Episodes
With now less than a week to go, we answer your General Election questions.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusVideo Production: : Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents"!The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal https://nordvpn.com/thenewsagents Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guaranteehttps://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents
This was a TV debate unlike any other. Excruciating doesn’t even cover it. Whilst Trump confidently lied his way through the facts, Biden barely reached the end of his sentences without meandering off into a far distant phrase. It was painful to watch and it will raise serious questions now amongst senior Democrats. Can they, must they replace Joe Biden as their presidential candidate?And if so who will be the first top figure to say it out loud?We take you through the most painful moments of the night and the conversations after the debate and ask if the voters will forgive this more easil...
A week today your Twitter feed will be filing up with dogs at polling station memes. Yes dear listeners the marathon is almost done.On today's episode we will be looking at two TV debates - last night we saw the prime ministerial candidates on stage for the last time. Tonight it’s the turn of the US presidential candidates in Atlanta, Georgia. Do these debates ever change minds or just let audiences get things off their chest?We will hear from the Trump campaign team and ask if the stakes are higher for Biden or Trump, or Sunak or Starmer?Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProd...
The latest numbers from More in Common suggest that Nigel Farage may come to regret his comments over Putin and the Ukraine war. Reform has slipped back in the polls - and one in four voters believe that Farage is sympathetic to Putin. How will any of this play into the way people vote for his party next week? But we start with the gambling scandal. Keir Starmer has become the latest party leader to dispatch a candidate for betting - after Ipswich candidate Kevin Craig was found to have placed a bet on himself losing. North of the border, the Conservatives Scottish Secretary has come under...
We will be telling the extraordinary story of Julian Assange in this episode - how he gained such legendary status - and whether he was more saint or sinner - as he leaves Belmarsh prison and heads to his new life in Australia. But we have to start with the latest twist in the gambleshambles as, you’ve guessed it, Rishi Sunak has now bowed to the inevitable pressure and pulled his support from two candidates who admitted to making an ill advised bet on the date of the election. Why could the whole country see this coming except the PM? Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProduce...
Why is the Mail having a go at Nigel Farage and why is Nigel Farage having a go at Boris Johnson? These three are now firm 'frenemies' - calling each other 'morally repugnant' and calling in the lawyers... What does it tell us about the power on the right of British politics? And is Farage now regretting his 'Putin friendly' comments? Later, the Gambleshambles has reached the dizzy heights of second most damaging gaff for the election campaign amongst members of the public. Why has the cut through been so strong? And why hasn't anyone in Tory HQ managed this scandal better?Editor: Tom Hughe...
The Sunday Times report that Nick Mason, the party's chief data officer, is the fourth Conservative being looked into over bets allegedly placed on the date of the general election. But still, no one has been suspended by Rishi Sunak. Why not? And, how far and how high does Gamblegate go? Could even someone as high up as a cabinet member be allegedly implicated?And later, we talk Brexit 8 years on and Lewis is at a focus group in the crucial voting area and demographic of Whitby.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: : Rory Sym...
This week on The Sports Agents,After Rory McIlroy's dramatic decision to take a break from Golf, following his collapse at the US Open, Gabby & Mark were joined by 2010 Ryder Cup winning captain and five-time major runner up Colin Montgomerie, to debate whether golf is the most mentally-challenging sport out there and to re-live the US Open he himself 'threw away' back in 2006. Later in the week, as Scotland kept their hopes a place in the knock-out stages of Euro 2024 alive, David Moyes joined Gabby for a morning coffee in Berlin, to discuss Tartan Army spirit, his own managerial future an...
Emily, Jon and Lewis answer your General Election questionsEditor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusSocial Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell Video Production: : Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents"!The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal https://nordvpn.com/thenewsagents Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guaranteehttps://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents
In a move that I think we can safely say no-one saw coming , the Conservative campaign director has announced his own leave of absence two weeks out from polling day. His wife is a candidate. They are both being investigated for allegedly placing a bet on the date of the election before it was publicly announced. Another close protection officer has been arrested for misconduct. What is happening at the heart of his campaign and what is this doing to the state of the race. Later we see in a key Lab/Tory marginal talking to former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith who’s been the MP here for 32 y...
Election day is two weeks tomorrow. For some that can't come soon enough. Today - with the help of former Tory Chairman and ad man Lord Maurice Saatchi we assess the state of the campaign and ask how politicians are communicating with the public, and what the public is saying back. Is there such a thing as a campaign that's 'too nice'? And is this it? Later, we have the latest The News Agents/More in Common MRP poll and ask what will happen to the SNP and whether the methodology of how pollsters ask questions has changed?Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Zeynel Can Y...
Murdoch's Sun newspaper backing used to be 'a moment' in every UK general election campaign. Famously backing Blair in 97. Switching allegiance to Cameron over Brown in 2010. But this time around we have heard practically nothing. Is that because Murdoch hasn't made his mind up? Or because the enthusiasm for either candidate simply isn't there? Or is it a recognition that the power newspapers wield on the voter is waning?We speak to former Sun editor David Yelland, host of When it Hits The Fan about the role old and new media plays in politics now. And whether the Murdoch clan themselves ma...
The man who brought you Brexit has launched his party's manifesto and complained about....Brexit. He recognises that small business has been more squeezed, immigration has rocketed , food costs have soared - but says the answer is to let him have your vote again so they can 'do Brexit properly'. Will voters believe him again?Later, we discuss the French football team's intervention into their own elections back home. Kylian Mbappé - a global superstar - is calling on voters to reject far-right politics in the shape of the National Rally (Le Pen) party. Will that influence the vote? Editor...
Yesterday’s latest poll from Survation put the Conservatives on little more than seventy seats. This is political wipe out territory. Survation called it right on the 2019 Red Wall polling. So should we take this seriously? Also , how should the main parties deal with their Farage problem? But, even if Labour do win a massive super majority - how strong would that Labour Party be? Lewis goes to the tightest of marginals - Bristol Central - which might see one of the only Labour casualties of the night - to the leader of the Greens. It might provide context for what could happen to Starmer a...
This week on The Sports Agents,How and why did an image of Arsenal's Bukayo Saka become the main feature on the back pages of almost every major newspaper following England's 1-0 defeat to Iceland... despite him only featuring as a 65th minute substitute.Football writer Henry Winter and Channel 4 sports correspondent Jordan Jarrett-Bryan joined Gabby and Mark and reveal how these photos are chosen and why the context is important when it comes to Saka and England.And as promised, also this week, we took a closer look at Netball Super League 2.0 - the fallout, the repercussions for the game ...
Emily and Jon answer your General Election questions.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusSocial Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell Video Production: : Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents"!The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal https://nordvpn.com/thenewsagents Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guaranteehttps://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents
Labour has launched a 25,000 word manifesto and as promised, there were no new rabbits and no hats. What we saw in Manchester was a newly confident Labour leader who barely paused in his answers to media questions: his lines were to script, his answers brief, and his stories well honed. But there were noticeable gaps in Labour's offering. Only two brief mentions of child poverty, and no restoration of the benefit to families of 3 children. That's despite another 100 thousand kids being pushed into poverty in the last year alone. Labour talks about 'hard choices' - but if this isn't a Labou...
Emily, Jon and Lewis stayed up late to analyse the latest TV battle between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer. Who came out on top this time around on Sky News?Editor: Tom HughesSocial Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell Video Production: Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents"!The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal https://nordvpn.com/thenewsagents Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guaranteehttps://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents
Tory frontbencher Grant Shapps has appeared to concede the Tories are now heading for defeat at the election and warned voters against allowing Labour a 'supermajority'. Does scaring people work as a campaign strategy? And is a supermajority a big problem for voters? We also hear from Lewis, who is on the campaign trail with Lib Dem leader Ed Davey. And later in the show we talk privilege, class, and pesky questions, after Rishi Sunak was asked what he had to go without when he was growing up.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Zeynel Can YuceSocial Media Editor: Geor...
Rishi Sunak launched the Conservative manifesto today at Silverstone. We’ve been trying to swerve the racing metaphors but the odd one crept in. He talked a LOT about tax cuts - doubling down on his disproven claim of Labour tax rises, but offered few new policies. The performance was polished. But has the public stopped listening? We talk to Home Secretary James cleverly and Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell. Later WE HAVE THE QUIZ RESULTS. And A WINNER is crowned.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Zeynel Can YuceSocial Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell Video Prod...
