The News Agents

Reform UK has referred Green party leader Zack Polanski to the police for "inciting murder" after a post he shared on social media.
The image, shared and then deleted on Instagram, showed a man wearing a tee shirt with the words “we’re only making plans for Nigel” next to a picture of a guillotine.
Farage has said: "“If I was to post anything as inciteful then I would expect to be arrested, and so should Polanski”. The police are now "conducting inquiries".
The Greens say that Polanski “condemns the image on the tee shirt” and that he had only ever accepted being tagged in a post that contained 20 images “without realising there was more to it than he had seen”.
Has Polanski crossed a line? Is he too online? And why are Reform quick to defend people like Lucy Connolly but now calling for the arrest of a rival party leader?
Later, Andy Burnham unveils plans for vocational education to be offered from the age of fourteen, with bespoke training tapping into the local jobs market. It's a far cry from the Blair-era push to get as many young people into university as possible. Does it make sense given the shifting jobs market? Or does he risk denigrating universities and one of the few success stories of modern Britain?
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It's hard to think of a political alliance as tightly bonded as Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram. Both northern MPs who vacated Westminster to lead their respective City regions, they have even co-authored a book - 'Head North' - which lays out their roadmap to fix Britain. Many of the words, ideas and policies Burnham has unveiled in his first week in office are all laid out in that book. It's a manifesto for fundamentally rewiring Britain, for bringing a new set of values into politics, and for bringing development and opportunity to neglected northern towns and cities.
They are self-described "bezzie mates", even "brothers". So who better to speak to than Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, to get under the new Prime Minister's skin, and work out what happens now.
The News Agents is a Global Production.
The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

There's been a flurry of policy announcements in Andy Burnham's first week as PM - but there is something more significant in the words he has been using to describe his mission. He's talked about reversing forty years of neoliberalism, about re-industrialising Britain, ending trickle down economics - fundamentally reshaping the British State and its driving purpose.
He promised, on the steps of Downing Street, to be a "circuit breaker", delivering the biggest change to the country since Thatcher. It's big talk - and the stakes are high. But how can he put that into action? How can he demonstrate this new form of politics? What even is the neoliberalism he is trying to wind back anyway?
Neal Lawson has been an influential Labour thinker, advisor, and campaigner for decades. He knows Burnham well - he is one of the driving forces behind 'Manchesterism' - and heads the left wing ideas factory Compass. He came into the News Agents studio to discuss just the Herculean task facing Andy Burnham - and what Britain might look like if he succeeds.
The News Agents is a Global Production.
The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Whisper it quietly - but are we witnessing the strange rebirth of good, old-fashioned two party politics?
Andy Burnham and Kemi Badenoch are now the only party leaders with net approval ratings among the public. Labour and the Tories are both within touching distance of Farage's Reform in a number of polls. Burnham has had a strong first week, and he and Badenoch are dominating the political airwaves at the moment in a classic row around tax and the State.
Nigel Farage's £5m donation and Claction by-election backfire seems to have taken the wind out of his sails. Zack Polanski too has struggled with questions around his tax and appears unable to force himself into the conversation in the way he did when he first took over the Green party.
Later, we speak to Labour MP Chris Curtis about Labour's new chapter and why he thinks growth still lies at the heart of what Burnham needs to achieve.
The News Agents is a Global Production.
The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Spurs & Netherlands star Xavi Simons sits down with Gabby for an exclusive, in depth interview.
As he recovers from the ACL injury which robbed him of a place at the World Cup, Xavi opens up on the pressures of being a 12-year-old social media star watched by millions of followers, growing up without a father, and the truth behind his controversial exit from Barcelona at just 16 years old.
Xavi reveals all about his extraordinary footballing life, a life spent alongside Mbappe, Messi & Neymar, a life of incredible highs and bruising lows, one which led him from La Masia to London and the Premier League with Spurs - where Xavi is determined to prove himself to the fans and become the player he always knew he could be.

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Executive Producer: Adonis Pratsides
Producers: David Finch & George Sexton-Kerr
Video Producer: Samuel Trudgill
Social Media Editor: Jasmine Wissart
Tom Hughes is Editor for The News Agents podcast network
Vicky Etchells is the Commissioning Editor for Global
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