The News Agents

“We’ve got to be so careful not to play into narrative of people like Nigel Farage. The Nazis were brilliant at picking up what the Social Democrats said and did, and twisting it", says former Labour Home Secretary, Lord Blunkett. “My great worry is that the Green Party are God’s gift to Reform".

"After Sarah Everard was killed by a police officer, Farage said: 'we musn't allow the tragic murder of a woman to turn into attacks on men and police'. "Five years on - the right is fighting with itself to be the party that doxxes, incites, whips up."

"I hope on behalf of those two officers legal action will be taken, otherwise it's the wild west." Lord David Blunkett calls for legal action against Elon Musk, after he linked the wrong police officer - who has now gone into hiding - to Henry Nowak's arrest.

“Farage has gone as close as he can to what feels like incitement… ...before stepping back and saying, “I’m not suggesting you do anything. I'm just saying it would be normal to feel pure cold rage”. Farage has been likened to 'Tommy Robinson in a suit' - is there any truth in it?

Should the UK introduce compulsory voting? "It disincentivises politicians from speaking to a narrow sector of the population". Jeremy Hunt on why he's changing his opinion on Australia's policy.

“Dictatorship in one country can influence the democratic world - it’s like cancer, you have to cut it to the last cell because it will spread.” Belarus' President-in-exile, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, on why the fight for a free Belarus is worth the personal danger she continues to face.

"We can all agree this was terrible policing, but can we generalise that there's two-tier, anti-white policing in this country?" "Absolutely not" says Andy Hughes. After the horrific murder of Henry Nowak, @maitlis.bsky.social and @jonsopel1.bsky.social ask: How did the police get it so wrong?

"She's been gagged, but we haven't!" Facebook whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams was forced into silence onstage in the UK this weekend - by her former employer. Last year, she told us her story from 10 years inside Facebook....

"Tourism and travel is about fun…." "Not if you think you might get arrested or deported." As US tourism figures slump, @maitlis.bsky.social and @jonsopel1.bsky.social ask Trump's Tourism Envoy: Is Trump’s America scaring fans off the World Cup?

“One AI data centre Meta is constructing will be 1/5 the size of Manhattan, and will use the average power of London.” “That’s just Meta...” Author Karen Hao sets out the shocking consequences of the AI industry.

“The companies say ‘if we create AI, we will give you access to this heaven’", says Karen Hao ‘If you don’t allow us to do it, a bad actor’s going to it instead, and it’s going to decimate humanity’”

A Congressman’s warning: “I really hope the British public learns the lesson from Donald Trump when it comes to Nigel Farage”. “Farage is a total fraud, and I hope they realise before its too late”

“So, Ed Miliband is a ‘quixotic fantasist’?” Tony Blair winces as he addresses Ed Miliband’s net zero policy.

Tony Blair says he is “anxious” and “pessimistic” about Labour's future. “There’s no point in deciding who leads the country on the basis of personality unless you understand our purpose in governing”.

A onesie. A motorhome. And a bag worn by Nicola Sturgeon. The “weird and wonderful” items bought by her ex-husband Peter Murrell with SNP funds raise new questions about embezzlement.

Could this be the solution on how to tax the super-rich? And will it stop the ultra-wealthy leaving the UK?

“One year Jeff Bezos says, ‘I’m so poor, I’m going to claim family benefits’ - and he receives a cheque”, says Gabriel Zucman. How did one of the wealthiest people in the world qualify for benefits?

“He could've been subject to a $100m fine. That’s gone, he’s free. Another $100m in the bank for Donald Trump - kerching! “This is the stuff of tinpot dictatorships - the president gives himself a new Rolls Royce whilst everyone else is left by the roadside."

Is Tommy Robinson the most influential British political figure in the minds of MAGA? “It remains extraordinary how pickled the brains of the Republican Party have become.”

Does the defeat of Trump-critic, Thomas Massie, prove the president's grip on the Republican Party is as ironclad as ever? “The Republican grassroots are still completely in thrall to this guy who, as far most Americans are concerned, is now past it.”

