The News Meeting What will be the biggest stories of 2026?
Dec 29, 2025
In this engaging discussion, Cat Neilan, Whitehall editor and political oracle, predicts a Labour leadership challenge while humorously suggesting Jeremy Corbyn might defect to the Greens. Erica Wagner, Deputy Opinion Editor, foresees trials of age-based social media bans and warns of a major backlash against low-quality AI content. Meanwhile, sports expert Andrew Butler optimistically bets on England clinching the World Cup and laments the fading relevance of the Commonwealth Games. The trio crafts a thought-provoking outlook on the pivotal stories shaping 2026.
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Episode notes
Predictions As A Newsroom Exercise
- The episode throws journalistic caution to predict big stories for 2026 and accepts likely errors.
- That framing turns the show into a playful but revealing newsroom exercise about risk and judgement.
Musk–Trump Public Fall-Out
- Cat Neilan recalled predicting a public fall-out between Donald Trump and Elon Musk and some ensuing leaks.
- She summarized mutual damaging disclosures and threats that made life difficult for Musk financially.
Local Government Reform Is Hard To Time
- Cat expected 2025 to be the year of local councils with devolution and council mergers to save billions.
- That prediction failed, highlighting how structural reforms are hard to time and implement politically.