The News Agents

Our billionaire PM and his £1 million tax bill

23 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Keir Starmer spent the morning in Stoke-on-Trent. Not WOKE-on-Trent, as one hilarious Tory Red-wall-er reminded him. But attempts to fire up the cultu...

Boris Johnson Swears He's Telling the Truth

22 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson told the parliamentary inquiry that he HAD misled parliament, but he hadn't meant to. His repeated defence was that he hadn't been advis...

The (sexist, racist, homophobic) Met Police

21 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Met Police - so says the explosive Casey Review released today - is a bullying boys club in which predators flourish. Rape evidence is thrown out ...

Can Boris Johnson defend the indefensible?

20 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson has submitted evidence to the Privileges Committee which will be judging whether he set out to mislead the House of Commons over Partyga...

Is the SNP falling apart?

17 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After nearly a decade of stability spearheaded by Nicola Sturgeon, why do the SNP look like they're imploding? The three candidates after her job are ...

Jeremy Hunt on junior doctors, Brexit and his Budget

16 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt finished his early morning media round and then came for a coffee with the News Agents. We asked how many doctors would re-...

The Budget: Will the rich get richer?

15 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today's bombshell rabbit (to mix a metaphor) was the Chancellor's promise to abolish the lifetime allowance on pensions.If you're super-rich it's time...

Suella's asylum plan - why dozens of Tory MPs aren't backing it.

14 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Last night more than forty Conservative MPs refused to back Suella's new plan for immigration. One- the former Lord Chancellor - called it 'ineffectiv...

The BBC vs. Lineker: They think it’s all over ... it isn’t

13 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Gary Lineker will be back on air this weekend. And BBC Director General Tim Davie has apologised to viewers for the weekend's schedule disruptions. Th...

The BBC takes Gary Lineker off air

10 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The BBC have told Gary Lineker he won't be presenting Match of the Day on Saturday night. Emily, Jon and Lewis bring you their immediate reaction.Prot...

Will Macron block Rishi's small boats plan?

09 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The coveted Crimes against the English Language award goes to Penny Mordaunt today for mangling almost a dozen football analogies into one short Commo...

Should Gary Lineker be free to speak his mind?

08 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Gary Lineker has responded to the furore surrounding his tweet on the government's asylum policy with the promise to 'keep speaking for those with no ...

Is Suella prepared to break international law?

07 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Tories have produced - at last count - over forty different failed policies to stop channel crossings. Today, Suella Braverman came up with the la...

The Johnson Family Honours List

06 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Is Boris Johnson’s dad going to receive a knighthood? Is anyone else in the Johnson family? We speak to Rachel Johnson who opens up about family rel...

Isabel Oakeshott: Why I did it

03 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We talk to the woman who has started a war with Matt Hancock- journalist Isabel Oakeshott. He was her source and she turned on him by taking 100,000 o...

Will we ever escape Boris Johnson?

02 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson is back. But then again, he never really went away. In a speech today at a soft power forum, he takes a swing at Rishi Sunak and his Win...

Inside Matt Hancock's WhatsApps

01 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Telegraph have released a slew of Matt Hancock's Whatsapp messages from when he was Health Secretary, at the height of the Covid 19 pandemic.Lewis...

Has Rishi sunk Boris?

28 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We said yesterday that Rishi Sunak had taken a massive gamble announcing a new deal for Northern Ireland without having necessarily laid the political...

Sunak's gamble

27 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For Northern Ireland Protocol, now read Windsor Framework. A beaming Rishi Sunak and European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, have signed ...

Bernie Sanders on Biden, Corbyn, and billionaires

24 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

U.S. Senator, Chair of the Budget Committee and TikTok sensation Bernie Sanders joins Lewis and Jon in the studio. He spoke about Joe Biden’s presid...

Let Them Eat Turnips

23 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The environment and food secretary has suggested that - faced with a tomato shortage - people should just eat turnips instead. It’s all a bit Marie ...

Shamima Begum: should we forgive the IS bride?

22 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Most fifteen year olds do stupid things. Rarely do they join a terrorist organisation in Syria. But today. Shamima Begum - the ISIS bride - lost her a...

Putin, the Protocol and the Press

21 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There is too much news today. Frankly. Putin tried to convince a domestic audience that NATO started the war in Ukraine, Rishi Sunak tried to face dow...

What is Boris Johnson up to?

20 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson has been slapped down by a senior Conservative for his interventions on Rishi Sunak's latest Brexit deal over Northern Ireland. Is the f...

Is the Union bouncing back?

