Rishi Sunak isn’t much good at interviews. Sir Keir Starmer isn’t that much better. It follows a pattern of politicians become less and less willing to take part in political interviews, which they see as increasingly pointless, all risk and no gain. We ask, does it matter? And why does our democracy lose, as a result? And interest rates rose for again- now at a 15 year high. Torsten Bell joins Lewis to explain where it leaves households and Rishi Sunak’s re-election chances. Editor: Tom Hughes ...
Aug 03, 2023•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Donald Trump has been indicted. Again. But this is the most serious of the lot - a series of conspiracies against the republic itself and an attempt to subvert an election. Emily and Lewis talk what it means for America, Trump and 2024. Jon got bored on holiday and couldn’t resist popping up either. We speak to Trump's former Deputy Press Secretary, Hogan Gidley. Editor: Tom Hughes Senior Producer: Gabriel Radus Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell Video Producer: Will Gibson Smith The News Agen...
Aug 02, 2023•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast House prices have fallen an average of 4% in the last year due to rising interest rates and the knock on effect on mortgages. How low will they go and does anyone think we're on the cusp of a housing crash? We ask esteemed economist Roger Bootle. Also - we’re in Ukraine which has been hitting back - drone attacks on Russian apartment blocks in Moscow. Putin calls it “terrorism“. What does this tell us about the Ukrainian offensive? We speak to Andrew Harding, foreign correspondent and author of ...
Aug 01, 2023•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Emily and Jon host a new weekly podcast; giving you everything you need to know about the world of US politics and how it affects you. Episodes are available every Tuesday exclusively on Global Player and all other platforms every Wednesday. Find the latest episode of News Agents USA here on Global Player.
Aug 01, 2023•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rishi Sunak is handing out around one hundred new oil and gas licences for North Sea drilling and says it is entirely consistent with his plans for net-zero. But his former energy minister has said the government is 'on the wrong side of history'. Can you get to clean energy by going back for more fossil fuels? Will voters thank him at the ballot box if he can make the transition less painful? And what do the Independence-intent SNP make of this? We ask their leader for Westminster, Stephen Flyn...
Jul 31, 2023•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Mayor for Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, says he is a "place first" not a "policy first" politician. In a week where the Greater Manchester Police have been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, Lewis travels to Manchester to meet the Mayor and ask him whether he has confidence in the force. In today's The News Agents, we talk about his relationship with Keir Starmer and the central Labour party, the potential Qatari takeover of Manchester United and the Mayor's political ambitions ...
Jul 28, 2023•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast Andrew Malkinson spent 17 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Yesterday the Court of Appeal finally cleared his name. It is a failure so serious, so unthinkable it barely makes sense. But today Mr Malkinson laid the blame firmly at the door of the police who- he says- concealed and destroyed evidence to mask their mistake. Why isn't this a crime? And what should happen now? We ask a former Director of Public Prosecution, Lord Ken Macdonald. Later, we look at the curious, budding relat...
Jul 27, 2023•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is the global climate crisis already out of control? Lewis' special report from Southern Spain. And, as the boss of NatWest resigns over the Farage - Coutts crisis - why has one man and his bank account consumed national news? Editor: Tom Hughes Senior Producer: Gabriel Radus Producer: Laura FitzPatrick Planning: Alex Barnett Video producers: Rory Symon & Will Gibson Smith Social media editor: Georgia Foxwell The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production....
Jul 26, 2023•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Emily and Jon host a new weekly podcast; giving you everything you need to know about the world of US politics and how it affects you. Episodes are available every Tuesday exclusively on Global Player and all other platforms every Wednesday. Find the latest episode of News Agents USA here on Global Player.
Jul 26, 2023•38 sec•Transcript available on Metacast Labour have promised to simplify and reform the Gender Recognition Act that helps trans people officially change their gender identity. Self ID will NOT be Labour policy - you will still need a medical assessment to transition. And they are drawing clear lines between sex and gender. Will this help politicians answer the toxic question of whether a woman can have a penis? And what does it tell us about Labour's direction of electoral travel? Who are they trying to please? Later we look at the pr...
