In the space of 24 hours, The News Agents’ Jon Sopel and Emily Maitlis went from reading Rachel Reeves’ last rites to suggesting she is entirely un-sackable following her teary appearance on the front bench. A volte face that did not go unnoticed by the podcast’s fan base…
After pulling the emergency podcast lever on Wednesday, during which the pair suggested the government was in “freefall” and mused over the Chancellor’s doomed fate, listeners would assume Rachel Reeves had brought down No10 with her weeping. A day later, however, Jon Sopel was asking if she had in fact become “impregnable, unsackable” following the market reactions. Listeners weren’t buying it…
The podcastocracy is surprisingly quiet on the bombshell revelations in the Casey review. The News Agents – which promises “astute analysis and explanation of the day’s news” by “three of the country’s top journalists” – published a juicy 43-minute episode yesterday on the Middle East, with a lengthy discussion on Trump’s game plan and what comes next for Iran and Israel. They even found time to interview Stella Creasy about abortion. Not a word about the rape gangs scandal which splashed virtually every front page this morning…
At the time of going to pixel, neither Emily Maitlis nor Jon Sopel has tweeted a word about it. Guido even checked Sopel’s Bluesky account, just in case. It is still collecting cobwebs. The ‘centrist-dad’ audio torture that is The Rest is Politics is also yet to trigger the ’emergency podcast’ alarm over one of the biggest political coverups in decades…
In fairness to Lewis Goodall, he discussed the topic on his Sunday LBC slot. But why is his co-host Maitlis so reluctant to wade in? Anything to do with her Rupert Lowe tirade ageing like milk?
Three long months have passed since Bluesky addict Jon Sopel last posted to the platform. At the time of going to pixel, that’s over 2,189 hours since Sopel dropped in on his vast Bluesky fanbase, despite publicly declaring he would leave Musk’s X permanently last November. He’s posted five times on X in the last twenty-four hours alone.
Guido has previously reported on Bluesky users’ anguish at Sopel’s prolonged, unannounced sabbatical. Without a regular supply of his incisive commentary, they may face a reluctant return to Musk’s playground. Spare a thought…
The reactions are coming in – Emily Maitlis and fellow News Agents presenter Jon Sopel have been discussing Starmer’s migration speech. They’re coming to terms with it in their own way…
Maitlis was aghast at Starmer’s use of Brexity language and said she would be “terrified” by the changes:
“I think you can go in and talk about control and contribution i.e ‘we need to have these controls and we need to recognise the contribution’ – He has opted certainly in this speech just to talk about control and the language of taking back control… If I had elderly parents that were going into a care home right now I’d be absolutely terrified, I would be absolutely terrified because what you’re doing is you’re turning off the tap of people who are qualified.”
Sopel weighed in with his own contribution: “The question of the lab and the experiment as if as if – it sounds like Frankenstein’s monster doesn’t it?” Cheers for that….
Maitlis finally found her line: “Maybe you have to ask yourself if you had to have a hardline immigration system from any party would it be the party that traditionally veers towards compassion but is hardening up or the party like Reform that traditionally veers towards a lack of compassion and probably incompetence when they actually get into power?” At least it’s Labour, thank God…
This month Maitlis declared Runcorn a victory for Labour. The zingers keep coming…
Guido can report another month has passed without a Jon Sopel Bluesky post. Sopel last posted a promo for his show on the progressive platform, which last November he declared was his new permanent address, on 7 March. 89,700 excruciating minutes have passed since then…
Today is just over eight weeks since that last post. Meanwhile he has posted on Musk’s X twice so far today alone…
Searches for Sopel’s name return nothing on the platform now. Bluesky users have given up hope…
Guido is sorry to report that another month has passed without Jon Sopel posting on progressive Bluesky since he ‘changed address’ permanently last November. In March the News Agents Presenter returned tail-legged to the platform to repost something he had put on X, to the chagrin of his devoted fans who have long since left that platform…
It now appears that Sopel’s Bluesky post constituted a potemkin return. 30 more long days have passed without any activity…
Sopel’s other social media account on US government official Elon Musk’s platform is abuzz with original content and thoughts. Sopel has posted on Musk’s X a shocking four times in the last 24 hours alone…
Guido also has to report that co-presenter Emily Maitlis’ enthusiasm for the platform looks to be waning – her last activity on the platform was a whopping 27 days ago compared to her most recent X activity, which was today. When even The News Agents have abandoned it…
Lucy Powell on LBC, asked by Tom Swarbrick for her reaction to Labour MP Samantha Niblett’s call for a ‘summer of sex’ debate in Parliament: “I personally don’t own any sex toys, but each to their own… I’m not really sure that’s the right place for it, no.”
