The News Agents

Latest Episodes:

Is Britain becoming irrelevant? Jan 26, 2023

Show notes

The News Agents are on Nadhim-watch. Alas there have been no actual sightings of him this week, but he’s been talked about plenty.

And now, the head of HMRC has been speaking about tax penalties, and not helpfully for the Tory party chairman, who appears to be edging ever closer to the brink.

There was further bad news for the government this morning as the latest car production figures show production is now down to its lowest level for over 60 years. Why? Is it another stark illustration of Britain's shrinking manufacturing industries?

And Donald Trump has got his Facebook account back, but he’s very much on probation.

Socials: Georgia Foxwell

Video: Will Gibson-Smith

Planning: Alex Barnett

Production: Gabriel Radus

Editor: Tom Hughes

Executive Producer: Dino Sofos

For exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Is the job too big for Rishi Sunak? Jan 25, 2023

Show notes

In Prime Minister's Questions this afternoon, Leader of the Opposition Keir Starmer landed the blow that seems to have thus far defined political discourse since PM Rishi Sunak took office. Is he too weak to sack ministers when he needs to? Is the job just too big for him? We discuss.

And, Germany and the US have agreed to send tanks to Ukraine to help ward off Russia's invasion. Are tanks useful in modern warfare? What does this mean for the Ukrainian war effort? And will this shift the dial in a war that appears to be stagnating? We ask the former Commanding Officer of one of Britain's tank regiments, Hamish de Bretton-Gordon.

Socials: Georgia Foxwell

Video: Will Gibson-Smith

Planning: Alex Barnett

Production: Gabriel Radus

Editor: Tom Hughes

Executive Producer: Dino Sofos

For exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Is Sunak too weak to sack Zahawi? Jan 24, 2023

Show notes

Nadhim Zahawi’s tax affairs are now becoming a problem for Rishi Sunak. The PM has asked for a full acount of what happened - a change of tune from last week when he said there was nothing to see. Does the PM show resilience from holding on to a colleague under-fire? Or weakness by refusing to face the awkward facts?

And we speak to YouTube megastar Nas Daily about Chat GPT and replacing creatives with AI, artificial intelligence.

Socials: Georgia Foxwell

Video: Will Gibson-Smith

Planning: Alex Barnett

Production: Gabriel Radus

Editor: Tom Hughes

Executive Producer: Dino Sofos

For exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Are the Tories running the BBC? Jan 23, 2023

Show notes

The BBC's mantra is that impartiality - and the perception of impartiality - must be at its core.

Yet following revelations in The Sunday Times we are coming to understand the nature of the relationship between the former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his financial needs, and the current Chairman of the BBC - an old friend of his, Richard Sharp.

Today, we ask why the Chairman failed to declare details that might have compromised that impartiality. And we speak to former Chair of the BBC Board Diane Coyle, who is horrified at what has emerged.

We approached the BBC for comment before publishing this episode.

Video: Will Gibson-Smith

Planning: Alex Barnett

Production: Gabriel Radus

Editor: Tom Hughes

For exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The News Agents is executive produced by Dino Sofos.

Degrees, Debt, Despair: uni students in 2023 Jan 20, 2023

Show notes

In our 100th episode, are students the forgotten part of our society? They're facing the cost of living crisis, a now near-permanent graduate tax, and many complain about the quality of their courses.

On this episode Lewis spends time with a group of Manchester students whose halls have vermin, and for which they're paying a pretty penny. And we take you through one of the biggest misunderstandings of modern British politics- how the student loan system, has stopped really working as a loans system, and is now, for all intents and purposes, a stealth tax.

Socials: Georgia Foxwell

Video: Will Gibson-Smith

Production: Gabriel Radus

Editor: Ellie Clifford

For exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The News Agents is executive produced by Dino Sofos.

Sir Keir Starmer on Brexit, the Met Police and "being a lad" Jan 19, 2023

Show notes

Up an icy cold Swiss mountain, Sir Keir Starmer talked exclusively and at length to The News Agents. Will the UK ever rejoin the EU? What should happen to the Metropolitan Police and what do his kids think of his political ambition?

