The News Agents

JD Vance has had his sights on the UK since becoming vice president - fixating on our free speech laws, criticising Britain in strong terms. But is that part of a wider movement? There is evidence of a growing concerted effort, by rich and organised American advocacy groups, setting their sights on the UK, trying to influence public mood and indeed politics itself. Tommy Robinson is claiming that...

The Conservatives have accused Keir Starmer and those around him of wilfully forcing the collapse of a trial involving two young British men accused of spying for the Chinese government - allegations they deny. Security minister Dan Jarvis got to his feet in the Commons last night to angrily deny Kemi Badenoch's attacks - it's all the fault of the last Conservative government was his counter charg...

The 20 living hostages, taken captive on October 7th two years ago, have been freed from Gaza and now begin to try and piece together shattered lives. In Gaza, Palestinians are returning to homes of rubble - free of gunfire - but displaced and dispossessed. The politicians are telling a different story today, full of victory laps and self praise. In Israel's Knesset, Donald Trump spoke of a "new d...

After the brilliant response to episode 1 of Coining It, here's episode 2. If you don't want to wait for episode 3 on this feed, all episodes are available now, on Global Player or wherever you get your podcasts. James Parker has turned a digital glitch into a fortune. Most would keep it quiet - but not James. The newly minted millionaire flaunts his wealth across Blackpool, playing Robin Hood to...

As this year’s party conference season draws to a close, Lewis sits down with Neil Kinnock to reflect on his iconic 1985 Labour Conference speech. They discuss leadership, the power of political courage, and what the future holds for the Labour Party. Visit our new website for more analysis and interviews from the team: https://www.thenewsagents.co.uk/ The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK...

Gabby and Mark answer all of your questions from building their 'dream athlete' and their favourite Match of The Day moment so far, to England winning a home Rugby World Cup and the Ryder Cup crowds. Plus, we look back at this week on The Sports Agents. Double Olympic champion and Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas joined us in the studio to talk about how recent pro-Palestinan protests might ch...

Israel and Hamas have agreed to the initial phase of a ceasefire plan in Gaza. Donald Trump announced the agreement saying all hostages would be released, and Israel would withdraw troops. There have been celebrations on the streets in Gaza and Israel, but is the peace plan going to last? And does the President now have an outside chance of securing the Nobel Peace Prize? Later in the show we spea...

To rapturous applause and a full throated national anthem, Kemi Badenoch delivered the speech that may just have saved her job. She promised to end stamp duty, abolish VAT on private schools and scrap farmers inheritance tax. She will also ban doctors from striking, cancel university courses she doesn’t rate, and dismantle the structure of Britains human rights protection. Will this move the dial...

 Robert Jenrick has doubled down on remarks - from a speech he made in March - just leaked to The Guardian. In it he rued the 90 minutes he spent in Handsworth saying it was “like a slum” and wondering “where all the white faces were”. He insists he’s talking about the need for integration and community cohesion. So how’s that working out? Later we report live from Manchester on the new Conservat...

This week at a depleted Tory conference Kemi Badenoch must try and convince her party of its need to exist and of her own place at the top of it. The problem, though, is many voters simply haven’t heard of her. Is anonymity worse than unpopularity? And how does she make new policy announcements without sounding like Reform-lite? We talk to Luke Tryl from More in Common. Later, what does the ECHR r...

Here's a new podcast you might like - this is episode 1 of Coining It. All episodes are available now, on Global Player or search for 'Coining It' wherever you get your podcasts. In a damp Blackpool flat, James Parker is broke, restless, and stuck in a life going nowhere - until he discovers a glitch in a Bitcoin trading platform that begins pouring millions into his account. Most people would kee...

Should pro-Palestine protests be going ahead in the immediate aftermath of the attack on a north Manchester synagogue? Could Keir Starmer's days be numbered? Is Nigel Farage a snowflake for his response to claims that his deportations policy is racist? And has the Tory party ever felt this irrelevant? Lewis and Jon answer your questions in this Q&A episode. Visit our new website for more analy...

