The milestone marks more than a decade of bringing Guardian readers worldwide the latest breaking news from Westminster
Over its lifetime, the blog has amassed over 1 billion views in its lifetime and regularly attracts high engagement from readers, often getting more than 10,000 comments a day. The feature has become a mainstay of the news brand’s online content, with other Guardian correspondents contributing to the blog alongside political correspondent Andrew Sparrow.
Politics Live began as a daily election blog in March 2010, before launching as a permanent fixture in May covering the newly-formed coalition government.
Speaking about the history and success of the format, Sparrow said: “In late 2009, the Guardian website led with my Iraq inquiry blog for days, as opposed to a conventional news story. This was a breakthrough moment and showed a huge appetite from readers wanting instant news and reaction in a growing digital world.
He added: “I have always thought of blogging as the first draft of journalism. It may not be the final word, but it’s deeply rewarding, especially in politics with round-the-clock breaking news and reader appetite for snap verdicts. Live blogging offers the space to tell these stories quickly and differently and in great detail, and to engage with readers about it on a minute-by-minute basis.”
Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief of Guardian News & Media, said: “Andrew Sparrow’s live blog has played an essential part in Guardian readers’ lives for a generation, offering commentary and analysis from Britain’s best political blogger.
“Andrew’s blog is a real Guardian success story – we’ve never had so many readers to it and it’s great to see his reporting continuing to capture peoples’ attention over a decade on.”
