The Northern Agenda
The Northern Agenda is a weekly podcast covering politics and public affairs from across the North of England, voiced by journalists who are outside the Westminster bubble, reporting from the other side of the North/South divide.
From Blackpool to Barnsley and Bamburgh and everywhere in between, exploring subjects such as levelling up to buses, elections to the latest council scraps, The Northern Agenda brings you discussion and analysis of the North's big political stories, from people experiencing them on the ground.
Rob Parsons speaks to politicians, activists, campaigners, experts, community figures, journalists, business leaders, pollsters and more about the political stories that really matter to the North - and from the North - that you won't hear about from the national media in London.
The Northern Agenda is a Laudable production for Reach. It is presented by Rob Parsons, and it is produced by Daniel J. McLaughlin.
You can subscribe to the daily Northern Agenda newsletter here: http://www.thenorthernagenda.co.uk/
101
How the 'worst-ever outbreak of bird flu' could...
We're heading out to the countryside for our political guest this week, as the world is going through its worst-ever outbreak of bird flu.
In the UK it's been reported that around 600,000 of Britain's 1.2 million free-range turkeys produced...
29 min
102
๐ฃ 'This is the North': a Northern Agenda specia...
This week's podcast is coming to you from The People's Powerhouse Annual Convention. The Northern Agenda editor Rob Parsons is joined by a series of speakers and guests at the 'This is the North' conference, held in Manchester.
To discuss the...
37 min
103
๐ณ๏ธ It's by-election season in Chester and Stret...
As we were recording this week's podcast, the Housing Secretary Michael Gove was up in Rochdale for talks with the local housing association that owned the flat where two-year-old Awaab Ishak died after prolonged exposure to mould.
Awaab died in...
29 min
104
๐ 'I'm furious': Yorkshire mayor reacts to autu...
Reactions are coming in following the Autumn Statement from Jeremy Hunt on Thursday - and one of those voicing their concern - and indeed, anger - is West of Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin.
The Labour metro mayor tells The Northern Agenda editor Rob...
41 min
105
๐ท Government expands intervention into Liverpoo...
The Northern Agenda editor Rob Parsons is joined by Liam Thorp, political editor of the Liverpool Echo, to take a look back on some of the big stories in Northern politics.
One of which involves Michael Gove, now back in post as Levelling Up...
30 min
106
๐ซ How primary school children running drugs for...
Thousands of young people in England are being groomed, harmed, and even killed because the systems that are supposed to keep them safe are not fit for purpose.
That's the damning verdict of a new report by the Commission on Young Lives final...
30 min
107
๐ฅ The "ticking time bomb" in the North's hospit...
With all the attention on drama at the top of government and what it could mean for our economy, the parlous state of the NHS looks like it's barely registering on the news agenda.
Speaking in Parliament this week, new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak...
31 min
108
๐ Why Leeds lags behind Dublin and Lille ๐๏ธ Our...
It's a truth universally acknowledged that Leeds is the biggest urban area in Western Europe without a rapid mass transit system - a metro to you and me - despite numerous attempts over the years to get one.
Political leaders in West Yorkshire hope...
34 min
109
Dr Kieran Mullan MP on sentencing for child mur...
The phrase a 'life sentence' is a familiar one for anyone who follows reports of our most high-profile criminal cases, but how often does a life sentence actually mean life?
And in the case of offenders who carry out the most unimaginable act of...
42 min
110
The future of STEM: how we can get more young p...
A supply of graduates in the so-called STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is vital for our economy - but how we can get young people, particularly girls, to engage with the subjects and fill the high-skilled jobs in...
23 min
111
What will the North get from Tory conference? |...
With Labour well ahead in the polls and the party's policies being blamed for the UK's current economic turmoil, it promises to be a challenging party conference for the Conservatives in Birmingham this weekend.And this week on The Northern Agenda...
39 min
112
Labour Party conference preview with Kevin Magu...
