Rob Parsons looks at a story playing out in the North that sits squarely in the middle of two huge issues Keir Starmer and the Labour government want to be judged on at the next election: economic growth and the net zero agenda. In the coming days the Hull-based firm Vivergo Fuels will find out whether it has a viable future, or whether it will have to start the process of laying off its 160 employees because of the impact of this year's trade deal signed between the UK and Donald Trump's USA. B...
Aug 14, 2025•20 min
For a lot of football fans around the country, the season is getting under way this weekend. But in South Yorkshire and on the Lancashire coast, two sets of fans will have a very real sense of trepidation that their clubs are about to disappear. Sheffield Wednesday and Morecambe don't have much in common in terms of their football histories, but are both in dire financial trouble and face sanctions from football authorities. Rob and Liam talk to Liverpool academic and football accounting expert ...
Aug 07, 2025•46 min
There's still several years until we're likely to get another General Election, but it's no longer a stretch to consider the possibility of Nigel Farage as Prime Minister and Reform UK as the ruling party. Until very recently however, we had precious little evidence of how and what Reform would actually do in power, since they had very little experience of actually running anything. All that changed in May though, as the party swept to victory in a host of local and mayoral elections across the ...
Jul 30, 2025•33 min
This week, Rob Parsons and Liam Thorp digest the big news that could get us closer to the truth about the violent clashes between police and striking miners four decades ago that are still a source of huge anger in parts of our region even now. Plus Liam tells us about his trip on the new form of transport that's been gliding about the streets of Liverpool. And there are some worrying new stats that show for all of Labour's warm words about tackling child poverty, things in many parts of the ...
Jul 24, 2025•33 min
With Oasis' Manchester gigs the talk of the town, even senior politicians like Commons Leader Lucy Powell can't resist making groan-inducing puns about the Gallagher brothers' classic songs. But with the five Heaton Park concerts generating tens of millions of pounds, how can we ensure the wider community benefits? And Liam tells us about his Oasis experience standing in front of Boltonian icon Vernon Kay. Elsewhere, after the tragic death of a child in Liverpool from measles, why are fewer and ...
Jul 17, 2025•46 min
It's hard to believe a law that came into effect 200 years ago is still in force today. And on the podcast this week, Liam Thorp explains why the repeal of the cruel Vagrancy Act - which dates back to 1824 - can't come soon enough. Rob Parsons looks into why university leaders are trying to persuade the Government about the vital economic impact international students have on towns and cities in the North of England - and why there could be a lot at stake if they don't succeed. And as Liam head...
Jul 10, 2025•39 min
This week we're marking exactly one year since Keir Starmer and Labour won the 2024 General Election. But what's the last 12 months of a Labour government meant for the North, has Sir Keir lived up to his promises or have things just got worse? That's what Rob and Liam are discussing on this week's episode, as they reflect on the good and bad of Starmer's first year (including some policies they definitely won't be talking around down the Dog and Duck in Beverley). Plus: How much is Andy Bu...
Jul 04, 2025•49 min
With Liam Thorp off this week, Rob Parsons spends today's episode looking into one of the perennial bugbears of politicians across the North: potholes. They're a big issue for voters - and the new Labour government has told local councils they must publicly report on what they're doing to keep our roads fit for driving by June 30 or risk losing their share of an additional £500 million of funding. In this episode of The Northern Agenda Podcast, we’ll explore what this means for councils, the roa...
Jun 30, 2025•28 min
Why are so many private hire taxi drivers in the North of England licensed in Wolverhampton - and what's that got to do with the grooming gangs scandal? Rob Parsons and Liam Thorp have a Northern take on this week's big report into child sexual exploitation in this week's Northern Agenda podcast as they take a look at the big political stories across the region. There's also the fascinating case of the Merseyside man who successfully won a court battle to avoid paying his licence fee because he ...