17 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak has been in Belfast, hoping he can be the Prime Minister to finally answer the question on the Northern Ireland Protocol. Can he break Bre...

Nicola Bulley: Have the police said too much?

16 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Lancashire Police have come under-fire for the revelations they made overnight about the missing mother Nicola Bulley who's not been seen for nearly t...

Sturgeon resigns

15 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sturgeon is stepping down as Scotland's First Minister. Jeremy Corbyn is banned from standing as a Labour MP. If there’s a broad News Agents take aw...

Gender Identity, Children and the NHS

14 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The only NHS service in England to offer gender identity services to children announced it would be closing down last year - after years of whistleblo...

Why is Joe Biden shooting down UFOs?

13 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the airspace, another one gets shot down. What are these unidentified flying objects? Are they *just...

Is it now too expensive to have kids?

10 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Childcare in Britain is broken and yet it is almost never talked about. Why? In this episode, Lewis dissects why Labour thinks this could be the key t...

Turkey-Syria earthquakes: How do we aid people under authoritarian regimes?

09 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Authoritarian regimes in both Syria and Turkey make a devastating situation even more complicated. How do we get aid in to help quake victims when the...

Zelenskyy wants wings: Will Rishi grant his request for fighter jets?

08 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

With a mere couple of hours notice that Ukraine's President Zelensky was in town, The News Agents dropped everything to get to Westminster Hall to hea...

High Drama, Low Politics: James Norton joins the cast

07 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak has had his first proper reshuffle (excluding the one he did as soon as he started).What do the changes tell us about the priorities of th...

All (Dis) Quiet on the Westminster Front

06 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Liz Truss is back. And oh. So are those pauses. She tells Spectator TV she doesn't want to be PM again but she does want to pro...

Jeremy Corbyn on strikes, Starmer and anti-Semitism

03 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jeremy Corbyn’s time as Labour leader was one of the most extraordinary periods of modern politics. For a while he seemed like he’d moved the post...

The Return of Liz Truss?!

02 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Little birdies have told The News Agents we can shortly expect Liz Truss to re-emerge onto the political scene. She's going to reiterate her ideology ...

Full-on, dirty political gossip

01 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A Labour MP has put the cat amongst the pigeons by calling Israel's government 'fascist' in the House of Commons. She's been hauled in front of Keir S...

Is the UK regretting Brexit?

31 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Brexit is three years old. And like a raging toddler after a missed lunchtime nap it's kicking and screaming its way through our national consciousnes...

Are the Tories suffering from 'Long Boris'?

30 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

New polls show more bad news for Rishi Sunak less than a day after his decisive action to sack his ministerial-code breaking Conservative Party Chair,...

Nicola Sturgeon on Gender, Starmer and Prince Harry

27 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We travel to Edinburgh and Holyrood, the home of the Scottish Parliament, and sit down in a meeting room in the belly of the building housing Scottish...

Is Britain becoming irrelevant?

26 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The News Agents are on Nadhim-watch. Alas there have been no actual sightings of him this week, but he’s been talked about plenty. And now, the head...

Is the job too big for Rishi Sunak?

25 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In Prime Minister's Questions this afternoon, Leader of the Opposition Keir Starmer landed the blow that seems to have thus far defined political disc...

Is Sunak too weak to sack Zahawi?

24 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nadhim Zahawi’s tax affairs are now becoming a problem for Rishi Sunak. The PM has asked for a full acount of what happened - a change of tune from ...

Are the Tories running the BBC?

23 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The BBC's mantra is that impartiality - and the perception of impartiality - must be at its core. Yet following revelations in The Sunday Times we are...

Degrees, Debt, Despair: uni students in 2023

20 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In our 100th episode, are students the forgotten part of our society? They're facing the cost of living crisis, a now near-permanent graduate tax, and...

Sir Keir Starmer on Brexit, the Met Police and "being a lad"

19 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Up an icy cold Swiss mountain, Sir Keir Starmer talked exclusively and at length to The News Agents. Will the UK ever rejoin the EU? What should happe...

Brexit home truths at Davos

18 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Emily and Jon are in the Swiss mountain village of Davos. Luckily, for them, they're in the same mountain village as some of the world's most importan...

The Union and Gender politics collide

17 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Two of the big conflicts which define British politics- the culture war and the war for the Union, have fused together. The Scottish government's cont...

Suella, The Home Office and the Holocaust survivor

16 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's quite a thing to pick a fight with a Holocaust survivor. But this weekend, The Home Office asked for the removal of a social media clip that show...

Is Labour shifting on Brexit?

