The Northern Agenda

By Laudable

The Northern Agenda is a weekly podcast covering politics and public affairs from across the North of England.
With Covid-19 highlighting the huge regional inequalities in the UK, and Boris Johnson under pressure to deliver on a promise to 'level up' the nation, it is more important than ever for Northern voices to be heard.
The Northern Agenda provides you with a digest of the stories that matter, voiced by journalists who are outside the Westminster bubble. We'll bring you expert insight and analysis while reporting from the other side of the North/South divide.
The Northern Agenda is a Laudable production for Reach. It is presented by Rob Parsons and Daniel O'Donoghue, 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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Latest episode

Tracy Brabin on her first year as West Yorkshire mayor | Author Sam Bright on the injustices between London and the North
We have all heard of the North-South divide, but author Sam Bright believes that the gap is far bigger and covers a wider area. The journalist and author of 'Fortress London' joins Rob Parsons on The Northern Agenda to discuss the "burning...
A 2022 local elections special | Rachael Maskell on trains in the North | Manchester Tech Festival and the digital divide
In a special edition of The Northern Agenda podcast we dissect all the results across the North in the 2022 local elections. Westminster Editor Dan O'Donoghue is joined by Liverpool Echo Political Editor Liam Thorp, Newcastle Journal Editor Graeme…
Damien Moore MP on war memorials | Professor Helen Marshall on higher technical education | The fight for overall control in Stockport
Do you know where your local war memorial is? If you do, the Imperial War Museums want to find out, too! A campaign has been launched to document every war memorial across the nation ahead of Remembrance Day this year. The drive has the backin…
TUC's Frances O'Grady on getting tough against "corporate gangsters" | The most radical shake-up to North Yorkshire politics in decades
Ahead of the TUC's Annual Regional Conference in Hull, Frances O'Grady joins Rob Parsons on The Northern Agenda podcast to discuss the state of trade unionism - and her response to the mass sacking from P&O Ferries. Hull is one of the major...
The influential Northerners you've (probably) never heard of | Local election focus on Wirral
This week Rob Parsons speaks to the author of a new book setting out how the dramatic history of the North has shaped the region as it is today. Brian Groom, who wrote 'Northerners: A History, From the Ice Age to the Present Day', tells us about..…
Catherine McKinnell on the cost of living crisis | How politicians can win over the countryside | Who'll be next South Yorkshire mayor?
On this week's episode, Newcastle North MP Catherine McKinnell calls for more action on the cost of living crisis. The Labour MP tells Dan O'Donoghue that for many of her constituents 'there's really no light at the end of the tunnel', as she urged..…
Dan Jarvis on his time as the Mayor of South Yorkshire and why he is stepping down | Sir John Curtice's predictions for the local elections
With voters returning to the ballot box on May 5, the local elections could result in some changes to the political landscape in England. One of the guaranteed changes is in South Yorkshire, where the metro mayor Dan Jarvis is stepping down after.…
Reaction to Rishi Sunak's Spring Statement | Durham's bid to become the 2025 UK City of Culture
Though the levelling up agenda is supposedly at the top of the government's agenda, the phrase did not receive a single mention in Rishi Sunak's Spring Statement this week. Some Northern leaders have called the Chancellor's mini-budget a "missed..…
Behind the scenes at The Northern Agenda Live
In our first conference, held in Newcastle last week, The Northern Agenda asked the question: what will the North look like in 2030? Speakers and panellists - from MPs to mayors, ministers to educators - offered their perspective on this topic,...
Highlights from The Northern Agenda Live
There’s widespread agreement that tackling regional inequality is one of the big political issues of our time, but how best to go about it? How much progress can the North make by 2030, the date set by Michael Gove to judge the success of the...