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.
Send your messages or voice notes to questions@politicalcurrency.co.uk
Find us on social media @polcurrency
Political Currency is a Persephonica production.
Subscribe now on PatreonHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Latest episode
-
EMQs: Is toxic masculinity a government problem?
This week, Ed Balls and George Osborne mull museums and memes via bank holidays and pennies. With listeners telling us their locations of choice, funeral director Ross ranks highly with his admission that Ed and George are sometimes listened… -
Trump’s tariffs: Is Starmer right to ‘keep calm and carry on’?
In the wake of Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’, Ed Balls and George Osborne break down the economic thinking – or lack thereof – behind President’s tariffs. Rather than the numbers emerging from complicated analysis, Ed explains how… -
EMQs: Who’s to blame for the state of the economy?
A whole host of Treasury buffs have sent in their questions this week in wake of the Spring Statement, for Ed Balls and George Osborne to answer. Former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt asks whether in the light of Labour’s announcing civil service re… -
Could Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ gamble pay off?
Has Chancellor Rachel Reeves got it right? Ed Balls and George Osborne provide their immediate reaction to her Spring Statement, questioning whether she’s missed her big opportunity for a relaunch. George likens her approach to ‘staying at t… -
EMQs: Should frozen Russian assets fund Ukraine?
With talk of raiding pensions, George Osborne and Ed Balls consider how to increase the incentives for working people to save. As former Treasury insiders, the pair reflect on specific parts of their own previous pension reforms and ask: wha… -
Is Rachel Reeves risking her reset moment?
They may have both been leading Brexiteers but Dominic Cummings and Nigel Farage were once fierce rivals, vying to be the top campaign of the referendum. As recently as last year Cummings accused Farage of ‘surrounding himself with useless c… -
EMQs: Political Golf Buddies
This week, Ed Balls and George Osborne complete the chancellor triptych with current shadow Chancellor Mel Stride ringing in to ask: how much space should a treasurer leave themselves against their fiscal target? And pressingly, does Rachel … -
Will welfare cuts be Labour’s undoing?
A ceasefire in the Russian-Ukraine war is now on the table, with US and Ukrainian officials reaching a deal to stop the fighting. With US military aid to Ukraine and intelligence sharing now reinstated, the world is now turning to Putin’s ne… -
EMQs Live: A post politics survival guide
This week George Osborne and Ed Balls are taking questions in person, with a select few Kitchen Cabinet members joining the first ever live audience recording of the show. Is Fredreich Merz right to worr… -
Will Rachel Reeves be forced into an emergency budget?
It’s been a week of political whiplash, including that infamous explosive meeting in the Oval office and renewed commitment from European leaders to back Ukraine. George Osborne and Ed Balls consider who - if anyone - has fared well in this …