Political Currency
By Persephonica
Ed Balls and George Osborne take us behind closed doors into the rooms where decisions are made. Having battled it out across the despatch box, the former Chancellor and shadow chancellor now meet in the studio to discuss the decisions that affect the nation’s pockets. Our frenemies have the knowledge and experience to explain how good politics follows the economics - and expose how the powerful become powerless when faced with market forces and political currents they can’t control. Join us every Thursday.
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Political Currency is a Persephonica production.
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Latest episode
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Did Farage go too far or score political points this week?
British politics has been dominated this week by the horrifying murder of student Henry Novak and the political storm that followed the release of police bodycam footage. Ed Balls and George Osborne examine the tragedy, the questions it raises aro… -

EMQs: Is Makerfield the UK’s presidential election?
Was George Osborne about to abandon David Cameron in the 2005 Tory leadership race? That’s the first question on this week’s EMQs, where George recounts the mistakes made by the David Davis campaign that allowed Cameron to ascend. Ed Balls s… -

Is Tony Blair the Logan Roy of Britain?
The battle for Makerfield is on, so this week Ed Balls and George Osborne dig into this consequential by-election’s frontrunners. Andy Burnham is radical in tone, but are his policies more conservative when you dig in? Reform’s Robert Kenyon has l… -

EMQs: Should retired politicians go on Question Time?
Following Green MP Hannah Spencer’s comments on drinking culture at Westminster, Ed Balls and George Osborne answer whether MPs should be better behaved in general during Parliamentary sessions. They make the case for heckling and jeering, compari… -

Burnham, Streeting, and Rayner’s race to No. 10
British politics has moved at a rapid pace the last week, with Andy Burnham securing his root to parliament, Wes Streeting reigniting Brexit debates, and a defiant No. 10 fighting on through all of it. Ed Balls and George Osborne examine the leade… -

EMQs: Should we vote on weekends?
Last week’s local elections saw votes counted during the Friday to save costs, and inspired one listener to ask Ed Balls and George Osborne why that isn’t always the case. He also wondered why we don’t vote at weekends like other European countrie… -

Who should be the next Prime Minister?
Wes Streeting’s resignation is the latest domino to fall amid the threat to Keir Starmer’s premiership, in a chain reaction that could lead to months of chaos. Ed Balls and George Osborne evaluate where the government and Keir Starmer can go from … -

HOT TAKE: Is it over for Starmer?
The fallout of the local elections was as many had predicted, but the chaotic aftermath demanded a reaction. Ed Balls and George Osborne went live on YouTube earlier today to give their thoughts on just how bad things are for Keir Starmer.… -

EMQs: Is politics like snooker?
Fresh off his trip to the Crucible to see the snooker, Ed Balls brings a question for him and George Osborne to answer on just how similar politics and snooker are. Is it all about the long game? Or do you take the risky shot when the opportunity … -

Why are Labour so aggressive on the Greens?
It’s polling day, and the tensions have never been higher for Keir Starmer. The threat to his left, with the Greens, or to his right, with Reform, makes this a defining moment of his premiership. Ed Balls and George Osborne take this time to look …