End of an era as BBC Radio 4 LW shuts down

In just a few days time the BBC will shut down the Long Wave service for BBC Radio 4. Its closure will leave the Long Wave dial deserted for listeners not only in the UK but further afield too [Guardian / RadioToday].

Broadcast from Droitwich in Worcestershire, BBC Radio 4 long wave, transmits on the 198 kilohertz frequency and relies on ageing transmitter equipment that uses a pair of the valves which are no longer manufactured [Wikipedia]. 

The site was chosen as the mast could send transmissions to most of Britain and, at the time of its erection in 1934, was described as the World’s most modern Long Wave transmitter [YouTube].

Droitwich replaced the Daventry transmitter which itself had taken over from Chelmsford on the 27th July 1925. While the Chelmsford and Daventry Long Wave transmitters were closed due to obsolescence, there was no hue and cry. Droitwich could now cover most of the country with one mast and broadcasts could even be received on the continent and far out to sea.

Long Wave is considered obsolete with few people having sets able to receive broadcast on the band. Nonetheless the imminent closure has broad loud voices of protest from a minority of listeners.

It is estimated that around 90,000 homes in Britain still listen in to BBC Radio 4 on Long Wave, particularly in areas where short-range FM and DAB [Digital Audio Broadcasting] does not penetrate.

An announcement that has been playing for some time on BBC Long Wave transmissions for some time informs listeners that they can listen online, via the BBC Sounds app, and on FM and DAB.

However in many parts of rural Britain this is virtually impossible. In many parts of Wales there is almost no FM radio reception and almost no cellphone coverage [Richard Mudhar].

For those in rural Wales or Scotland it’s not a matter of life and death, though boredom may set in for some without their daily fix of the Archers. But for some fishermen they could well be lost at sea.

The BBC Shipping Forecast has been feature of British broadcasting since the days of the telegraph in the 1860s [Wikipedia].

Established by Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy, the first professional weather forecaster, captain of HMS Beagle and founder of the Met Office, the shipping forecast has become a British institution.

Many listeners will be familiar with Dogger and German Bight even if the information imparted in the twice daily broadcasts is somewhat irrelevant to them.

But for ships at sea the BBC Shipping Forecast remains a vital failsafe for maritime safety while also functioning as a cherished national cultural institution, having celebrated its centenary.

July 4th 2025 marked the centenary of its first BBC broadcast. And in that time it has prevented the loss of countless lives at sea.

But what will happen when Long Wave ceases to broadcast? While the broadcasts will be relayed on maritime frequencies as well as BBC Radio 4 FM and DAB, some are concerned that the gap may not be filled.

Long Wave reaches far out to sea, beyond Fastnet and along the edge of Iceland. Fishermen have even received the midnight news south of the Azores. Through the shash and crackle, many seafarers have leaned over a radio and scribbling down details of the shipping broadcast.

Of course it is not just the vital information imparted by the twice daily shipping broadcasts that those at sea strain their ears to listen to. Others would huddle around the wireless to catch the latest installment of The Archers or a comedy show [Yachting Monthly]. 

For those on terra firma, or not living in the isolation of the Scottish or Welsh hills, the shutting of Droitwich will have little impact. For radio enthusiasts it will be the end of an era. Old radio sets such as the iconic Bush TR82B, designed by David Ogle, will become all the more obsolete. Even Medium Wave is falling into decline with the BBC having switched off most of its local AM and Radio 4 Medium Wave frequencies. National stations like BBC Radio 5 Live [909 kHz and 693 kHz] and commercial networks like TalkSport are still broadcasting on MW, but the dial is gradually filling up with static.

While there have been campaigns calling on the BBC to rethink its planned shutdown of Doitrich, and with it LW transmissions, the BBC says that it is economically unviable [Keep Longwave].

The transmitter relies on two 1 metre long tubes or valves which are no longer made. The BBC is said to have bought up the last of the available tubes. [R-Type / BBC Engineering].

It is unclear whether these remain in reserve or whether the corporation is down to the last two. Either way a failing tube could damage other parts of the transmitter, and maintaining the facility as it is has become more difficult.

Using tube and valve technology, the transmitter is more resilient to EMP, though it is likely that there are parts that use modern electronics which would be vulnerable. But it is the penetration that LW offers that will be lost by the shutdown.

LW can be picked up even under the sea and some have speculated that submarines might even monitor BBC Radio 4 broadcasts in order to determine whether Britain is still there!