13 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's been said for years that Labour have been too scared to touch the political lightning rod of Brexit, for fear of losing yet another general elect...

Northern Ireland: Brexit's biggest headache

12 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Keir Starmer is heading to Belfast and believes his party can help unlock the stalemate there. What does it take to make Brexit's biggest headache - t...

Partygate: The Hangover

11 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you thought it was safe to go back to The Twiglets - hang fire. New revelations about what Boris Johnson knew - and what he said - have emerged whi...

Rishi Sunak Goes Private (Jet)

10 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Do we mind if our Conservative prime minister takes a private jet (to Leeds), if has a private GP, if sends his kids to private school? Are you outrag...

Armando Iannucci on the prince, politicians and being a 'spare'

09 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The creator of The Thick of It, Veep and Alan Partridge Armando Iannucci joins us to talk about the current state of politics and his popularisation o...

What's Harry's endgame?

06 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Prince Harry has taken aim at the Palace in his new memoir ‘Spare’. Is the institution of the monarchy working for those born into it, or for us? ...

Starmer, strikes and Shapps

05 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Keir Starmer says you can’t legislate your way out of a dispute with new laws against strikes. But today on the News Agents we hear from the cabinet...

Channel 4 Privatisation is OFF: The Scoop

04 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A letter sent from Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was intercepted by our very own Lewis Goodall before it was ever m...

The collapse of the NHS

03 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For months - maybe years - we've talked about the NHS being at breaking point. 'On the brink'. 'On the edge'. Is it not time to admit the system itsel...

2022 in review, Part II: The King, 3 PMs and a failed president

28 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Emily, Jon and Lewis review 2022; at home and abroad. You know about the prime ministers and the monarchs and the presidents, but what’s going on be...

Christmas Special with Nigella Lawson & Ruth Rogers

22 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For the first time since 2019 Christmas is looking “normal “. What have we learnt from Covid, the food crisis and the evolution of how and what we...

2022 in review, Part I: Boris, Ukraine, and new beginnings

21 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Emily, Jon and Lewis review 2022; at home and abroad. They talk Ukraine, Partygate, and having a fresh start. Part 2 out next week! Socials: Georgia F...

Will Trump face criminal charges over the Capitol riots?

20 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly two years on from the January sixth riots, a cross-party committee is uncompromising in its findings: Donald Trump assisted in insurrection, ob...

Does Suella's Rwanda dream live on?

19 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today, the UK High Court ruled that the UK's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is lawful. Don't expect flights to Kigali filled with asylum seeker...

Inside the final days of Liz Truss

16 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Liz Truss' leadership was marred by chaos. Now, Asa Bennett, her speechwriter is in News Agents HQ, to lift the lid on the rollercoaster 49-day Truss ...

Striking nurses. Squabbling royals.

15 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Nurses across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are striking for the first time in over a century. Lewis has been down to the picket line at St. Tho...

The truth about Channel deaths

14 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Four people, at least, died this morning, after their dinghy capsized in the freezing waters of the English Channel. The more than 40 on board were tr...

Why is the Government making it harder for you to vote?

13 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

At the next election we will all be expected to show voter ID. Which is fine if you have a passport or a driving licence - but much much harder if you...

Is the NHS beyond saving?

12 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The funding model of the NHS has always seemed sacrosanct, untouchable. We boast about having the finest service in the world - free at the point of d...

How much worse will strikes get?

09 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Lewis heads to the scene of a raucous picket line to speak to CWU union members on strike. But how much worse will strikes get this winter?Lewis casts...

Joe Lycett on Beckham, Bake Off and 'being right-wing'

08 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Comedian Joe Lycett joins Emily and Jon in News Agents HQ. He tells us why being so angry with the government makes him do 'silly' things, 'shredding'...

The far right plot to overthrow Germany

07 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Overnight in Germany three thousand police have made two dozen arrests after uncovering a far right plot to overthrow the German state. The group were...

Missing millions and Michelle Mone

06 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Tory Peer Michelle Mone is to take a leave of absence from the House of Lords to 'clear her name' from the allegations she profited to the tune of...

Is the House of Lords indefensible?

05 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On today's episode we launch the Christmas Countdown - our (and your) favourite soundbites of political inanity of 2022. Please send in the moments y...

The cryptocurrency con

02 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

You're 30 years old, worth billions as a result of a crypto exchange you've set up - and in the space of one Sunday afternoon it all turns to dust. Wh...

Why is Trump hanging out with racists (again)?

