The News Agents

Keir Starmer has admitted the Labour party will 'move on' from his original commitment to abandon tuition fees.

What does that mean? Is there a solution to what is essentially a bad graduate tax? And why should we believe pledges that keep on getting torn up?

Also, as Princess Anne unironically endorses the current size of the monarchy, we ask how we feel about the Coronation and the pledge of allegiance to our King.

You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/Videos

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Richard Sharp - the embattled, embroiled BBC Chairman has resigned after a report by The Commissioner for Public Appointments found a perceived conflict of interest and a breach of the Governance Code.

But this story goes much wider than one man, one job and an £800k loan to Boris Johnson.

It asks questions of the institutions that run Britain: a 'jobs for the boys culture’, a toxic legacy bestowed by the former Prime Minister, and questions about the Cabinet Secretary’s conduct.

Where does this all leave the BBC, the Civil Service and Rishi Sunak? We discuss.

You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/Videos

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

For the first time ever, voter ID will be required at the polling stations next week for the May local council elections in England.

It may not seem like a big ask - many countries in Europe already demand it. Yet it's triggering alarm bells.

Why has the government introduced a solution to a problem (voter fraud) that didn't exist? Why has it restricted the kinds of ID you're allowed to bring? And why has it refused to accept the advice - even from senior Conservatives - saying the changes could lead to massive disenfranchisement and disillusionment with the democratic system.

We'll be talking about how to vote, and what these elections could tell us about the political winds.

You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

The renting crisis in Britain is unsustainable.

More than sixty percent of private renters faced a rent rise last year - and they're already spending around 32 percent of their income on housing.

Today on The News Agents we hear from those who are struggling to even get on the rental ladder - properties are massively over subscribed. Some tenants are putting down payments on flats they haven't even seen. Others are seeing deposits withheld and are blamed (and charged) for the disrepairs their landlords should have fixed.

We hear from tenants, a landlord, an estate agent and someone who's been analyisng the housing market for a decade.

And we bring you the latest blows from PMQs.

You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/Videos

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

As Prince Harry brings his case against the News Group Newspapers (Murdoch) at the High Court, his lawyers have made an astonishing allegation: that his brother, Prince William, reached a payout over claims his phone had been hacked.

News of the settlement revealed in court documents - show the late Queen was involved in “discussions and authorisation” of the agreement.

The judge may yet decide to throw the case out for coming too late. But if not Harry, we are told, is determined to see it through to the end, whatever the personal cost. Murdoch has already paid out millions for phone hacking here - and last week nearly a billion dollars in the Dominion lawsuit. Was Tucker Carlson's rapid departure connected?

Also, we look at Joe Biden's 2024 presidential bid, discuss ageism in politics, and discover who Ming Campbell beat in a hundred metres race in Stanford in 1967.

You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/Videos

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Stay indoors!

We continue to advise all British nationals in Sudan to stay indoors wherever possible. We recognise circumstances will vary in different locations. You should exercise your own judgement about your circumstances, including whether to relocate at your own risk.

This is the current advice from the Foreign Office - who have managed to evacuate UK diplomatic staff, but are struggling to help up to 3,000 UK citizens stuck in the warzone that is Sudan - many now fearing for their lives.

Should the government be telling people to sit tight? Or get out.

And as Dominic Raab exits stage left, his parting shot is at an 'activist' civil service. Was Whitehall really out to get him? We discuss.

You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/Videos

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has resigned.

The inquiry into whether he bullied staff has finally been published. Its conclusion? Raab is a bully.

Lewis explores the reports findings and asks what it means for one of his closest allies — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/Videos

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Tom Parker Bowles is a food writer and critic with strong views on coronation chicken, UK farming and... of course, quiche. His mum is about to be crowned Queen - so today we chat about the monarchy, the dos and don'ts of royal food, protest and a certain Harry.

And we chat through the political ramifications of Rishi Sunak's response to the bullying inquiry into Dominic Raab.

You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/Videos

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

This is your midweek episode of Succession. Because Rupert Murdoch - aka Logan Roy - has shelled out nearly 800 million dollars to settle a defamation suit brought by Dominion - a company that makes voting machines.

Fox News had tried to claim the voting machines manipulated the result of the 2020 presidential election to make Trump lose. Which was clearly bollocks.

Late last night, Fox settled out of court - to make the trial of the century go away. Today we get inside the Murdoch mind with former Sun Newspaper editor David Yelland.

We also ask why food is getting ever more expensive with the latest inflation figures.

You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/Videos

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Another high profile arrest in the SNP. This time, Party Treasurer Colin Beattie - who was called in for questioning in the inquiry into party finances - specifically the concerns over £600,000 raised by supporters to fund a second independence referendum.

It's been a rocky few weeks since Sturgeon announced her resignation in February. The arrest of her husband and Chief Executive of the SNP, the blue evidence tent in their garden, the removal of a camper van from the in-laws in Dunfermline, leaked conversations that surfaced two years ago and now the second arrest.

What is this doing to the party, to independence and to Scottish voters?

And we ask what power Russia has in Africa and how it's channeled through the many tentacles of the Wagner group.

These Russian mercenaries are thought to be behind the violence in Sudan, and wield huge power all over the continent - fighting that is paid for in gold and diamonds. How close are they to Putin?

You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/Videos

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.