The Labour Party Conference takes place in Liverpool from Sunday, but what can we expect from the "festival of politics"?
Kevin Maguire, political journalist and associate editor at the Daily Mirror, who estimates that he has "topped 100 political...
44 min
113
The great Cumbrian council shake-up | Why busin...
After taking a short break following the Queen's death, The Northern Agenda is back to look at the issues impacting the North, discussing the stories that are outside of the Westminster bubble.
Liverpool Echo political editor Liam Thorp joins Rob...
40 min
114
Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen on Boris Johnson'...
In the last week of Boris Johnson's premiership, Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen joins Northern Agenda editor Rob Parsons to discuss the outgoing prime minister's legacy.
The Tory metro mayor tells Rob about what voters in the North East think about...
32 min
115
Andy Burnham on "shouting into the abyss" with ...
The Northern Agenda travels to Greater Manchester this week to discuss levelling up and the cost of living crisis with two influential figures in the region: Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, and his night time economy adviser Sacha Lord.
Andy...
44 min
116
The North's housing shame | Stephen Topping on ...
Following a heartbreaking investigation by the Manchester Evening News, which found that two-year-old Awaab Ishak died after his lungs were exposed to damp and mould in a social housing flat in Rochdale, The Northern Agenda looks at the North's...
26 min
117
Crime and punishment in the North: Ex-chief pro...
Joining Rob Parsons and Dan O'Donohue on The Northern Agenda podcast are two of the leading figures in our region on the subject of crime and policing.
In a week where the police watchdog revealed that most victims of burglary, robbery and theft...
36 min
118
Sir Roger Marsh on what Local Enterprise Partne...
We are into Week Two of the slow-burning Tory leadership race with Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss criss-crossing the country, trying to win over Conservative party members who will choose the next prime minister.
The Northern Agenda editor Rob Parsons...
39 min
119
Our message to Sunak and Truss: Don't Turn Your...
Rob Parsons is joined by Dan O'Donohue on The Northern Agenda to take stock on a week where Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are locked in battle to win over Tory members, who will decide which one of them will become our next prime minister.
Ahead of the...
45 min
120
Nick Fletcher on the fight to save Doncaster Sh...
Rob Parsons and Dan O'Donohue are back for another episode of The Northern Agenda podcast, discussing the heatwave of July 2022, Boris Johnson's last ever PMQs, and the Tory leadership contest.
Dan chats to Nick Fletcher, the Conservative MP for...
33 min
121
Anna Turley on the North East becoming the UK's...
In a week where the North East was revealed as the country's child poverty hotspot, with one in two children growing up in poverty in some towns, what can we do to turn the situation around?
The Northern Agenda podcast speaks to former Labour MP...
39 min
122
The Northern Agenda: Oliver Coppard on South Yo...
On The Northern Agenda podcast this week Rob Parsons speaks to Oliver Coppard, the recently-elected Labour mayor of South Yorkshire.ย The mayor describes his first few weeks in the job where he's had to wrestle with the impact of devastatingย bus...
34 min
123
Louise Haigh on why she thinks Boris Johnson's ...
Labour frontbencher Louise Haigh joins Dan O'Donohue on this week's Northern Agenda podcast, discussing rail strikes, Labour's victory in the Wakefield by-election, and why she believes Boris Johnson's Red Wall is starting to crumble.
The shadow...
31 min
124
Lexit: Should Leigh split from Wigan? | The pre...
Let's talk about the way we talk. On this week's podcast, The Northern Agenda speaks to Dr Robert M. McKenzie about new analysis on the way we respond to accents.
The associate professor in sociolinguistics, along with a team of academics at...
46 min
125
Wakefield by-election special: The Northern Age...
Four of the leading Wakefield by-election candidates locked horns in a special Northern Agenda and YorkshireLive hustings on Tuesday night.
Ahead of the election on June 24, the candidates running to be Wakefield's next MP debated on issues such as...
57 min