The Northern Agenda

Our friends at the Manchester Evening News have taken over the Northern Agenda podcast today, sharing their reaction to Andy Burnham's by-election victory in Makerfield. Daniel J. McLaughlin is joined by the MEN's political writer Iram Ramzan and local democracy reporter Declan Carey to discuss the result, what it means for Greater Manchester, and what we can expect for the Labour Party and Reform UK in the near future. Photo: Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Government Minister, metro mayors, journalists and political advisors all gathered in orange hi-vis jackets at a rail depot in Leeds today to hear an announcement by Rachel Reeves they hope will be a game-changer for the North's transport links.Leeds MP Ms Reeves has promised the Government will set aside £45bn to pay for Northern Powerhouse Rail, the project designed to speed up rail links between the North's big cities. But after so many broken promises, does anyone in the North believe it will actually happen?On a special edition of the Northern Agenda podcast, Rob Parsons speaks to the Chancellor about why this project is personal for her and what it will mean for the North's economy.Rail Minister Peter Hendy explains what the announcement will mean for the North's commuters - and are metro mayors Andy Burnham and Tracy Brabin happy with what they've heard? The Northern Agenda is a Reach production, presented by Rob Parsons and produced by Daniel J. McLaughlin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Westminster circus is preparing to descend once again on the Liverpool docks as Labour holds its annual party conference at the city's big convention centre.It'll be five days of political debate, speeches and drinks events for the Labour faithful. But as Keir Starmer tries to rouse his troops and get his stuttering premiership back on track, there's a shadow being cast by a certain Scouse-accented metro mayor and King of the North who may well just steal the limelight.Will this year's Labour conference turn out to be the Andy Burnham show? Rob Parsons and Liam Thorp discuss it with one of the country's most successful and best-connected political journalists, Patrick Maguire, who as well as being chief political commentator at The Times is a native of nearby Southport.Patrick will be appearing at the Ilkley Literature Festival on Sunday 19th Oct at 1:15 pm to talk about his book 'Get In: The Inside Story of Labour Under Starmer', described as a blistering exposé of the most significant and ruthless political transformation in a generation.​ More details here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

​This week, Rob Parsons speaks to Jim McMahon, a Northern politician at the heart of Government.In the Commons this week - before her tax affairs become engulfed in controversy - Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner made the case to MPs about what she described as "the biggest transfer of power in a generation out of Whitehall to our regions and communities" and an end to "the begging bowl, micro-managing culture".She's talking about Labour’s English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, which will give more powers to existing mayors and see two-tier district and county councils replaced with one body.Why should we care about this legislation tinkering under the bonnet of our democratic system? This week on the podcast ​R​ob asked ​M​r McMahon, one of Angela Rayner's team of Ministers in charge of Local Government and Devolution, as well as being an MP in Oldham. He's a former leader of Oldham council too so knows all too well the challenges local politicians face.​Mr McMahon talks about how these changes are fundamental to Labour's mission in government, what he says about worries they will allow power to be hoarded away from communities, and whether he'd force areas like Lancashire to have a metro mayor. PLUS: Why he's forcing councils like Sheffield to abandon their committee system of government and what he thinks of Reform UK's decision in Nottinghamshire to ban any communications with their local paper. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

​A few weeks ago on a visit to Leeds, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said there was "something really special" about the health ecosystem in the city - which boasts more NHS England and Department for Health staff than anywhere outside London. But the ambitions of health bosses in Yorkshire's biggest city go ​f​urther still. A few days ago its hospital trust set out a new strategy to cement its position as the UK's largest research powerhouse outside the traditional so-called Golden Triangle of life sciences in London, Oxford and Cambridge. Targeting a 40% increase in research activity by 2030, it's hoped the five-year research and innovation strategy will achieve a host of other goals, namely improving health outcomes, tackling health inequalities and driving economic growth. On the Northern Agenda podcast this week, Dr Chris Herbert, Director of Operations for Research and Innovation at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, tells Rob Parsons​ about the pioneering work its researchers are already doing, the North-South divide on research funding and how he wants underserved communities in Yorkshire to feel the benefit from the new strategy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For a lot of football fans around the country, the season is getting under way this weekend. But in South Yorkshire and on the Lancashire coast, two sets of fans will have a very real sense of trepidation that their clubs are about to disappear. Sheffield Wednesday and Morecambe don't have much in common in terms of their football histories, but are both in dire financial trouble and face sanctions from football authorities. Rob and Liam talk to Liverpool academic and football accounting expert Kieran Maguire about how two Northern clubs were left teetering on the brink and what it tells us about modern football. Plus Rob has an awkward encounter with an AI version of a Northern MP. And Liam tells us about the rather rude email he had from a BBC Newsnight viewer after he appeared on the show this week to talk immigration. The Northern Agenda is a Reach production, presented by Rob Parsons and Liam Thorp, and produced by Daniel J. McLaughlin. The image is by Northern Agenda resident cartoonist Graeme Bandeira. You can read all of the latest newsletters from The Northern Agenda here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Rob Parsons and Liam Thorp digest the big news that could get us closer to the truth about the violent clashes between police and striking miners four decades ago that are still a source of huge anger in parts of our region even now. Plus Liam tells us about his trip on the new form of transport that's been gliding about the streets of Liverpool​. ​ And there are some worrying new stats that show for all of Labour's warm words about tackling child poverty, things in many parts of the North are still going in the wrong direction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