Angela Rayner has told Lewis she carries the weight of working class women on her shoulders, and doesn't ever want to be the Labour Leader. Meanwhile in Paris, President Macron has thrown caution to the wind and 'done a Rishi'. He's called a snap parliamentary election to take on the party of Marine Le Pen. How should centrist leaders tackle their Far right parties? By bringing their policies into the fold - or defeating them and shutting them down? Does either really work? And in London, Lib Dem Leader Ed Davey pledges to put social care at the heart of his manifesto to 'Save the NHS'.Edit...
It's manifesto week - Lib Dems announce theirs on Monday. Tories Tuesday. And Labour Thursday. But the cloud of Sunak's speedy D Day departure still hangs over him. Will this be terminal for Sunak?Later Lewis is in Leigh with North West voters there. And we have a QUIZ for you. Stay to the end.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusSocial Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell Video Production: : Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents"!The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - http...
In this week's general election Q&A special Emily, Jon and Lewis answer your questions on safe seats, compulsory voting, and the constituency they'd choose to stand in if they were running for parliament. All that and more.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusSocial Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell Video Production: : Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents"!The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal https://nordvpn.com/thenewsage...
This week on The Sports Agents, The extraordinary story of Khalida Popal - the first ever captain of the Afghanistan Women's National Football Team - hounded out of her country by those who believed women have no right to play and who orchestrated her team's daring escape from Afghanistan, when the Taliban returned. Then, as Manchester City announced legal action against the Premier League, Gabby & Mark found out if this new legal action could influence the outcome of their long-awaited hearing into 115 alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules - Sports lawyer Daniel Geey gav...
Overnight, Richard Holden, The Tory Party chair parachuted himself into the safe seat of Basildon & Billericay. Which is 280 miles away from his former seat - North West Durham. Today, his former colleague and former Tory cabinet minister tells us why he's 'disgusting', and what she thinks will happen to Rishi's Tory party now. Does she accept that the rot set in with the lies, hypocrisy and calumny of Boris Johnson? You'll find out.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Zeynel Can YuceSocial Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell Video Production: : Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & A...
Rishi Sunak accused Keir Starmer of planning to put people's taxes up by £2,000 if he got into power - sums he said had been independently verified. This morning we learned they werent, after a top civil servant put the record straight. Labour are calling the PM a liar (he repeated his claim 11 times), but the Tories are standing by their figure - and say all's fair in love and campaign war. We discuss what TV debates do for viewers' understanding of policy, and find out what voters in Leigh took away from the TV clash. Later, Richard Holden, the actual Tory chairman, seems to be vacating ...
The first election debate is done. Sunak and Starmer had it out live, on television, for an hour. Did we learn anything? Jon and Emily watched from home and give their analysis. Meanwhile Lewis has been in the dreaded “spin room” in Salford, trying to parse through the politicians’ bluster. At the end of it all- will any of it make a difference?Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusSocial Media Editor & Video Production: : Rory SymonYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents"!The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - h...
We’re in Clacton-on-Sea today. So, coincidentally, is Nigel Farage the new leader of the Reform party and prospective parliamentary candidate. We caught up with him, with the ex-leader Richard Tice, and with their Conservative opponent Giles Whatling. We also hear from people in the town about what they make of the latest offering from Farage. Can his soap box speeches stand up to scrutiny on any single policy?Editor: Tom HughesSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Shane Fennelly You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Ag...
So Nigel Farage is standing to be the Reform MP in Clacton. He’s stood before - (seven times if anyone is counting) but Clacton clearly feels to him like a pretty safe bet if he wants to be in the House of Commons for the next parliament. What is his game plan? And does this make Tory wipeout more likely? Later, does Kemi Badenoch understand the difference between sex and gender? She announced her new policy this morning but ended up sounding more confused than when she began. And our official pollsters More in Common bring you an exclusive MRP (general election style) poll ... with quite a...
Keir Starmer has had one of the toughest weeks as Labour leader, and yet the polls still show electoral wipeout for the Tories - as Starmer's personal ratings improve.Why is the tide not turning against Labour? And can the Tories do anything about it?Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusSocial Media Editor: Rory SymonVideo Production: Shane Fennelly & Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents"!The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal https://nordvpn.com/the...