Three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker joins Gabby and Mark on The Sports Agents to talk about his time in prison. The former world number one was sentenced to over two years in jail after going bankrupt. So how did he go from tennis glory to prison? What was it like living with murderers and drug dealers? And how did he feel watching Wimbledon from a jail cell? Plus, we look back at the best...

A terrorist attack on a synagogue in Manchester has left two people dead and several others fighting for their lives on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. The prime minister has cut short his trip to Denmark to chair Cobra - as police investigate whether the perpetrator was known to security. Manchester is sadly once again coming together to reject hatred in the aftermath of appalling violenc...

Earlier this week President Trump announced his so-called "Board of Peace", to help bring an end to the war in Gaza. He also announced that Tony Blair would be a member. He's a "very good man", Trump said. But considering his legacy in the region, is the former Prime Minister really the person to work alongside Trump and Netanyahu to bring about peace? Later in the show, Emily speaks with the play...

The PM took on what he called the "enemies of national renewal" in his conference speech today - accusing Nigel Farage of exploiting the “politics of grievance”. Keir Starmer instead pledged a Britain "built for all" - he spoke of the fight for the "soul" of the country. It was all spelt out in quite stark terms, and Starmer's clearest enunciation yet that he sees Farage and Reform, not Badenoch a...

Labour politicians are upping their attacks on Nigel Farage and Reform UK in Liverpool. Rachel Reeves took to the conference stage to brand Farage "the single greatest threat to our way of life". And over the weekend, Keir Starmer levelled the accusation that Reform's policy on deporting migrants with indefinite leave to remain was "racist". The shift in tone is not without risk - with the tabloid...

Cast your mind back to last year in Liverpool and it's hard to imagine much more of a contrasting picture to this year's Labour party conference. Then, party members were still basking in the glow of the election victory, Keir Starmer applauded as the leader who'd defied the odds and returned Labour to power. Now? Leadership jockeying is well underway, a deputy leadership battle could further divi...

In many ways, Leo Varadkar was a historic Taoiseach. The youngest Irish PM, the first from an ethnic minority, and the first openly gay head of government. His time at the top of Irish politics was also historic - he grappled with Trump's first term, the Brexit years, and the Covid pandemic. At just 44 years of age, he walked away from politics. But he is still fascinated - even obsessed - by the...

Gabby is joined by Ruby Tui - the nation has fallen in love with this World Cup winner and Olympic medallist over this Women's Rugby World Cup. She tells her story, from calling King Charles "bruv", to escaping domestic abuse, and getting 40,000 fans to sing a Maori folk song after winning a home World Cup. Ahead of Saturday's final, Ruby says it's an honour to witness this moment in sporting hist...

It feels like Andy Burnham is everywhere right now. Interviews in the New Statesman and The Telegraph have propelled the question of his leadership ambitions into Keir Starmer’s face. Does he have a really chance of challenging the PM? And what is his vision for Labour if so? Later, we interview comedian and director of The Producers, Patrick Marber, about Nazi satire, Jimmy Kimmel and Tommy Robin...

Ed Davey closed the Lib Dem conference with a warning not to let Trump’s America become Farage's Britain. What might have sounded hyperbolic 24 hours ago sounded prescient by 8 am this morning - after Farage went on LBC and refused to distance himself from Trump's Tylenol conspiracy and then segued neatly into a discussion about immigrants eating swans (the Royal Park’s police deny all knowledge o...

The US president is pushing his health secretary’s latest conspiracy theory from the White House. This one links a paracetamol painkiller with autism in pregnant women - a claim which has been discredited by numerous large scale studies and scientists. But is the damage already done? Today our own health secretary took to the television to warn women not to listen to the US president. How damaging...

The PM's recognition of a nominal state or Palestine has provoked a furious response from the right flank of the Israeli government - several members of which are openly calling on their own government to now seize the occupied West Bank in retaliation. Israel says this is a reward for Hamas and that Keir Starmer is concerned with his own party management - is there any truth to any of that? Why i...

Imagine if the Industrial Revolution took place over 10 years instead of 100. Imagine if most human labour was about to become redundant. Imagine if machines transformed our economy, our society, our politics. You'd think politicians would be talking about it, making policies to manage it - leading a critical national conversation, perhaps even raising the alarm. Well you don't need to imagine it....