Jun 19, 2025•31 min
Rachel Reeves gave her long-awaited spending review statement setting out where she and Keir Starmer are going to be spending their money between now and the General Election. But which of the Chancellor's announcements will have the biggest impact on the North? Which Northern town got more mentions than anywhere else? Which Labour MP produced a cringeworthy display of sycophancy and which Labour mayor gave the Government both barrels? This week Rob Parsons and Liam Thorp are joined by Henri Mur...
Jun 12, 2025•40 min
This week Rob and Liam dissect the big announcement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves of a multi-billion pound cash bonanza for the North's transport services, what it'll mean for people who want to get about the region and why it feels very different to when Rishi Sunak announced the exact same thing less than two years ago. And Rob has an interview with Wes Streeting where he quizzed the Health Secretary on his controversial shake-up of the NHS, whether he wants to hand control of health servic...
Jun 06, 2025•1 hr 2 min
This week Rob Parsons speaks to one of the leading voices in the region, if not the country, on the all-important issue of how we can ensure everyone has a chance to succeed in life regardless of their background. The concept is also called social mobility, and in 2010 a body called the Social Mobility Commission was set up to hold the country and the Government of the day to account on whether things are actually improving in this respect. Its chair Alun Francis has years of experience on the ...
May 27, 2025•34 min
This week on the Northern Agenda, Rob and Liam chat about the new buzzword for the North, replacing the 'Northern Powerhouse' and 'levelling up'. What does it mean and why does it matter? Rob reports back from a big-money property and development conference in Leeds where Northern politicians are desperate to make connections with investors, but it turns out so are the people running our big football clubs. With Radio 1's Big Weekend and a trophy parade for Liverpool Football Club, Liam tells ...
May 23, 2025•39 min
The Northern Agenda podcast is back, bringing you more weekly insights into the big issues affecting the North of England. This time, Rob Parsons is joined by new co-host Liam Thorp, political editor of the Liverpool Echo, to talk about the biggest politics stories in the North from a Northern perspective. Rob and Liam look at how Nigel Farage's Reform UK have been getting on now they have their first Northern MP and run several councils and local authorities in our region. Plus Liam explains wh...
May 16, 2025•44 min
The Northern Agenda is back and this time, Rob Parsons is joined by Liverpool Echo political editor Liam Thorp for your weekly fix of the political stories that really matter to the North! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 13, 2025•2 min
Rob Parsons hosts a special mayoral hustings edition of The Northern Agenda podcast, brought to you from the home of the Hull Daily Mail and Hull Live. We are just a few days away from finding out who is going to be chosen by voters for a job that's never existed before, but could have a huge impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of people north of the River Humber. After May 1's elections, the seven metro mayors across the North - the likes of Andy Burnham and Ben Houchen - will be joine...
Apr 24, 2025•53 min
In the final episode of The Northern Agenda's Our Kids In The North podcast, Rob Parsons and Annie Gouk look at the choices facing young people in our region when they reach 16. That’s the age when they no longer have to stay in school but they do have to stay in some form of education or training until the age of 18, so that opens up options like starting an apprenticeship, taking a vocational course like a T Level or pursuing further education with A Levels with a view to going to university. ...
Feb 20, 2025•58 min
"It's really difficult being a kid at the moment. And that's for a whole host of reasons. You see that with the increased mental health problems our children are facing. You see that with the issue of attendance at school. You see that with issues of family breakdown, issues of poverty. And those issues have been worsened by the pandemic." Jim Lauder, Assistant Vice Principal, Dixons Trinity Academy This week on The Northern Agenda's series Our Kids In The North, Rob Parsons and Annie Gouk loo...
Feb 13, 2025•1 hr 14 min
Most people listening to this podcast will likely have been able to take for granted having a loving family to look after them as they grew up. But for tens of thousands of children in the North, that is not the case. For a host of reasons, whether it’s a risk of harm, their parents being too unwell to look after them or just the absence of any one to take parental responsibility, they have been put into the care of the state. And the North has way more looked after children than it should do. A...
