The News Agents

Trump's popularity is at record lows. What impact will this have on Americans going to vote in the midterm elections next week? Today we lay out the races to watch on Tuesday night, and ask whether Congress could really go Democrat. What will that mean for American foreign policy, for us, and for the presidential race of 2028? We’re joined by Miles Taylor - Trump's former state department Chief of...

At just 11 years old, James McClean was making petrol bombs on the streets of Derry. Years later, he would be playing in the Premier League. Growing up in the shadow of the Troubles, McClean's journey from the streets of Creggan to 103 caps for the Republic of Ireland and captaining Wrexham during their Hollywood rise has been anything but conventional. In this special episode of The Sports Agents...

The turn out of Arab voters in Israel’s election this week was unprecedented - 800 thousand, or 15 percent, of the country went to the polls. Many were driven there to oust Benjamin Netanyahu from power - the man they blame for security failures, inhumane policies, and rising crime. Today, Netanyahu accused them of “stealing the election” and ordered the intelligence agencies to investigate whethe...

If the Chancellor wanted to deliver a quiet budget then this was probably it. Even the opposition couldn’t find that many big ticket items to criticise, leaving Kemi Badenoch plaintively asking: "is that it?". Big decisions were delayed through taskforces and spending reviews into next year. Small measures will help small businesses, families with skyrocketing energy bills, the high street, and da...

Andy Burnham clearly likes talking about Brexit. This weekend, he said he would welcome an "honest discussion" about the prospect of returning to freedom of movement with the EU. Yesterday, he was reiterating that he'd like to see us rejoining in his lifetime - though insisted that "the public are the bosses". But despite the warm words, it's not actually clear what he's proposing. And, indeed, Do...

It has been a busy weekend of election watching with some stupendous results. In Belgrade, the Russian friendly Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat when a grass roots student movement on an anti corruption platform ended his 12 year hold over Serbia. In Brazil, "Lula's Army" - a ten million strong WhatsApp group - helped the 80-year-old defeat the son of Trump's mate Jair Bolsonaro. What does this mo...

On January 20 2025 Donald Trump marked the first day of his second term as president by signing an executive order creating a new taskforce: the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Led by Musk, who had spent more than $250m on Trump’s presidential campaign, DOGE was charged with slashing federal spending, cutting government waste and reducing the size of the workforce. This Friday, Lewis i...

Next week some 7 million Israelis will go to the polls to decide the future of their country and whether to boot out Benjamin Netanyahu - a man who has dominated their country for nearly three decades. It’s the first election since the massacre of October 7th and his destruction of Gaza. Will voters blame him for the terrorism on home soil? Or will they believe him best placed to defend their inte...

For more than two decades, Christian Horner was at the heart of Formula 1 — building Red Bull Racing into one of the most dominant teams in the sport, managing world champions and navigating the ruthless politics of the F1 paddock. But behind the victories, rivalries and extraordinary success lies a story far more complicated than the trophies suggest. The former Red Bull Racing team principal joi...

There has always been a flamboyance to Donald Trump. His language, his hair, his addiction to the gay Anthem YMCA - but in recent weeks his chat on the campaign trail has become much more explicit. To cut to the chase, he’s spending more and more time talking about men’s arses. Is Trump becoming more unfiltered in his old age? Why does more and more of his recent attention seem to be fixed on the...

Four years of war, an estimated 450,000 deaths – and yet Donald Trump says Russia’s actions in Ukraine have been “fine”. The US president continues to unravel, on camera, as his personal ratings plummet to new lows (just 31% at the latest count) and the Republican Party readies itself for a disastrous midterm election result in November. Once again, Zelensky is on the receiving end of Trump's mood...

After the horrifying scenes of violence and destruction all over France this weekend the Prime Minister has this morning called for partial curfews. Are these protests organic frustration amongst the young over rising costs and falling wages? Or is there a political movement afoot here? And is this something the rest of Europe is catching? Later, former Home Office minister Mike Tapp is fresh back...