Is Andy Burnham’s appeal that he is online, but not intense - unlike Farage, Badenoch and Polanksi? “They talk as if they are about to be requoted. Burnham is comfortable in his own skin.”

“Andy Burnham is very pleased it’s a Reform-facing seat because that’s the big political test... can we defeat national populism and Farage?”, says Neal Burnham - Chair of Compass and Burnham ally. Is it Burnham or bust for the Labour Party?

Is Labour planning to use Brexit as a “get out of jail free card”? “For the Labour Party to start saying, 'lets revert back to the status quo ante' - that to me reveals a dearth of thinking.”

"Nigel Farage and the architects of Brexit have had a free pass - Labour should have been more aggressive and consistent in pointing out the lies." As campaigning kicks off for the Makerfield by-election, will voters be ‘bewildered’ to hear Brexit back in the debate?

After years of boasting about his close relationship with Trump, Is Farage now putting distance between himself and the president? ”Even among Reform voters, Trump is very unpopular. It’s a political mistake clinging too close to him.”

“Farage said Brexit will make you richer - lo and behold, it did make one person much richer!” Nigel Farage says the £5m gift he received was given as a “reward” for campaigning for Brexit - but we thought it was for security...

After days of speculation, Wes Streeting has resigned - but stopped short of declaring a leadership bid against Starmer. Has he made the best of a bad job, or has he “royally fucked it?”

"In Starmer's view, unless a coup is filled out in triplicate, it didn’t happen!" Is Starmer's refusal to step down as PM 'admirable' or 'arrogant'? @maitlis.bsky.social | @jonsopel1.bsky.social | @lewisgoodall.com

"This is the scenario which is most likely to yield Ed Miliband as prime minister of this country." "He wouldn't risk a Wes Streeting victory - and would therefore potentially stand." Could Labour's leadership chaos end with Ed Miliband as PM?

"The people who work closely with Starmer are terrified. "They think: a bit of instability now, yes - but it's worth the risk to avoid what they increasingly think is a certainty: Starmer leading them to defeat to Reform." What have Labour insiders been telling @lewisgoodall.com?

"Keir Starmer realises that this would be the seventh PM since Brexit - it is 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘥. "It makes us a national joke if we cannot, as a nation, hold on to a PM more than 18 months." Is Starmer's refusal to go a sign of arrogance, or an attempt to avoid another psychodrama?

"Starmer fell back into what he often does which is the 'why'. "I think we're past 'why'. People want to know why their living standards are lower? No they don’t! They get why! "We want to hear what's going to change. Now now now. The urgency. The big idea. That was missing."

“One of the problems they’ve had is not pinning Brexit onto Farage and Reform strongly or often enough - it’s a schoolboy error” Emily and Lewis say the “strongest” part of Starmer’s speech was attacking Farage - but you “can’t fatten the pig on market day”.

“We’re moving into an era of politics where it’s more about who you want to stop rather than who you necessarily like.” Local election results reveal the end of two-party politics and a rise in tactical voting in the uk.

“Do Labour want to stop a Reform government or don’t they? Because Keir Starmer is not the man to do it!” People within Labour are saying that Starmer is an “electoral liability” as they suffer huge losses to Reform. But does the party “have the guts” to do something about it?

“You think you’ll be able to catch me out? I’ve run rings around protestors and judges, mate. “You’d never be able to catch me out” Lewis gets barred from cafe after an interview with controversial Birmingham campaigner, Akhmed Yakoob, descends into chaos.

"Every great man has been to prison - Nelson Mandela went to prison." "You'd compare yourself to Nelson Mandela?" Lewis clashes with Independent campaigner Akhmed Yakoob, who is facing trial for money laundering, after Yakoob accuses him of having “puppet masters” in “the Zionist regime.”

“What age are we in now where no one has the bravery to say that Trump should not, cannot, stand again as president?” Watch the unbelievable moment a judge nominee struggles to answer a basic question about whether Trump is allowed to run for a third term.

UK football fans face travel across the US, Canada and Mexico to follow this year's World Cup – and it's going to cost them a fortune. "We're seeing stories of people selling their houses! No one normal does that," says sports journalist Adam Crafton

"You have an American defence secretary with his hair slicked back, with his suit far too small, bragging that he's instructed his own soldiers to commit a war crime." "Turns out the world's favourite frat boy is actually a fascist."