​It's hard to believe a law that came into effect 200 years ago is still in force today. And on the podcast this week, Liam Thorp explains why the repeal of the cruel Vagrancy Act - which dates back to 1824 - can't come soon enough. Rob Parsons looks into why university leaders are trying to persuade the Government about the vital economic impact international students have on towns and cities in the North of England - and why there could be a lot at stake if they don't succeed. And as Liam heads off to watch Oasis at Heaton Park, Rob ponders whether he should adopt a new nickname inspired by rap sensation Pitbull. The Northern Agenda is a Reach production, presented by Rob Parsons and Liam Thorp, and produced by Daniel J. McLaughlin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Liam Thorp off this week, Rob Parsons spends today's episode looking into one of the perennial bugbears of politicians across the North: potholes. They're a big issue for voters - and the new Labour government has told local councils they must publicly report on what they're doing to keep our roads fit for driving by June 30 or risk losing their share of an additional £500 million of funding. In this episode of The Northern Agenda Podcast, we’ll explore what this means for councils, the road maintenance industry, and the communities that depend on well-maintained local roads for driving, cycling and catching the bus across the North. Rob talks to Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood about the thinking behind the new policy and gets the industry perspective from Newcastle-based David Jobling-Purser, vice-chair of the Road Emulsion Association. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rachel Reeves gave her long-awaited spending review statement setting out where she and Keir Starmer are going to be spending their money between now and the General Election. But which of the Chancellor's announcements will have the biggest impact on the North? Which Northern town got more mentions than anywhere else? Which Labour MP produced a cringeworthy display of sycophancy and which Labour mayor gave the Government both barrels? This week Rob Parsons and Liam Thorp are joined by Henri Murison of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership to answer these questions and more. And you can hear a bit about Rob's memorable award acceptance that may have prompted a public health warning... The Northern Agenda is a Reach production, presented by Rob Parsons and Liam Thorp, and produced by Daniel J. McLaughlin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

​This week Rob Parsons speaks to one of the leading voices in the region, if not the country, on the all-important issue of how we can ensure everyone has a chance to succeed in life regardless of their background. The concept is also called social mobility, and in 2010 a body called the Social Mobility Commission was set up to hold the country and the Government of the day to account on whether things are actually improving in this respect. Its chair Alun Francis has years of experience on the ground trying to make the lives of young people better in the North. Currently, the Principal and Chief Executive of Blackpool and The Fylde College, he previously had the top job at Oldham College. It's the 15th anniversary of the Child Poverty Act this year, the legislation that brought the social mobility commission into being. So what better time to talk to Alun about why young people in the North are still being held back by where they're from, and importantly what we can do about it. The Northern Agenda is a Reach production, presented by Rob Parsons and produced by Daniel J. McLaughlin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Northern Agenda podcast is back, bringing you more weekly insights into the big issues affecting the North of England. This time, Rob Parsons is joined by new co-host Liam Thorp, political editor of the Liverpool Echo, to talk about the biggest politics stories in the North from a Northern perspective. Rob and Liam look at how Nigel Farage's Reform UK have been getting on now they have their first Northern MP and run several councils and local authorities in our region. Plus Liam explains why the Liverpool Echo and Manchester Evening News have been putting their old rivalries aside for a joint front page and they ask why on earth people have to keep parking on the pavement on Merseyside. The Northern Agenda is a Reach production, presented by Rob Parsons and Liam Thorp, and produced by Daniel J. McLaughlin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices