When Did The House Of Commons Start To Allow The Televising Of Its Proceedings?

The initial vote to allow cameras into the Commons was won on 9 February 1988 by a majority of 54. But this figure indicated that there was a large minority who were against the move.  On 21 November 1989, after 12 debates over a period of 25 years, television cameras entered the House of Commons for the first time on an experimental basis. It was judged a success and permanent televising of the House began in 1990. The Commons was one of the last parliaments among the leading industrialised countries to be televised.

During the political wrangling over whether the House of Commons should be televised, two camps of MPs emerged; the proponents, who thought that television was vital for democracy, to put the Commons back at the centre of national debate, and those who disagreed, who thought that it would undermine parliament by resulting in "info-tainment" or a "news-show".