The Northern Agenda

Laudable
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/

  1. 20 SEPT

    Will Labour really deliver for the North? | Learning the lessons from HS2 fiasco

    ​I​f you're into politics it's likely you'll be heading to, or at the very least reading about, one of the big party conferences happening this autumn. By far the biggest is Labour's annual get-together in Liverpool, their first as a new government. ​A​nd anyone who's interested in the future direction of the Labour party will want to ​R​ob Parsons' interview with one of its most interesting new MPs, Josh Simons, MP for Makerfield in Greater Manchester​. ​H​e's a former advisor to Jeremy Corbyn and used to run ​t​he influential think-tank Labour Together, which has extremely close links to the current Keir Starmer government.  ​T​he loyal 'Starmtrooper' been earmarked by a lot of observers as one to watch in the new intake of MPs​.​ And on the podcast he talks about a fundamental shift in the way politics is done under the new government and his thoughts on the levelling up agenda and what Labour does to replace it.  And I​isteners will certainly have a view on his defence of Rachel Reeves over the first big controversy of the new Labour government, the cutting of the winter fuel allowance so it only goes to the poorest pensioners. ​A year on from Rishi Sunak's decision to axe the Northern leg of HS2 to Manchester, while giving a conference speech in Manchester, Rob speaks to a transport expert who's helped put together a report on what we can learn from the cancellation of the high speed rail project in the North.  Jonathan Spruce of the Institution of Civil Engineers talks about how we need to take the politics out of these huge infrastructure projects if they're ever going to succeed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 3m
  2. 3 SEPT

    👶 Women failed from the day they're born | Joe Morris: the Labour MP in a seat that voted Tory for a century

    There's a definite 'back to school' feeling in the air in politics this week. The news agenda is already being dominated by the issues that we're going to be hearing about again and again in the coming months - small boats, the housing crisis and the ravaged state of the public finances. It's back to school for the North's politicians too, and with Westminster resuming after the summer break this week a new Labour MP, Hexham's Joe Morris, is leading not one but two debates in the Commons and has been telling his fellow MPs about the banking deserts that are worrying locals in his huge Northumberland constituency.​ He explains to Rob Parsons how he's been trying to fight for voters in an area that voted Tory for 100 years. Up in York this week, the North's political leaders have their own big event, launching the so-called manifesto for the North, a document setting out how the likes of Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and other elected leaders can work together to help our region thrive. And with perfect timing, a new report put together by Northern academics and experts sets out all too clearly just how badly half of our population is being let down by just how unequal our country is, from the moment they're born to the day they die. Rob speaks to ​Professor Kate Pickett, one of the authors of a new very hard-hitting report ‘Woman of the North: Inequality, health and work’, which finds that women in the North of England live shorter lives, work more hours for less pay, are more likely to be an unpaid carer, and more likely to live in poverty than women in other regions of England. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    38 min
4.7
out of 5
20 Ratings

About

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/

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