The News Agents

Liz Truss has sacked her Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, and u-turned on her corporation tax cut. But without him, and the economic policy which defined her premiership, what does she stand for now? How long will she survive as Prime Minister and will she lead the Conservatives into the next election? Lewis is joined by Katy Balls, Deputy Political Editor of The Spectator, and Michael Jacobs, Professor...

It's so bad for our prime minister that even the King seemed to express dismay when he was caught on mic saying "dear oh dear" to his PM. As half the government briefs journalists that U-turns are on the horizon, and the other half refutes the concept as preposterous, the only thing that's clear is that it is dark days for this Conservative government, and for Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng. Could w...

More government U-turns, gossip from an Anti Growth Coalition drinks party, and a PMQs debrief. Ian Blackford, SNP’s leader in Westminster also pops in to News Agents HQ for a chat. Production: Gabriel Radus Deputy 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-ag...

The Daily Mail Group - Associated Newspapers - has been accused of 'abhorrent criminal activity' by Doreen Lawrence - mother of the murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence. She's lodged a claim in the High Court along with Prince Harry, Elton John, David Furnish, Elizabeth Hurley, Sadie Frost and former Lib Dem MP Simon Hughes. They allege the papers engaged in unlawful acts - including the hiring of p...

Kyiv awoke to bombs, explosion and the sour smell of retaliation. Putin had spent his 70th birthday weekend watching his precious road bridge that linked Crimea to mainland Russia blown to pieces. And today was his fightback. Revenge served just two days cold. 75 missiles launched at targets across Ukraine. Poeple on their way to work. Parks, children’s playgrounds all the seemingly pointless targ...

The National Grid has warned that British households could face power blackouts this winter, if the energy crisis exacerbates. But Liz Truss' government has ruled out any energy conservation campaign. Why? And it's been a hectic few weeks at the major party conferences, but what do the voters really think of the state of politics? Lewis went to a focus group in Swindon to ask what they make of Liz...

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has given us her 'I have a dream speech'. She got misty eyed as she imagined a newspaper front page showing a plane full of asylum seekers being deported to Rwanda. We seem to have come a long way from Martin Luther King. But as the PM heads off to Prague to talk migrant crossings with her friend-or-foe Emmanuel Macron, we thought we'd take a look at the plan for To...

Prime minister Liz Truss closed her conference with a speech about things she hated. These included people from north London townhouses who taxi to the BBC, tweet and go on podcasts. So Jon - who is all of these - is feeling slightly wounded. She coined a new phrase for her collective dislikes, “the anti growth coalition“ - a phrase that rather reminded us of Donald Trump's old playlist,“enemies o...

A senior Conservative MP has told The News Agents Liz Truss is facing a critical moment and may have just ten days to save her job. Party discipline appears to be crumbling before our eyes. Ministers are openly touting policies they favour or reject and some are even telling each other to quietly go away. There is a restlessness at the Conservative Party Conference which tells you things haven’t r...

Somewhere between the hours of 10pm and midnight, on the opening day of the Conservative conference, a screeching U-turn was made. The Prime Minister, who’d insisted just yesterday her top rate tax cut was here to stay, decided… it wasn’t. By 7am this morning the whole policy had been ditched. Changes in unpopular policy can be a good thing. But if Liz Truss and her chancellor thought this would e...

It’s been a chaotic week in British politics. The slide of sterling, Bank of England interventions and a record poll showing a 33-point lead for Labour. Prime Minister Liz Truss is just three weeks into the job, and next week she'll have to face the party, and nation, at Conservative Party Conference. Can she survive this? Lewis is joined by former Conservative MP David Gauke and former advisor to...

The prime minister crashes the airwaves after crashing the economy. We take stock of how bad this morning's regional morning round was for Liz Truss, and what this says of her ability to communicate to the public on a local and national level. Between The News Agents, they have interviewed every prime minister since and including Margaret Thatcher- discuss the quirks of the trade - and whether Tru...

Make no mistake - the UK economy is crumbling. And this is not at the hands of a crisis beyond these shores. The Prime Minister and her Chancellor's decisions last Friday have sent the British economy into total freefall. In the last 24 hours, the IMF, a monetary body that only ever springs into action for countries in crisis have issued stark warnings against 'Trussonomics', and the Bank of Engla...