The wide coverage of LW has made it valuable during a national emergency. One LW transmitter can cover the entire country while FM or DAB requires a multitude of transmitters and relay stations.

So this begs the question as to why the BBC doesn’t simply upgrade the transmitter to use modern components rather than rely on old valves and tubes. The BBC has said that while possible it would cost many millions of pounds and, as such, an upgrade is not cost-effective.

It maybe that the site will be mothballed and that some of the equipment may be maintained for a ‘rainy day’ when the transmitter might be needed, perhaps for military purposes.

It is not the only switch off that Britain has experienced in recent years. The television terrestrial switchover started on 17th October 2007 and was completed by the 23rd October 2012 resulting in the end of all analogue TV broadcasts.

But even digital TV broadcasting may not be safe. Freeview, as it is commonly referred to, is at threat of being shutdown as household switch to Freely, an internet based service, as well as internet streaming services such as Netflix, Prime and other providers.

It has been predicted that by 2034 Freeview could drop to only 1 million UK homes from 9.7 million today. Its Internet based successor, Freely, is forecast to climb to 10.5 million in the same period. Sky is seeing more subscribers moving to Sky Glass, its Internet based service, rather than making use of a dish and satellite receiver.

And across Britain the telephone infrastructure is undergoing a major overhaul as the country switches from old copper analogue lines to digital VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) lines.

This too threatens to leave some people, especially in rural areas, at risk. Unlike traditional copper wired telephone line which are always live, digital Internet reliant lines are at risk if there are power outages.

Power outages don’t affect traditional telephone lines since back-up generators kick in should the national grid go down.

In a big town or city a modern digital line being unavailable may not pose a major problem since mobile networks would likely fill the gap and enable people to contact emergency services.

But those in rural areas such as the aforementioned Welsh hills could find themselves without any communications at all [Guardian].

There are advantages of digital switchovers. There are few that would argue that CDs sound better that scratchy records. Digital cameras have made photography more accessible and easier. The expensive days of using analogue film are long gone along with the annoying bits of dust on negatives when attempting to print an enlargement in the darkroom.

Perhaps LW is obsolete, given how few radio sets are out there. But the closing down of BBC Radio 4 on the 1500-metre wavelength will be a sad day for many.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Makerfield by-election result not a dead cert

The media appear to have come out of hibernation following parliamentary recess and the Bank Holiday break.

With virtually nothing to report over the previous week apart from the exceedingly warm weather, June has begun with a swathe of headlines.

Polling day nears in the Makerfield by-election, with battle lines drawn. Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe's party, may take some of Farage's wind from his sails as traditional Reform voters drift towards Restore.

It’s been a week of rudeness, rows and revelations in the Makerfield byelection campaign. Not between Andy Burnham and his challengers for the seat – but between Reform UK and its even more rightwing rival, Restore Britain.

Restore has claimed increasing support for their candidate Rebecca Shepherd with polls varying between 7% and 24%. The higher figures may be somewhat optimistic but the swing away from Reform has appeared to rattle Farage who insisted only his candidate, Robert Kenyon, “can stop Andy Burnham." 

"This is a two-horse race – nobody else comes close,” Farage insists.


But it's far from a two horse race. The Makerfield by-election has become a circus with 14 candidates standing.

There are of course the traditional parties, the Conservatives represented by Michael Winstanley, Labour with Andy Burnham contesting the seat, in the hope of later challenging Keir Starmer and oust him from No.10, and the Lib Dems with their candidate Jake Austin. But there are the emerging parties which will certainly shape the political battle grounds.

The parties that will tip the balance in this election are Reform UK, with its  contentious candidate Robert Kenyon, Restore Britain, with its candidate Rebecca Shepherd, and the Green Party with its last minute replacement Sarah Wakefield.

But there are the fringe candidates that may also shape this key political battle.

Often dismissed as a wasted vote, the likes of Count Binface, Alan 'Howlin' Laud Hope of The Official Monster Raving Loony Party, and other single issue candidates could take away votes from the two main contenders, Burnham and Kenyon.

Remember that the by-election for the constituency of Runcorn and Helsby on 1st May 2025 was secured by Reform UK with just 6 votes. Collectively the minor candidates took over 1000 votes.


With many of these leaning to the left or fringe lunacy with the Monster Raving Loony Party taking 128 votes, Reform UK would be unlikely to gain from any of these. Indeed it's likely Labour lost votes to these fringe parties. Labour took 12,639 in Runcorn against Reform UK's 12,645.