"There will be pressure on the government to spell out what it means when they say 'we stand with the Jewish community' "They are easy words to say - it's harder to translate what it means." Politicians are saying Jewish hatred can’t go on, but do they have any idea what to do?

“We’re feeling cr*p as a country. It felt like someone just lifted us all up a bit”. “I don’t think people are feeling jollier having seen speeches about checks and balances.” Are you feeling 'jollier' having watched the King’s Congress speech?

"If you want to understand the actual threat that Jews face, just turn on the news today." After the Golders Green stabbings, @sarahsackman.bsky.social pushes back on Zack Polanski questioning whether Jewish people face 'a perception of unsafety or actual unsafety'.

"𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘔𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱, 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥?" America isn't buying Melania’s outrage over Jimmy Kimmel's gag she has a 'glow like an expectant widow'. "If you believe in free speech, Jimmy Kimmel can tell whatever joke he likes."

“I think he should carry on, I think he can carry on - I don’t know whether he will.” Former Labour advisor and Starmer biographer @tombaldwin66.bsky.social on whether, after the Mandelson vetting scandal, Starmer will lead Labour into the next election.

“We know the laws about drink-driving, but there are no laws about drink-voting”. As Green MP Hannah Spencer calls out Westminster drinking culture - Jon and Emily discuss, should MPs be banned from drinking on the job?

“The fact he had a gun and knives in a central Washington hotel room was entirely legal.” Is America willing to change anything after a third attempt on Trump’s life?

”Protection officers see people do immoral things – Royals or politicians having affairs – but they’re not the moral police.” Questions continue around what MET officers witnessed when protecting Andrew. Is it an ‘astonishing’ claim to say they saw nothing?

“Donald Trump is an American with not a liberal bone in his body”. Is America turning its back on liberalism - the very idea it was founded on?

Michelle Obama once said 'when they go low, we go high'. Now Democrats are saying 'when they go low, we’re going even lower!' 10 years on, are the Dems ready to fight dirty?

Are all cultures equal? “We should have a pluralist approach to cultures. "Different cultures will lead people to pursuing different ends in life. That is integral to a liberal society.”

"She has the receipts!" RFK Jr proves "politics is totally broken" after denying he said 'every Black kid should work on farms'.

"Starmer can be chatty and warm – but there's a limit to it… "I’ve got a sense that what motivates other politicians, doesn't necessarily motivate him." @samcoatessky.bsky.social on what’s he learned about the 'unknowable' PM.

“We knew that Boris Johnson was a cad and bounder, we thought Starmer would be a straight-shooter - maybe a little dull, but dull was fine. “But he’s fallen short on the standards that he’s set himself”

"Iran thinks it's got America on the run. "They know they have got patience and time on their side - they also know Donald Trump hasn't." Donald Trump's messaging on Iran changes on a daily basis and Iran knows it. Has he lost all control?

Just hours after chairing Olly Robbins’ testimony, Emily Thornberry says she believes the former Foreign Office boss was "bullied". “The pressure was coming from Morgan McSweeney. He was a protege of Mandelson, he was trying to deliver him the job”.

"Has there been a more egregious and shameful decision by a PM - getting rid of someone to save their own skin? "Olly Robbins is out of a job, apparently, for doing his job." Keir Starmer came to office promising to clean up politics. Yet where are we now?

“Boris Johnson always used to call Starmer ‘The Lawyer’… and it was NOT a compliment. "It meant he was slippery, legalistic, trying to find shortcuts. "Starmer would hate to be reminded of that - but there is a danger that that's a role he's starting to slip into now.”

"The original sin was the hubris of thinking that Mandelson was the right person for that job. The latter movement by Starmer, to fire Olly Robbins, is jaw-dropping." Civil servants are SEETHING after "slippery" Starmer threw Robbins - who did what was asked - under the bus.

“The midterms aren’t for another 6 months - it’s a long time to wait when you’ve got a guy with his finger over the nuclear button.” Will anyone from the Republican Party find the backbone to attempt to oust Donald Trump?

