcaster Rob McLoughlin and took questions from the conference delegates. For a full report, see the Blackpool Gazette news page.

The event has also been reported in full in Lancashire Business View.

 

 

Rob McLoughlin interviews Brexit Minister
Britain should have left the European Union  by now. So what does the current uncertainty mean for business and how long will the confusion last?
Kwasi Kwarteng MP will address a business audience in Preston on Friday 26 April 2019 inside the famous Guild Hall.
He will then be questioned by the award-winning broadcaster Rob McLoughlin and field questions from the audience.
The session launches a morning full of special sessions and speeches on employment, immigration and related areas.
The conference is staged by the North West Chamber of Commerce in association with a number of sponsors including UCLAN.

Rob McLoughlin returns to the BBC Breakfast sofa – 14 April

Rob is back on the BBC Breakfast red sofa on BBC 1, Sunday, 14 April 2019. He will be reviewing the press as Britain’s future in Europe becomes clearer … or perhaps less clear!

He will be analysing the papers and what will (or will not) be happening to the UK and its relationship with the EU, and its effect upon the UK economy. The reviews are scheduled for 07.20 and 08.20.

Rob will also be looking for the light and shade in the UK media’s coverage of the weekend’s events.

BBC Breakfast is produced by BBC News from MediaCity UK and has more than six million viewers daily.

Rob McLoughlin pays tribute to Lord Paddy Ashdown on BBC1
Rob McLoughlin paid tribute to the late Lord Ashdown on BBC Breakfast live on Sunday 23rd December on BBC1 and BBC News Channel.
Rob who presented political programmes on Granada Television as well as news and current Affairs series on ITV; BBC Five Live and commercial radio described Paddy Ashdown as a real ‘action man’ in line with his image and his ‘remarkable’ experience in the military, diplomacy and politics.
He recalled how ‘tough’ he could be to interview in set piece political discussions where he would often ‘attack’ the premise of a question – he recalled an encounter in a European election campaign in the 1990s which made headlines within hours of transmission and was quoted by Michael Heseltine on BBC TV’s Question Time later that night.
It followed comments by Paddy that sovereignty of the people was more important than sovereignty of Parliament in a ‘heated exchange’ on the power of the European Commission.
Rob also told a funny story about Paddy at a Lib-Dem conference in Torquay which showed how he was leading a party ‘yet to mature’.
Rob also discussed President Trump and the US partial closedown in Washington DC plus he discussed the Virtual Grand National and Artificial Intelligence and the science behind changing managers at the key moment following Man Utd’s 5-1 victory over Cardiff City.
BBC Breakfast is produced from MediaCityUK live each day and reaches up to 6m viewers daily.
It is a BBC News production.
Rob is scheduled to re-appear in 2019.