The News Agents

Less than a week ago, the woman who was supposed to ease Labour's passage into government, Sue Gray, left her job as Chief of Staff following mounting pressure and rumours of fallouts behind the scenes.

Her replacement is Morgan McSweeney - now the most powerful man in politics that you've probably never heard of. The architect of Labour’s election victory, Starmer’s campaign manager, and now his main man in Downing Street. So, who is Morgan McSweeney? What motivates him? And what kind of power does he have in Number 10?

Editor: Tom Hughes

Producer: Natalie Indge

Digital Editor: Michaela Walters

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal

Digital Journalists: Michael Baggs & Jacob Paul

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents"

And you can grab your News Agents merch, including t-shirts, hoodies and water bottles at the link below.

https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Lewis, Jon and Emily have all been speaking to various Tory MPs either running the campaigns or voting in the leadership race. Together we work out what actually happened behind the scenes, and the buyers regret some are now feeling.

Later, Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens and now Nexus, on why information and truth are two completely different things.

And lastly, the GetJimAJingle campaign reaps succulent rewards from our listeners.

Editor: Tom Hughes

Producer: Natalie Indge

Digital Editor: Michaela Walters

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal

Digital Journalists: Michael Baggs & Jacob Paul

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents"

And you can grab your News Agents merch, including t-shirts, hoodies and water bottles at the link below.

https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

It's very rare you see the News Agents speechless. But today is one of those rare moments. James Cleverly, Tory MPs favourite as of yesterday has just been knocked out of the leaders race by Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick.

You can hear from our voices, that we spend the entire episode trying to work out what on earth has happened. Did Team Cleverly's maths go wrong?

Did MPs have a sudden change of heart over the direction of the party? And what does it mean for what happens to the Tory party now? One man who's probably breathing his first sigh of relief for a month is Keir Starmer.

Later, Rachel Reeves' budgetary gymnastics, and our campaign to 'help Jim get a jingle'.

Editor: Tom Hughes

Producer: Natalie Indge

Digital Editor: Michaela Walters

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal

Digital Journalists: Michael Baggs & Jacob Paul

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents"

And you can grab your News Agents merch, including t-shirts, hoodies and water bottles at the link below.

https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Elon Musk has linked up with Donald Trump on the campaign trail - visiting Butler Pennsylvania and speaking to the crowds on the very spot Trump was targeted by a sniper back in July.

He's parroting the Trump lines - calling this the last election ever if Trump loses - and offering people 47 dollars to sign up swing voters in key states. Is it bribery? Is it legal? Does anyone care?

Later, will Labour's recent fiasco push Reeves to be bolder in her budget? Will she choose to borrow billions to invest? Is that enough to appease disillusioned back benchers?

And Boris is back spewing more lies about Brexit. We take you through what's real and what's not.

Editor: Tom Hughes

Producer: Natalie Indge

Digital Editor: Michaela Walters

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal

Digital Journalists: Michael Baggs & Jacob Paul

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents"

And you can grab your News Agents merch, including t-shirts, hoodies and water bottles at the link below.

https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Sue Gray's resignation might have come as a surprise to some but as rumours swirled about mounting hostility towards her inside Number 10, her departure was inevitable. So, what will her exit mean for Keir Starmer? And what does the latest shake up in No 10 reveal about the mood behind the scenes?

And, 12 months on from the 7th October attacks in Israel, we ask whether we're any closer to peace in the Middle East?

Editor: Tom Hughes

Producer: Natalie Indge

Digital Editor: Michaela Walters

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal

Digital Journalists: Michael Baggs & Jacob Paul

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents"

And you can grab your News Agents merch, including t-shirts, hoodies and water bottles at the link below.

https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

This week on The Sports Agents,

Gabby & Mark asked former Chelsea talisman Frank Lampard for his thoughts on their current one - Cole Palmer - but is he the best player in the Premier League right now?

Plus, Sam Burgess was among our guests as we explored whether the only way to save Rugby was to reunite the two codes!

And after Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate questioned why he hadn't received the Player of the Match award last weekend, we explained how (and who) actually decides...

Got a question for The Sports Agents - email us at [email protected]

New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

After eight years as North America Editor Jon returned home to the UK, but things weren't quite as he had left them.

In his book, Strangeland, Jon recounts what it was like in the US, looking back to the UK - and the strange feeling when he returned home to realise that either Britain had changed, or he had. Lewis sits down with Jon to discuss just how much the British political landscape has changed over the past 10 years.

Editor: Tom Hughes

Producer: Natalie Indge

Digital Editor: Michaela Walters

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal

Digital Journalists: Michael Baggs & Jacob Paul

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents"

And you can grab your News Agents merch, including t-shirts, hoodies and water bottles at the link below.

https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

The Labour freebies story “broke“ over a month ago. Yet last night whilst Keir Starmer was meeting with Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels he found himself fielding questions about what free stuff he was handing back after agreeing to repay 6k.

Why is Labour being so weird about this? Does it tell us something more about labours naïveté? Or perhaps their unreadiness for government? Or is the media environment just a whole lot more complicated since they were last in power.

Later, new documents have been released overnight in the US claiming Trump “resorted to crime" in his attempt to overturn the 2020 election. Will this change the Supreme Court view that he’s “immune from prosecution?”

And lastly, the Chagos Islands - Where are they and what’s going on?

Editor: Tom Hughes

Producer: Natalie Indge

Digital Editor: Michaela Walters

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal

Digital Journalists: Michael Baggs & Jacob Paul

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents"

And you can grab your News Agents merch, including t-shirts, hoodies and water bottles at the link below.

https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Overnight nearly 180 missiles were targeted at Israel by Iran - revenge for the killing of Hizbollah leader, Nasrallah, last week. Western governments have offered their help to Israel - calling it an existential fight for survival. What will Israel do next? How long will their invasion of Lebanon go on? Is Russia involved and was the assassination of Nasrallah helped by an insider? All these questions...Luckily, Mark Urban is at hand.

Later in the show, the Tories are wrapping up their conference with a very different predicted outcome to the one many were expecting. Who's going to make it through to the members vote?

Editor: Tom Hughes

Producer: Natalie Indge

Digital Editor: Michaela Walters

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal

Digital Journalists: Michael Baggs & Jacob Paul

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents"

And you can grab your News Agents merch, including t-shirts, hoodies and water bottles at the link below.

https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Overnight Israeli began its ground war in Lebanon. They’re targeting Hezbollah but inevitably ordinary Lebanese citizens will pay a heavy price. Iran, which backs Hezbollah, has said it may strike Israel in retaliation. How should western leaders respond to this escalation? And how can it end? We speak to Shadow Foreign Secretary, Andrew Mitchell.

Later, have the Tories found their new Brexit? Why is Robert Jenrick promising that leaving the ECHR can solve immigration (it can’t)? And why aren’t they a little more scared this week when they reflect on the mountain they have to climb back to power?

Tickets are now on sale for The News Agents 'live on stage' at The Royal Albert Hall on Sunday December 1st. Buy yours from Global Player at the link below.

https://app.af.globalplayer.com/Br0x/7ggnmqw4

Editor: Tom Hughes

Producer: Natalie Indge

Digital Editor: Michaela Walters

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal

Digital Journalists: Michael Baggs & Jacob Paul

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents"

And you can grab your News Agents merch, including t-shirts, hoodies and water bottles at the link below.

https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/