Feb 06, 2025•49 min
The scandal of grooming gangs targeting vulnerable girls in places like Rotherham and Oldham has dominated the news in 2025. But this week on the podcast Rob Parsons sheds a light on a sickening crime that’s had a lot less publicity. Child sex abuse by family members is far more common than most people think. But in one part of the North of England, West Yorkshire, the region’s mayor, a children’s charity and even a leading broadcaster want to help victims talk about their experience to stop oth...
Jan 30, 2025•37 min
The North in Numbers takes over The Northern Agenda: Our Kids in the North for this episode, looking at the human stories behind the stats. Annie Gouk, Data Investigations Editor at Reach and host of our sister podcast, explores the data on the rising cost and lack of availability of childcare, and what this means both for working parents, and for kids when it comes to being ready for school. She speaks to: ⬆️ Steve Rotheram, the Mayor of Liverpool City Region, on the masterplan to tackle staff ...
Jan 23, 2025•52 min
Our Kids in the North, a new series from The Northern Agenda, launched with a focus on the big societal problem that you can’t escape if you’re talking about children in the North of England: poverty. In the second episode of our podcast, Rob Parsons talks about a part of the country that has so much going for it, but where the high rates of poverty are holding back the potential of tens of thousands of young people. Nearly one in three child are living in poverty in the North East - but local l...
Jan 16, 2025•40 min
The Northern Agenda presents Our Kids In The North - a special series of episodes looking at what it's like to be a young person in the North of England. Over six episodes Rob Parsons and data journalist Annie Gouk will be exploring topics like the state of Northern schools, the early years of children in our region, why there are so many young people in care in the North and the options available to pupils after they leave school. There are 3.3 million people under the age of 18 in Northern Eng...
Jan 09, 2025•45 min
Northern Agenda editor Rob Parsons previews our brand new series, Our Kids in the North. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 19, 2024•2 min
The Northern Agenda podcast is changing - and our editor Rob Parsons shares the details! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 07, 2024•3 min
For the last five days the eyes of the political world have been focusing on Liverpool's waterfront for Labour party conference, its first in power for 15 years. Thousands of people have piled into venues around the city, from party members and MPs to business leaders, metro mayors and of course senior Cabinet members - many of whom are from the North - and their teams. Rob Parsons spent two days ducking in and out of fringe events and drinks receptions, as did Jo Timan of the Manchester Evening...
Sep 27, 2024•35 min
If you're into politics it's likely you'll be heading to, or at the very least reading about, one of the big party conferences happening this autumn. By far the biggest is Labour's annual get-together in Liverpool, their first as a new government. And anyone who's interested in the future direction of the Labour party will want to Rob Parsons' interview with one of its most interesting new MPs, Josh Simons, MP for Makerfield in Greater Manchester. He's a former advisor to Jeremy Corbyn ...
Sep 20, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Only a few weeks ago the big story in many of our Northern communities was the rioting and disorder we saw this summer, seemingly sparked by the horrific killing in Southport. We saw violence break out across the country but it seemed like much of it was in the North, places like Sunderland and Darlington, Blackpool, Hull, Preston and Liverpool. Since then we've seen a steady stream of the perpetrators hauled before the courts and in some instances handed hefty prison sentences. But with the dus...
Sep 13, 2024•34 min
There's a definite 'back to school' feeling in the air in politics this week. The news agenda is already being dominated by the issues that we're going to be hearing about again and again in the coming months - small boats, the housing crisis and the ravaged state of the public finances. It's back to school for the North's politicians too, and with Westminster resuming after the summer break this week a new Labour MP, Hexham's Joe Morris, is leading not one but two debates in the Commons and has...
Sep 03, 2024•37 min
The Northern Agenda tries to think outside of the box when it comes to both our newsletter and podcast, and in this week’s episode, our guest does exactly that. Tina Catling is a renowned innovation consultant, author, and speaker, who advises organisations and people around the world on how to unlock creative potential and innovation. She has been running her Leeds-based business ThinkOTB with her partner Mark Davies for 30 years. She tells The Northern Agenda's Dan McLaughlin about her diagnos...
Aug 30, 2024•37 min
