A Ministerial Broadcast, also known as a Prime Ministerial Broadcast or Ministerial Statement is a televised address to the British public, usually given by the incumbent Prime Minister or other senior Cabinet Minister in times of national crisis. The BBC and other public service broadcasters must give the government air time if the circumstances are seen to be of sufficient importance, and requests from opposition leaders must also be considered. History 1950s The first Ministerial Broadcast was made by Prime Minister Anthony Eden on 27 April 1956, and broadcast on the BBC. It came several months after Eden's Conservative Party won the 1955 general election, which was the first time an election had received significant coverage on television. The address was different to a Party Political Broadcast, as the opposition parties were not allocated air-time as well. This was acceptable for non-controversial topics – the broadcast in April addressed the visit of Soviet leaders Nikita Khrushchev and Nikolai Bulganin – but in October 1956 Eden made a second televised speech relating to the Suez Crisis, to which the Leader of the Opposition Hugh Gaitskell demanded a reply. The BBC's guidelines on Ministerial Broadcasts had been published in 1947, and stated that: They should deal with facts, explain legislation approved by parliament, or appeal for public co-operation. If the opposition disagreed in any way with the government's broadcast (as Gaitskell did), they could ask permission to air a reply. In the case of the Suez Crisis, Eden refused to let Gaitskell give a reply, as he believed that the country should be united in times of conflict, and it would damage troops' morale if the government's efforts were put into question. The BBC Governors were then required to intervene, siding with Gaitskell, who was given permission to broadcast a reply. The Government were angry with the BBC's decision (especially as the BBC had earlier refused to let Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies make a radio address in support of Eden due to fears of bias), and Eden threatened to cut the BBC's funding by £1 million, but after a protest from the Director-General of the BBC Ian Jacob and Chairman of the BBC Alexander Cadogan, the threat was eventually dropped. Eden resigned as Prime Minister in January 1957 due to his poor handling of the Suez Crisis, and was succeeded by fellow Conservative Harold Macmillan. On 31 August 1959, Macmillan was