The News Agents

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Would a wealth tax save Rachel Reeves? Jul 08, 2025

Show notes

The government has studiously avoided ruling out a wealth tax this week. Minister after minister has refused to knock down the suggestion, despite the Chancellor having dismissed the idea as recently as April. So what's changed? Could a levy on wealthy individuals be on the cards for October's budget? Would it even raise any money - or is Rachel Reeves in danger of scaring wealth creators out of Britain? We speak to the incoming director of the IFS, Helen Miller.

And later, why the failure to produce an 'Epstein client list' is sending MAGA crazy - and why bad bosses who try and gag their employees are due a reckoning.

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Does the government want to sack the BBC boss? Jul 07, 2025

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Labour used to be the party that leapt to the defence of the BBC. So why was the Culture Secretary this weekend calling for heads to roll, saying she was "exasperated" at the broadcaster, and refusing to express confidence its director general Tim Davie?

The BBC has admitted to failings in its Glastonbury coverage, which saw it stream one act chanting "death to the IDF" - despite the corporation later admitting it had deemed them "high risk" before the festival. But those admissions don't appear to have satisfied the government. Is Labour falling out of love with the BBC? And should the BBC be worried? Jon and Emily discuss with Sir Craig Oliver, former BBC News editor turned Downing Street director of politics and communications.

Later, on the twentieth anniversary of the 7/7 bombings, which killed 52 people, injured more than 700, and led to the largest criminal investigation in British history - have we learnt the lessons from the tragedy? Yasmin Khan, a human rights campaigner and friend of the de Menezes family, appears in the Netflix documentary 'Attack on London', and came in to News Agents HQ.

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Live Q&A: One year of Keir Jul 04, 2025

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Twelve months ago, the Conservatives suffered the worst general election result in their near 200 year history and Keir Starmer took up the mantle at Downing Street. It's been turbulent - from riots sweeping the UK, to party divisions and economic uncertainty.

This Friday, Jon and Lewis answer your questions about the Prime Minister's first year in office and look back on how his government is doing.

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Weekend Edition: Tour de France - what does it take to conquer the world's toughest race? - The Sports Agents Jul 04, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to the new-look weekend edition with fresh interviews and content!

With the Tour de France starting this weekend Gabby and Mark try to get their heads around the immense physical and mental challenge of winning one of the world's toughest races. They speak to the winner of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes, Kasia Niewiadoma (06:15), ex-pro cyclist, Adam Blythe, and former Team Sky nutritionist, Nigel Mitchell (21:30).

You can watch our full episodes on YouTube here!

Executive Producer: Adonis Pratsides

Producer: Sophie Penney

Video Producer: Sam Trudgill

Social Media Editor: Calum Scotland

Guest Booker: Kirsty Giddings

Tom Hughes is Editor for The News Agents podcast network

Vicky Etchells is the Commissioning Editor for Global

You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The Sports Agents".

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Is Rachel Reeves now unsackable? Jul 03, 2025

Show notes

Keir Starmer did a round of interviews this morning in a show of support for his Chancellor. And the reason was clear. After she cried in the Commons chamber yesterday the bond markets started to panic.

If Rachel Reeves leaves the government, so the theory goes, her fiscal rules, her commitment to economic discipline, could be revisited. So after a bumpy week - for both Reeves and the government - has she proved to be unsackable?

And if it is the same Rachel Reeves who is to blame for some of the policy blunders made in the first twelve months of Keir Starmer's premiership - is that a problem?

We speak to Wes Streeting about that, as well as if he'd ever be tempted to take Ozempic...

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Why was Rachel Reeves crying at PMQs? Jul 02, 2025

Show notes

There is much we still don’t know or understand about today. Was Rachel Reeves upset by an altercation with the Speaker? Was the issue something more personal? Was she exhausted after the fruitless and demoralising failure of her welfare reform bill? But the sight of the Chancellor at lunch time today fighting back tears at the PM's side was pretty surreal. She looked wounded, fragile and hurt - and inevitably, it’s started speculation she does not have the Prime Minister's full confidence.

The markets are queasy - reflecting a panic that the government is looking less stable. Could the PM be about to sack his own Chancellor? And - how does he reassert his authority for the job he needs to do if the Labour MPs are now directing policy?

We talk to Keir’s former chief of staff Sam White.

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Donald Trump threatens to deport Elon Musk Jul 01, 2025

Show notes

After a lull in the Bro Wars - the sequel. This time Trump is threatening not only to remove Musk's government subsidies but even have him deported. Why? It all goes back to Musk's criticism of Trump's massive spending bill - which gives the wealthy tax cuts and removes Medicaid for 17 million Americans - and would add 3 trillion dollars to America's ballooning deficit. Could Musk start his own party? Will he really prove a political force against Trump? Which speaks louder in America - wealth or executive office?

Later, how shit is Britain? Should we accept the declinist narrative of the country being broken? Or is it being exploited by creepy xenophobes? We speak to Labour MP and former pollster Chris Curtis.

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Does anyone know what the Starmer plan is? Jun 30, 2025

Show notes

Tomorrow, Labour MPs will be asked to vote on the rejigged welfare reform bill. Senior Labour politicians Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham still don’t think it’s worth the paper it’s written on. But the whole debacle has thrown up a bigger question about Starmer's leadership and authority. Does anyone really understand what’s in the PM's mind or what he is trying to achieve? We speak to the Starmer whisperer, Tom Baldwin.

Later, Glastonbury, Bob Vylan and the BBC. And how has Wimbledon now become a symbol of Britain's decline?

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

How to catch a terrorist Jun 27, 2025

Show notes

This Friday, Lewis is joined in the studio by the newest members of the 'agents' family. Neil Basu is former head of Counter Terrorism Policing and Andy Hughes is an investigative journalist who's been covering crime for two decades.

They look back on 2017, a year which the UK experienced a series of devastating terrorist attacks, to talk about what it takes to catch a terrorist, and why some slip through the net.

You can listen to The Crime Agents here: https://www.globalplayer.com/podcasts/42L4DG/

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Weekend Edition: Euros exclusive, Wimbledon's 66,000 tennis balls & is 5-day cricket too long? - The Sports Agents Jun 27, 2025

Show notes

This week on The Sports Agents...

A big exclusive ahead of the Euros with two of England's defending champions, Lauren Hemp & Niamh Charles, Gabby goes behind the scenes at Wimbledon (10:30) and after England's historic comeback we ask ex-England bowler Steven Finn if 5-day cricket is too long? (19:30)

You can watch our full episodes on YouTube here.

Got a question for The Sports Agents? Email us at thesportsagents@global.com

New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

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