01 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump is insisting he was set up by Kanye (Ye) West over that dinner party he accidentally hosted for a white supremacist leader. NBC News is r...

Should private schools get tax breaks?

30 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Sir Keir Starmer wants private schools to pay more tax. He's also talking about removing their charitable status. Today at PMQ's he asked the PM why W...

Quitters not Fighters? - The Tory MPs fleeing Parliament

29 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

12 Tory MPs have already announced they're standing down at the next election. That includes some young politicians who would once have represented th...

Tony Blair on Qatar, Starmer and kissing Tories

28 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Sir Tony Blair speaks exclusively with The News Agents. He has words that may surprise Matt Hancock and Liz Truss, and a gentle message for Keir Starm...

Living in a house that might kill you

25 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There are thousands of homes in Britain not fit for purpose with people living in neglected and dangerous conditions - with damp, mould and vermin.Lew...

Jeremy Clarkson: The bird flu crisis and why food prices must rise

24 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bird Flu is bringing Britain's farmers to their knees. The disease has killed nearly a hundred million birds world wide - nearly 4 million of them in ...

Is Scotland free to leave the UK?

23 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Supreme Court has ruled against the Scottish Parliament holding a new independence referendum without approval from Westminster. Is this the end o...

NDAs, the Power to Silence and Dominic Raab

22 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dominic Raab is facing renewed allegations of bullying behaviour. In this episode we turn the clock back to the time he took out a 'confidentiality ag...

Will Qatar regret hosting the World Cup?

21 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Qatar has gone from being a quietly successful, enormously rich, largely anonymous speck on the world map to being a pariah of the Middle East. It had...

Why Britain is so much poorer than you think

18 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Poverty in Britain is bad and it’s getting worse. And yet, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has set out plans to tax the British public more than ever before....

Recession.

17 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The highest tax burden in decades. The biggest drop in living standards on record. The UK and its economy is stuttering into a second recession in a d...

Piers Morgan on Ronaldo and the return of Trump

16 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump is running for president again... to the surprise of no one. Not even the legion advisors telling him now was a really really bad time to...

Is Westminster full of bullies?

15 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A second minister in two weeks faces serious allegations of bullying. Are our corridors of power a breeding ground for bullyboy behaviour? We speak to...

Football's Staying Home: David Baddiel on Qatar

14 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Comedian Joe Lycett is offering ten thousand pounds to an LGBTQ+ charity if David Beckham pulls out of his multi-zillion dollar ambassadorial role in ...

The Renting Crisis: why is it so bad?

11 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We often hear about mortgage rates going up, but perhaps not enough scrutiny is paid on the private renting sector... a sector that has enormous deman...

The Crown - fact or fiction?

10 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Major TV series The Crown is back - series five - and it deals with one of the most painful and excruciatingly public decades of recent Royal history....

US Midterms: Has Donald been Trumped?

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We've been up all night waiting for the US midterm election results to come through so you could wake up at your leisure. TLDR: Trump-backed candidate...

Peerages for pals: The Boris Resignation Honours List.

08 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's hard to imagine leaving a job in disrepute but then giving 20 of your mates a top honour that allows them to create the laws of this country. Wel...

Does Extreme Protest Work - Just Stop Oil? Or Just Stop?

07 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When Liz Truss was looking to galvanise not just the Tory party but the nation in her conference speech, she turned to Just Stop Oil protesters for he...

What is Elon Musk doing at Twitter?

04 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk has begun laying off staff at Twitter, a week after taking sole control of the company. He says he’s “freed the bird” but does freedom...

Is American democracy on the line? A mid-terms preview

03 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In less than a week America will head to the polls for the midterms - the first national elections of the Biden presidency since the January 6th insur...

How Israel's Far Right brought Bibi Netanyahu back

02 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As we record today's episode, Benjamin Netanyahu - currrently on trial for corruption charges - is about to (re)become Israel's PM. He's been in pow...

Immigration: what's going wrong?

01 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

So much heat surrounds the issue of immigration. And the person in charge of decision making is Home Secretary Suella Braverman - and she's at the cen...

Gary Lineker speaks his mind on Qatar

31 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Gary Lineker tells us about the burger he shared with David Beckham in a hotel bar in Zurich the night before England was knocked out of the bid to ho...

What's the cost of political chaos?

28 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After weeks of political chaos, the real cost of the crisis is beginning to reveal itself. Lewis is joined this week by New Statesman columnist Martha...

How damaging is Brexit?

27 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve had the Brexit Opportunities Minister and the Brexit Benefits Department but weirdly - we still can’t point to what those are.Today we ask i...