The test that will define Keir Starmer

Welcome to the new-look weekend edition with fresh interviews and content! With the Tour de France starting this weekend Gabby and Mark try to get their heads around the immense physical and mental challenge of winning one of the world's toughest races. They speak to the winner of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes, Kasia Niewiadoma (06:15), ex-pro cyclist, Adam Blythe, and former Team Sky nutritionist, Nigel Mitchell (21:30). You can watch our full episodes on YouTube here!Executive Producer: Adonis PratsidesProducer: Sophie PenneyVideo Producer: Sam TrudgillSocial Media Editor: Calum ScotlandGuest Booker: Kirsty GiddingsTom Hughes is Editor for The News Agents podcast networkVicky Etchells is the Commissioning Editor for GlobalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The Sports Agents".The Sports Agents have merch! You can buy yours now here!

4 Juli 37min

Keir Starmer did a round of interviews this morning in a show of support for his Chancellor. And the reason was clear. After she cried in the Commons chamber yesterday the bond markets started to panic. If Rachel Reeves leaves the government, so the theory goes, her fiscal rules, her commitment to economic discipline, could be revisited. So after a bumpy week - for both Reeves and the government - has she proved to be unsackable?And if it is the same Rachel Reeves who is to blame for some of the policy blunders made in the first twelve months of Keir Starmer's premiership - is that a problem?We speak to Wes Streeting about that, as well as if he'd ever be tempted to take Ozempic...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 guarantee

3 Juli 35min

There is much we still don’t know or understand about today. Was Rachel Reeves upset by an altercation with the Speaker? Was the issue something more personal? Was she exhausted after the fruitless and demoralising failure of her welfare reform bill? But the sight of the Chancellor at lunch time today fighting back tears at the PM's side was pretty surreal. She looked wounded, fragile and hurt - and inevitably, it’s started speculation she does not have the Prime Minister's full confidence. The markets are queasy - reflecting a panic that the government is looking less stable. Could the PM be about to sack his own Chancellor? And - how does he reassert his authority for the job he needs to do if the Labour MPs are now directing policy? We talk to Keir’s former chief of staff Sam White.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 guarantee

2 Juli 35min

After a lull in the Bro Wars - the sequel. This time Trump is threatening not only to remove Musk's government subsidies but even have him deported. Why? It all goes back to Musk's criticism of Trump's massive spending bill - which gives the wealthy tax cuts and removes Medicaid for 17 million Americans - and would add 3 trillion dollars to America's ballooning deficit. Could Musk start his own party? Will he really prove a political force against Trump? Which speaks louder in America - wealth or executive office? Later, how shit is Britain? Should we accept the declinist narrative of the country being broken? Or is it being exploited by creepy xenophobes? We speak to Labour MP and former pollster Chris Curtis.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 guarantee

1 Juli 38min

Tomorrow, Labour MPs will be asked to vote on the rejigged welfare reform bill. Senior Labour politicians Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham still don’t think it’s worth the paper it’s written on. But the whole debacle has thrown up a bigger question about Starmer's leadership and authority. Does anyone really understand what’s in the PM's mind or what he is trying to achieve? We speak to the Starmer whisperer, Tom Baldwin. Later, Glastonbury, Bob Vylan and the BBC. And how has Wimbledon now become a symbol of Britain's decline?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 guarantee

30 Juni 45min

This week on The Sports Agents...A big exclusive ahead of the Euros with two of England's defending champions, Lauren Hemp & Niamh Charles, Gabby goes behind the scenes at Wimbledon (10:30) and after England's historic comeback we ask ex-England bowler Steven Finn if 5-day cricket is too long? (19:30)You can watch our full episodes on YouTube here. Got a question for The Sports Agents? Email us at thesportsagents@global.comNew episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

27 Juni 24min

This Friday, Lewis is joined in the studio by the newest members of the 'agents' family. Neil Basu is former head of Counter Terrorism Policing and Andy Hughes is an investigative journalist who's been covering crime for two decades. They look back on 2017, a year which the UK experienced a series of devastating terrorist attacks, to talk about what it takes to catch a terrorist, and why some slip through the net. You can listen to The Crime Agents here: https://www.globalplayer.com/podcasts/42L4DG/ 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 guarantee

27 Juni 42min

Remember how there was going to be no row back and no change to the government welfare reform bill? Well, now it seems there might be...Starmer's team are talking about the importance of “conversations with colleagues“ after an amendment signed by 120 Labour MPs showed them how easily they could lose a major vote on Tuesday. Those conversations are code - as is “listening mode“. Are we about to see a climb down? A change of policy? Or watch the whole bill disappear? We talk to Douglas Alexander about the direction of the bill, the party and our trade deal with Trump. 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 guarantee

26 Juni 31min