Keir Starmer has just made his bid to be the next UK prime minister - against a backdrop of severe economic chaos. It was a speech heavy on patriotism, green policy and the promise to fix Britain. And he even mentioned the B word - Brexit - looking to pull in leave voters lost to the Conservatives at the last election. It landed well in the hall (of course), but how will it land outside the confer...

It's a blustery day in Liverpool and the Labour Party, hosting their conference here, is hoping that means winds of change. The pound fell to its lowest level against the dollar this morning. What happens now? And which party can claim to be the one of economic competence? We ask Gary Neville why he wants to pay more tax, speak to business leaders at the labour conference for the first time. And w...

Kwasi Kwarteng announced a not-so-mini budget today, his first as chancellor. In it, he laid out the Truss government's plans for low taxes and big growth. In today's episode Salma Shah, former Conservative Special Adviser and Lord Stewart Wood, former advisor to Gordon Brown join Lewis to ask if this new budget will work, and whether it has made us all a good deal poorer? Producers: Gabriel Radus...

“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen". Emily, Jon and Lewis are back in News Agents HQ to pour over some of the major stories around the world. They talk Iran and the death of a 22 year old woman at the hands of the morality police which has sparked massive protests across the country, Italy being on the brink of their first female (and first 'neo-fasc...

A big day for the UK, at home and abroad and Deputy Labour Leader Angela Rayner joins us in The News Agents HQ. She talks about her relationship with Labour Leader Keir Starmer, whether Labour is still the party of trade unions and what happened in the House of Commons the moment she found out the Queen was gravely ill. And, reaction to Vladimir Putin's early morning televised address. Did he just...

Hours before meeting Liz Truss, Biden tweets that he’s “sick and tired of trickle down economics”. Awkward! We’re joined by Lord Peter Mandelson who tells us why the PM is heading for a car crash. Producer: Gabriel Radus Planning: Melissa Tutesigensi Social Editor: Rory O'Connor Deputy Editor: Tom Hughes Executive Producer: Dino Sofos For exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Pl...

Have the monarchy and the media got this last week right? And how are we all left feeling now, a week or so on? The last seven days have seen the country divided on how to respond to The Queen's death. Emily, Jon, and Lewis reflect on how they felt when they heard the news, and whether the media coverage has changed their feelings about the monarchy. And who will North Korea sit next to at the sta...

Is it a good idea to end the cap on bankers' bonuses? The new chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng seems to think so - why? Would it be grossly unfair when so many face such hardship? Or is it the best way to energise the economy? We discuss. And Lewis is back after days glued to Swedish TV. He catches us up on what's happened since Monday in the fallout of the tightest of general elections. He also explains...

Have the Republicans scored a massive own goal in their attempts to limit women's rights to abortions in the United States? And will this fatally damage their chances of success in November's midterm elections. Producer: Gabriel Radus Planning: Melissa Tutesigensi Video Engineer: Ioana Barbu Deputy Editor: Tom Hughes Executive Producer: Dino Sofos For exclusive daily videos from The News Agents vi...

The police have been cracking down on anti-monarchists protesting across the UK. Why? And what does this have to do with Priti Patel's highly controversial Policing and Crime Act when she was Home Secretary? We talk about the links between the police, the policed and the powerful with civil liberties expert Adam Wagner. Producer: Gabriel Radus Planning: Melissa Tutesigensi Video Engineer: Will Bat...

Is Ukraine about to win a war no-one thought they could? And, consequently, are Vladimir Putin's days numbered? The tide seems to be turning Europe's most significant war in eight decades. Ukrainian forces moved at lightning pace over the weekend to recapture their towns from a beleaguered Russian army in the north-east of the country. But are we sure this is really all that significant? We speak...

For the first time in over 70 years, the United Kingdom's head of state is a King, not a Queen. Charles III begins his reign as a monarch already well known to his public. His long held views have been aired, his life documented by television and tabloids, his relationships picked over through fifty years of adult life. How will this change the type of monarchy we have and the connection the king...