Jul 25, 2023•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast The pictures from Greece tell a horrifying story of people running for their lives from the wildfires. Southern Europe is locked in unprecedented heatwaves across the continent. But the headlines tell a different story - of our two main parties starting to shift the narrative about net-zero policy - after what seems like a singular By-election upset in Uxbridge. The British public - according to recent YouGov polls - are firmly behind green policies - as long as it doesn't personally hurt too mu...
Jul 24, 2023•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Three by-elections and a win each for the three main parties. Labour won with the biggest electoral swing in their history in Selby and Ainsty, the Lib Dems won a huge majority in Somerton and Frome and the Conservatives just about held their seat in Uxbridge. On the surface, the set of results are better than what the Tories had anticipated. But, better than terrible can still be pretty bad. And does Labour Mayor of London Sadiq Khan need to rethink his ULEZ zone if Labour want to avoid struggl...
Jul 21, 2023•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast What is really up with Nigel Farage's bank account? We discuss, and hear from the man at the centre of what's quickly become a national banking storm. And Defence Committee Chair and senior Tory MP Tobias Ellwood published a video earlier this week extolling the virtues of Afghanistan. Sort of forgetting that the country is led by the murderous Taliban regime. He now faces a no confidence vote. Why on earth did he do that?
Jul 20, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tomorrow voters in three English constituencies will head to the polls. Will the good news on inflation and car plants help Rishi Sunak? Will the backlash over child benefits harm Keir Starmer? Or will none of it make any difference? Has the county already found an inflection point where it's looking for change? We hear from the pollster Lord Andrew Cooper. And we talk to Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo about Barbie and her fall from paradise.
Jul 19, 2023•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Defence secretary Ben Wallace has been one of the stalwarts of this government at a time when many cabinet positions have been musical chairs. But last weekend he suddenly announced he was quitting front line politics. In his first interview since the news broke - he tells Jon why and confirms he's heard rumours of a cabinet reshuffle in the coming days. Later we hear from Jamie Oliver who has been fighting to make Britain’s kids healthier for almost twenty years. Who could forget the infamous t...
Jul 18, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Emily and Jon host a new weekly podcast; giving you everything you need to know about the world of US politics and how it affects you. Episodes are available every Tuesday exclusively on Global Player and all other platforms every Wednesday. Find the latest episode of News Agents USA here on Global Player.
Jul 18, 2023•1 min•Transcript available on Metacast What's happening to Keir Starmer's policies? Yesterday he ditched another one, confirming that he would maintain the Conservative austerity policy that saw child benefit scrapped after two children. Cue major backlash - and today a resignation from a Labour mayor (famously no fan of Starmer) citing too many broken promises from the leader. Meanwhile, Keir is warming to his theme of fiscal prudence. Is it enough to convince people that Labour has a fresh promise? Later, we look at the resurgence ...
Jul 17, 2023•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Shadow Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, grew up in poverty with his single mother on an east London council estate. But if Labour win the next election, he's nailed on to be in the cabinet. His life story - which includes Christine Keeler, finding his feet at Cambridge and coming out as gay - is something he's kept relatively quiet about until the publication of his memoir: One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry Up. In this special edition of The News Agents, Lewis speaks to the Labour MP for Ilford North...
Jul 14, 2023•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast The world's worst kept secret was revealed last night when Huw Edwards was named as the BBC presenter at the centre of the media storm. In an emotional statement, his wife revealed he was in hospital and in a bad way. The Sun decided not to print further allegations. The BBC's own news teams went ahead with new breaking stories. Where do we draw the line between HR complaints and investigative reporting? Former editor of The Sun, David Yelland, is back with us - he asks if the BBC understand the...
Jul 13, 2023•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast 'I love deadlines ... I love the whooshing sound they make when they go by.' Monday 4pm was the cut off for Boris Johnson to hand over his phone and Whatsapp messages to the Covid Inquiry. 48 hours later that phone still hasn't reached its end destination. Johnson says he's cooperating. The phone is with his lawyers. But the inquiry is waiting... Meanwhile the Cabinet Secretary Simon Case has delivered a shot across the bows to his old boss accusing those who criticise the civil service of 'self...