While Labour, and particularly the incumbent prime minister Keir Starmer, may be fighting an existential crisis and upon which this by-election hinges, so too is Reform UK.

Farage and his party Reform UK feel as though they are on a roll. Certainly their support has grown. But their base has shifted as their policies and organisational structure has changed.

Traditional more right-leaning supporters have been dismayed as Reform UK has drawn in more ethnic minority candidates. The party's apparent softening of its immigration and repatriation policies has also angered the base who are abandoning the party for Restore Britain which are currently 3% in the polls.

Restore Britain is hardly likely to gain any seats with such low polling. Even with proportional representation, they might barely scrape a single candidate into parliament. But such splits could cost Reform UK many votes, and with many constituencies on a knife-edge, this may be as much an existential crisis for Reform UK.

In the 2024 general election Reform UK revelled in securing five seats in parliament. The impetus was Farage's last minute decision to push out Clacton's candidate and put himself forward. This brought media attention and publicity, and helped bolster the party's position. Farage took the seat from long standing Conservative candidate Giles Watling. With 21,225  votes he now had an 8,405 majority.

Richard Tice's majority was significantly smaller however. In his Boston and Skegness seat Tice has only a 2,010 majority. Lee Anderson, who defected from the Conservatives, maintains a larger 5,508 majority over his Labour rival.

James McMurdock and Rupert Lowe, with 98 and 1,426 majorities respectively, left Reform UK following their wins. Lowe was the first to go after being suspended and started his own party; Restore Britain. McMurdock courted controversy following his election concerning a conviction of assault on his ex-girlfriend dating back to 2006. McMurdock left the party in July 2025 following allegations that he had received £70,000 in Bounce Back business loans during the COVID-19 pandemic and currently stands as an independent MP.

Down to just three elected MPs, Reform UK increased its numbers through a number of Tory defections: Danny Kruger, Robert Jenrick, Andrew Rosindell and Suella Braverman. Its only electoral win since 2024 was the aforementioned Runcorn by-election which was secured by Sarah Pochin.

The Conservatives may have been kicked into the long grass, politically speaking, but Farage and his party are not gaining significant support. If anything much of the Conservative base has swung towards the Lib Dems who are the third biggest party in the Commons with 72 MPs.

Farage's comments following the murder of a white man in Southampton who was mistakenly arrested and handcuffed by police as he lay dying from 9 stab wounds will no doubt come back and haunt him.

Following the release of police body-worn camera footage and the conviction of a Sikh man who had falsely claimed he was the victim of racist abuse, despite being the murderer, Farage said, “I suggest the rest of us respond to this with pure cold rage."

Within hours hundreds of right-wing protesters battled with police in Southampton, throwing bins, bottles and other projectiles in residential streets as they attempted to make their way to the family home of the convicted murderer with some in the crowd shouting “Rupert Lowe”. Despite Hampshire Police saying 11 officers and a police dog were injured during the violent disturbances in Southampton only two arrests were made. [BBC / Daily Mail / Sun]

The following day at PMQs, and as the residents of Southampton were clearing up and repairing the damage caused by the rioters, Farage attempted to further capitalise on events asking whether Nowak’s death was a clear indication of two tier policing.

He was given short shrift by the PM who accused Farage of having no respect for Nowak’s family given they had specifically asked that their son’s murder not be politicised.

During the Reform UK Party leader’s question he was continually heckled from across the house with calls of “shame on you” and suggestions that he condemn the violence seen the previous day.

Instead, Farage went on to suggest there might be further violence to come, whilst battling against boos and heckles.

Amongst those seen to berate the right-wing leader were three Lib Dem MPs. Cameron Thomas, Danny Chambers and Luke Taylor were sitting directly behind the Reform UK leader, heckling and shouting "Condemn the violence!" and "Shame on you!"

They had clearly learnt the ropes of parliamentary protocol and secured their places ahead of Farage’s anticipated question to the PM.

Reform UK is on a "small parties rota" of leaders of the minor parties, and, with eight MPs, qualifies for a question to the PM every seven or eight weeks. Farage had not been in parliament for some time,  but was widely expected to attend this particular session.

Things did not go as swimmingly as he might have expected. He provoked a furious, if pre-prepared, response to his question from the PM and was condemned by MPs across the house both during and after the session.

While he and other Reform MPs sat with smug expressions upon their faces as they were criticised, their arrogance may turn some voters away from the party.

Of course it’s not a certainty that Andy Burnham will sail into a seat with ease. But the conceited attitudes of Reform UK may better his chances.

tvnewswatch, London, UK