Mandelson failed security vetting. Starmer, once again, says he had no idea. “It either makes him look like a gullible fool or he’s lying”. “That trick, that excuse that I was misled, works once. There's diminishing returns every time you invoke it”.

“MAGA has tried to recruit God as a representative of their movement - saying Donald Trump is a latter-day Jesus” As MAGA continue to present as the party of God, is it any surprise the Pope felt the need to speak up? @maitlis.bsky.social | @jonsopel1.bsky.social

“A social media ban for u16s is a displacement activity. I think it makes us feel better - but won’t necessarily have much effect," @lewisgoodall.com. Is banning social media for u16s really the answer - or should we be looking more closely at the power tech companies have?

“We sent a warship on a defensive mission to defend British interests in Cyprus. Is it there yet?” Does the UK have the hard power to defend itself – or has its response to the Iran war shown how "impotent" our military is

“Tobacco companies focused on getting teens addicted to tobacco because they are their lifelong customers. “Similarly Meta said ‘to get tweens, you have to hook them as tweens’." Is Meta using the handbook written by tobacco companies to get young people addicted to social media?

"This will be a real slap in the face for the MAGA movement. "Trump, Vance - they looked to Hungary as their blueprint. Now, this part of Europe, has rejected that." Will the outcome of the Hungary election change the way populist parties in Europe behave towards Trump?

“I have a future!" “We will abandon the Russian way" "It means hope". A generation of Hungarians, who’ve only ever known Orbán’s pro-Russian government, take to the streets to celebrate what they see as a reclaiming of democracy, and a future closer to Europe. @maitlis.bsky.social

“In a way, Trump's right in saying there’s been a regime transformation", says Ali Vaez. “But the new cast of characters are much more hardline compared to their predecessors" Trump is boasting of regime change in Iran, but what has been left in the wake of his 'war of choice'?

Will Trump accept the results of the midterms if he loses - unlike Jan 6? “He’ll probably allege some sort of theft”, says Marc Short, Mike Pence's chief of staff during 2020 elections. "I believe the president knows Jan 6 wasn’t stolen, but he keeps up the charade”.

"Nixon had the madman theory - the idea that you pretend to be a madman to see how far you can take a threat to make the other side cave. "But Trump isn't just emulating a theory. He's actually becoming the thing."

“We’ve been at the end of a Trump whim, not win!” “The Iran problem has paused for now, but the Trump problem hasn’t.” MAGA is celebrating the end of Trump's 'war of choice' but do they have bigger fish to fry?

As war rages on in Iran, Trump spent his Easter weekend colouring in pictures with toddlers. He asked the three-year-olds their thoughts on fake news, whilst lecturing them on his predecessor Joe Biden. "Why is no one stopping him!"

“He will become even more interested in leaving his mark - God help us - on the world!” What will happen if Trump loses Congress in the November midterms?

"They consider themselves educated progressives, they call MAGA & Reform radicalised - I think online life does that to people of all stripes" @lewisgoodall.com responds after receiving 'sh*t' from online Starmer supporters for his Ch4 doc ‘Keir Starmer: Where Did It All Go Wrong?’

“This is NOT your house! This is the people’s house!” As a judge halts construction on Trump’s $400m White House ballroom, we take a look at its questionable design...

"Putin is having the best day of his life with the stuff Trump is saying & doing - it's every Russian dream come true." As Trump threatens to pull out of NATO, @maitlis.bsky.social & @jonsopel1.bsky.social say he's doing everything possible to weaken the West - and hand Putin what he always wanted.

“To recap, we're not invited to Liz Truss's conference, but Tommy Robinson might be.” A sad day for The News Agents, as Liz Truss confirms we’re “probably” not invited to her ‘Make England Great Again’ conference this summer. Shame.

"The palace must be thinking - oh my god, what are we doing?" Moments after Trump slagged off the UK, King Charles confirmed his state visit to the US will go ahead. Is he being forced to go by the PM – and is this a recipe for a Royal cock-up?

"Undoubtedly, fractures are appearing. They're saying, 'Putting boots on the ground? In Iran? Are you mad?'" Is Israel backing away from Trump as he sends US troops toward Iran - and where's JD Vance in all this?

