The News Agents

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 of the people". As she talked, protests from Greenpeace tried to disrupt the speech - but may actually have given her more purpose. We look at the ideology behind the speech, whether it can unite the country and save her own political fortunes. And we talk to Mark Littlewood, the head of free market think tank IEA, and yes - we do ask him who funds them.Production: Ellie CliffordPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino Sofos

5 Okt 202231min

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 really gone back to normal. And may not ever. We speak to a Cabinet minister who wants his rebel colleagues to shut up. And to a former minister who says he’s propelled to speak truth to power when he sees a bad policy. And tomorrow they all have to coalesce behind the leader as Liz Truss gives her keynote speech. How’s that looking?Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiVideo: Rory SymonDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

4 Okt 202237min

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 end the conversation, they’re in for a shock. Today, the questions are coming faster than ever: is Liz Truss still in charge? Who’s really wielding the power? And can Kwasi Kwarteng survive this? We ask the Business Secretary, Jacob Rees-Mogg. Also - the Brazil election was looking like a shoe-in for the opposition candidate and former president Lula de Silva. Until it wasn’t. The populist incumbent Bolsonaro is performing better - at least in the first round - than anyone predicted.Why are pollsters still not getting the true picture from those who vote for populists?Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

3 Okt 202230min

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 Tony Blair, Baroness Sally Morgan. And, across the Atlantic, a left-wing politician is vying to oust an unabashedly conservative, populist president. But this isn’t North America, it’s in Brazil. What’s the mood in the country as it prepares to go to the polls on Sunday?Producers: Gabriel Radus & Ellie CliffordVideo Engineer: Ioana BarbuFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

30 Sep 202235min

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 Truss' style will bode well, or ill, for the rest of her premiership.All this comes just before the Conservative Party Conference - which this year is being avoided like the plague by many of the MPs who would normally go. We hear from two Number 10 insiders about how to navigate these choppy waters - one gives us the curious inside track on what Keir Starmer was really like at school...Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiVideo Engineer: Ioana BarbuDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

29 Sep 202236min

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 England have made emergency interventions. What now?We try and make sense of it all. Later on in the podcast, we talk to Seb Payne, Whitehall Editor at the Financial Times about the lobbying groups behind the school of thought that is tangible impacting the course of modern Britain.Producer: Gabriel RadusPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiVideo Engineer: Ioana BarbuDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

28 Sep 202233min

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 conference bubble? And is the public ready for PM Starmer?We analyse the speech and talk to a former Labour Leader who knows what it’s like to be in that conference spotlight - Ed Miliband.Production: Ellie CliffordPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

27 Sep 202233min

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 we ask David Lammy, Shadow Foreign Secretary, whether Britain should open its doors to Russian men fleeing Putin's war in Ukraine.Production: Ellie CliffordPlanning: Melissa TutesigensiDeputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

26 Sep 202233min