The day he was elected for the first time as MP for Clacton, Nigel Farage promised to root out the "few bad apples" from Reform. Farage told the country: "We’ll never have any of their type back in the organisation, you can have my promise on that”. ITV's latest piece undercover in Reform shows just how hollow that promise was. Their own MP Sarah Pochin condemns the "chauvinist" attitude in the pa...

Manchester United’s Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid has left plenty to unpack — not least Lisandro Martinez’s explosive post-match comments. Mark Chapman and Nedum Onuoha react to the biggest talking points from another dramatic week in Europe. Then, we turn to something far less visible but increasingly common inside football: Snus and nicotine pouch use. Why has nicotine become so nor...

ITV spent a year undercover with various elements of the Reform party. Last night, they published a taste of what is to come in the full programme this Sunday. The misogyny, racism, bigotry and stupidity is off the charts. Three councillors have resigned. Are they outliers? Or do they tell us what the party is really like? And is the Chairman right when he says this is just what ordinary Britain s...

Just days after Donald Trump signed a deal with Vladimir Putin to import Russian oil into America, Ukraine has been dealt a new blow from the US. Elon Musk has been accused of restricting the use of his Starlink devices - crucial satellites used by Ukraine in their war against the Kremlin. Why does it appear that MAGA seems intent on throwing the war for Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and, as Andy Burnham h...

Andy Burnham seems set on bringing the UK closer to the EU. How much closer still isn't clear - but some in Labour are now talking up the possibility of reversing Brexit entirely. Some Red Wall MPs aren't happy with that, but if Downing Street is serious about getting some growth into the economy, wouldn't it be one of the obvious levers to pull? And given, as the PM says, the public has moved mor...

Donald Trump knows who his friends are and who his enemies are. And in 2026, with midterm elections just days away, Trump has decide his friend is Putin and his job is to lift sanctions to buy Russian oil - enriching the Kremlin in the process. He’s hoping it will bring down the price of diesel to convince consumers to vote for his party in the elections. But it’s a move that smacks of cowardice a...

For Polanski, this was supposed to be a defining moment. He chose to put his own leadership on the line in the seat vacated by Keir Starmer. Instead, Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali won with 45% of the vote. With questions over the Greens’ economic offer, internal divisions and the fallout from their controversial conference motion on Zionism, is this the moment Polanski’s movement meets the limits of it...

After the boardroom drama of the last fortnight the Premier League is back and focus shifts to Manchester City’s players who face the court of public opinion for the first time since the guilty verdicts at Anfield. It’s going to be a bear pit and, as Liverpool await, lifelong City fan Nedum Onuouha opens up for the first time about how the Manchester City financial case has changed his relationshi...

Donald Trump’s latest campaign rally for the midterms was beset with hecklers as the president urged Texans to vote Republican. It was his third trip to the traditionally ruby red state this month alone. He made some characteristically inaccurate statements on stage, including calling Democratic senate candidate James Talarico a "christian who hates christianity", who also believes God is "transge...

Kemi Badenoch's speech to the Tory party conference was much trailed for its tax cuts and its economic adventurism. What was not expected, however, was the manner in which she would choose to sock it to Reform. Drawing on her own family experiences, she called out the ethno-nationalism of the parties on her right, swearing she would not “unite with THAT”. This on the same day the Reform party - ma...

How did a woman who consented to sex with one man end up being allegedly raped by seven? Why was her 'availability' shared on a frat house Snapchat group? And what do newly released phone transcripts tell us about what went on in the subsequent weeks? We delve into the horrifying Cornell University rape case that has divided America and ask how Trump has, once again, decided where the nation’s sym...

The Greens have become the first UK political party to call for a one state solution in Israel - and passed a motion asserting that "Zionism is fundamentally incompatible with anti racist principles, equality and justice". The conference in Brighton voted to "support the establishment of a single democratic Palestinian state" - but rejected an amendment which would have clarified that the motion w...

The Green party has growing pains. Its conference in Brighton this year is bustling - even despite members being urged to spend their time campaigning in Holborn and St Pancras this weekend. There's a big media presence. And there's a lot to celebrate; not least the local election results and that pivotal Gorton and Denton by-election win earlier this year. But that's only one side of the picture....