"Matt Goodwin is an embarrassment to Reform - 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳." Failed Reform UK candidate Matt Goodwin is facing accusations of fake quotes, factual errors, and AI-generated content in his new book. Is it time to reassess his entire academic legacy?

“That famous ideological warrior, once again, deciding she doesn’t want to talk to anyone who disagrees with her”. Liz Truss refuses to speak to Lewis Goodall at MAGA conference, despite taking to the stage to warn America about the rise of islamism - and Sharia Law - in the UK

“There are multiple billionaires in Trump’s cabinet. It’s not impossible somebody in government might have had the resources to do this”, says Paul Krugman. Have people inside Trump’s government, with knowledge of the Iran war, capitalised on the oil markets through insider trading?

"NATO is about defence - stopping things, not starting them. "When it comes to economic security, I don’t know that's the same as someone firing a ballistic missile at your head." Is NATO chief Mark Rutte right to ask member counties to 'unequivocally' back Trump's war in Iran?

"A very convenient coincidence" and "conveniently odd". This is how ministers are describing the theft of Morgan McSweeney’s phone, and his use of disappearing WhatsApp messages. So, is it an issue that government messages are "disappearing into the ether"?

"Trump ran on a campaign of Great Replacement Theory - that muslims needed to be banned, that Mexicans were animals. "After, politicians across Europe were espousing similar ideas - like Farage”. Has Trump helped spread the Great Replacement theory to the UK?

"It is grotesque to target people in the Jewish community whose goal is to save lives. Is THAT a legitimate military target?" Four charity ambulances were torched in an antisemitic attack in London. Direct action by Iran, or is a proxy-group to blame?

Just minutes before Trump announced “productive discussions” with Iran to end the war, traders placed millions in oil bets. Is this a remarkable coincidence? Or are Trump’s friends getting filthy-rich from his war through insider trading?

"Starmer is no Hugh Grant - David Beckham's right foot, David Beckham's left foot, and all the rest of it. But I don't think that we have heard him be 𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 in terms of a Trump rebuttal before." Is this the closest Starmer will get to his 'Love Actually' moment?

Just minutes before Trump announced “productive discussions” with Iran to end the war, traders placed millions in oil bets. Is this a remarkable coincidence? Or are Trump’s friends getting filthy-rich from his war through insider trading? @maitlis.bsky.social

"The cynic in me wonders how many of his mates knew this announcement was coming." This morning - as markets opened - Trump declared productive talks to end the war with Iran. An hour later, Tehran contradicted him. Was Trump simply declaring peace to drive oil prices down?

Has Trump achieved his aim of regime change in Iran? And if not, is a newly “hardened” cohort in its place which believes it “needs a nuclear weapon to guarantee its own survival”?

America’s ‘Secretary of War’ says “ungrateful allies in Europe” should be thanking Donald Trump for his action in Iran. But what should we be thanking him for? Is America actually winning the war?

“It’s either a total win for Iran or a total win for America. It’s hard to see where the off-ramp is.” Are both Iran and America being driven to escalate and intensify the war further?

"A regime that silences critics. Shoots its people in the street. Acts with impunity. "Are we talking about the Ayatollah's Iran - or Trump's America?"

“When you rang our doorbell to help with Ukraine, did you get help? Of course you did. Now President Trump is asking you for help have you said yes? You’ve said no.” Former White House Special Envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt on whether the US and Europe are still allies.

"Trafalgar Square has been used by Sikhs, Christians and Jews - it is literally our public square." Yet when Muslims pray there, Shadow Justice Sec Nick Timothy calls it an 'act of domination'. Does the right of politics have a problem uniquely with Muslims?

"What a trap is being set for Donald Trump. "He either surrenders and allows the Strait of Hormuz to remain shut - in which case this is an epic fail and the regime is in place. "Or he puts 1000s of marines on the ground - and it becomes a shooting fight."

“It is pure, 100% fiction!” “Is he in a land of delusion? Is he in a world of his own?” Donald Trump claims that he “predicted” 9/11 one year before the planes hit the World Trade Center.