Jul 12, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Another day of stories about a high profile BBC presenter at the centre of a sex scandal and and still no name. Come 4pm, BBC News announced a second young person had come forward with a complaint about the same presenter. We explore how privacy laws work in the media, when social media plays such a huge role - is this the Wild West when it comes to keeping a name out of the public domain?
Jul 11, 2023•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Emily and Jon host a new weekly podcast; giving you everything you need to know about the world of US politics and how it affects you. Episodes are available every Tuesday exclusively on Global Player and all other platforms every Wednesday. Find the latest episode of News Agents USA here on Global Player.
Jul 11, 2023•1 min•Transcript available on Metacast The front pages proclaim just one story in town: the sex photos that were allegedly sold by an underage crack addict to a top BBC presenter. But look a little deeper, and there may be more to this story than meets the eye. What do we know about the money that's changed hands? What does it tell us about the relationship between The Sun newspaper and the BBC? And where is the line between privacy and transparency? Today we talk to former editor of The Sun, David Yelland, who tells us whether he wo...
Jul 10, 2023•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mark Zuckerberg launched his new platform, Threads, this week. It's designed to knock Twitter - owned Elon Musk - off of its perch. This story is a parable of our age. Men of unbelievable wealth and unbelievable power locking battle. Whoever wins, if anyone wins, it will have reverberations on our culture, on our politics, on the tapestry of our lives. And Lewis also talks to the SNP leader for Westminster, Stephen Flynn MP, about his political make-up.
Jul 07, 2023•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast The prospect of another by-election looms after Parliament's standards committee recommended an eight-week suspension of former Conservative whip, Chris Pincher. If the name is familiar, it’s because he was arguably the one who sealed the fate of Boris Johnson and led ultimately to his resignation. Today we discuss the ramifications of the sexual assault and we look at Keir Starmer's pledge to give working class kids better oracy skills.
Jul 06, 2023•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Exclusive footage of Boris Johnson from the One Decision Podcast has been shared with The News Agents. He was facing questions from hosts Julia Macfarlane and Richard Dearlove about Ukraine, democracy and global security. Towards the end, Julia asked him about his own response to British democracy - his refusal to accept the findings of the 'kangaroo court' privileges committee into his wrongdoing. She also asked him about Chris Pincher - the deputy chief whip who resigned from government over s...
Jul 05, 2023•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast The SNP's deputy leader in Westminster, Mhairi Black MP, joins us exclusively in News Agents HQ to announce she's stepping down at the next election. We discuss the "toxic" culture that's led to Black - the youngest MP in 350 years when she was elected in 2015 - to leave parliament, and we ask why so many other MPs won't be standing again.
Jul 04, 2023•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you landed in this country and wondered what its problems were you might see the long queues for the health services, the high inflation, the shortage of workers to fill public sector jobs and the difficulties the country has with its supply chains. The New Conservatives are a new fringe Conservative group trying to solve a different problem. They think we need to cut immigration numbers by 400k, stop foreign workers visas, and offer the jobs (that we can't currently fill) to British workers....
Jul 03, 2023•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rishi Sunak and now former government minister Lord Zac Goldsmith have a war of words over why Goldsmith resigned this morning. Sunak says its because of the latest Privileges Committee report. Goldsmith says it's because Sunak and his government are not serious about climate change. It comes in a week where it's been announced that this June has been the hottest ever, and the head of the Climate Change Committee, Lord Deben, questions how serious the Conservative government are about sticking t...
Jun 30, 2023•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Court of Appeal thwarts Home Secretary Suella Braverman's eye-wateringly expensive Rwanda plan (for now) - cue a government appeal and derision and fury from a number of Tory MPs, some of whom have also been named in the latest Privileges Committee report for their choice language on Twitter and other social media platforms in response to the findings against Boris Johnson a couple of weeks ago. And why are there riots on the streets of Paris? We talk to writer Nabila Ramdani who's reporting...
Jun 29, 2023•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