Socials: Georgia Foxwell

Video: Will Gibson-Smith

Planning: Alex Barnett

Production: Gabriel Radus

Editor: Tom Hughes

For exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The News Agents is executive produced by Dino Sofos.

Brexit home truths at Davos Jan 18, 2023

Show notes

Emily and Jon are in the Swiss mountain village of Davos. Luckily, for them, they're in the same mountain village as some of the world's most important people. It’s a power magnet, and a place to find out what people are thinking about Britain right now.

We catch up wih William Hague - former Tory leader - who tells us Brexit is to blame for the collapse of the company Britishvolt. And we doorstep filmmaker Richard Curtis, of Love Actually. And with the Managing Director of The World Bank.

Socials: Georgia Foxwell

Video: Will Gibson-Smith

Planning: Alex Barnett

Production: Gabriel Radus & Dino Sofos

Editor: Tom Hughes

For exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The News Agents is executive produced by Dino Sofos.

The Union and Gender politics collide Jan 17, 2023

Show notes

Two of the big conflicts which define British politics- the culture war and the war for the Union, have fused together.

The Scottish government's controversial Gender Recognition Bill, which would make it easier for people to legally change their gender and hailed by some as a great advance for trans rights, has been blocked, vetoed by the UK government.

UK ministers claim it would impact UK wide equalities legislation. In this episode, Lewis takes you through both the substance of the issue at hand but also how it is just the latest staging post on a constitutional clash of wills between Westminster and Holyrood, and how both issues, already fraught and volatile, are becoming interwoven making both all the more unstable still.

Socials: Georgia Foxwell

Video: Will Gibson-Smith

Planning: Alex Barnett

Production: Gabriel Radus

Editor: Tom Hughes

For exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The News Agents is executive produced by Dino Sofos.

Suella, The Home Office and the Holocaust survivor Jan 16, 2023

Show notes

It's quite a thing to pick a fight with a Holocaust survivor.

But this weekend, The Home Office asked for the removal of a social media clip that showed Joan Salter MBE confronting Home Secretary Suella Braverman over what she called 'dehumanising' rhetoric around refugees.

The Home Office said the clip did not show the full exchange and had been heavily edited. Was the clip unfair? In stepping in, did the Home Office act out of order? And what does it tell us more widely about the government's communications issues after a weekend where Rishi Sunak also came unstuck with questioning over Scottish independence. We talk to former Director of Comms at Downing Street Sir Craig Oliver about how you get this stuff right.

And, classified documents at three of Biden's residences. Is this any different to Trump's document hoarding at Mar-a-Lago? And does this reinvigorate Trump's 2024 presidential bid and stymie Biden's re-election tilt?

Socials: Georgia Foxwell

Video: Will Gibson-Smith

Planning: Alex Barnett

Production: Gabriel Radus

Editor: Tom Hughes

For exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The News Agents is executive produced by Dino Sofos.

Is Labour shifting on Brexit? Jan 13, 2023

Show notes

It's been said for years that Labour have been too scared to touch the political lightning rod of Brexit, for fear of losing yet another general election.

But, what if that dial is shifting now? What if Keir Starmer's party feel so comfortable in their lead in the polls that the question of Brexit is reopened? He's been in Belfast, today, outlining measures that would soften the terms of the Brexit the UK subjected itself to two years ago. We talk to Labour MP Chris Bryant, and political commentator Steve Richards about whether Starmer is playing his cards right.

And, the epidemic of homelessness gets worse. Lewis visits a food station in Central London to talk to the homeless about a crisis and speaks to the CEO of Shelter Polly Neate about the increase of families without a permanent home.

Research: Megan McElroy

Socials: Georgia Foxwell

Video: Will Gibson-Smith

Planning: Alex Barnett

Production: Gabriel Radus & Ellie Clifford

Editor: Tom Hughes

For exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The News Agents is executive produced by Dino Sofos.