Political Currency

The budget crunch is on for Andy Burnham’s new government, with Ed Balls and George Osborne warning that the economic outlook has got much worse from when the new PM entered No. 10. The Fed raising interest rates, and the Bank of England likely to follow this autumn, create a stark picture for Burnham and John Healey. George reports a lack of confidence internationally, and wonders if the honeymoon period has been wasted.

George is just back from Canada, and reports on the confidence stirred up by their PM Mark Carney. Carney has just met Burnham, and is in talks to join the EU as a new associate member. What lessons should Burnham draw from Carney? Will closer ties to the EU place pressure on Burnham to follow?

And finally, are we heading for an AI apocalypse? Warning shots were fired last week, from an ex-Anthropic employee, with a 10% chance of humanity being extinct in a decade. George pours some cold water on this, but the pair agree the pressure is on to regulate this rapidly accelerating tech. How can governments regulate without losing their edge to China? Should Burnham follow in Sunak’s footsteps as a leader in this area? Is AI the biggest threat to humanity since the atomic bomb?

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Credits:

Production: Sam Burton
Producer: Caillin McDaid
Video Editor: Sam Gruet
Executive Producer: Henrietta Harrison

Political Currency is a Persephonica Production and is part of the Acast Creator Network.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Veteran journalist John Sweeney starts this week’s EMQs asking Ed Balls and George Osborne why Farage falls out with all his mates. From Rupert Lowe right back to his Ukip days, the Clacton MP has a long list of former friends turned bitter enemies. Is this part of the grit needed to be a successful politician? Or are Farage’s interpersonal challenges stopping him from reaching No. 10?

Labour MP Jon Pearce, UK's special envoy for post-Holocaust issues, then asks about Britain’s role in Nazi Germany and how we stay honest about the past. Ed speaks about his work with Eric Pickles, on the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation, and how their work will help to share a true account of what Britain did and didn’t do throughout the ‘30s and ‘40s.

Two listeners take us back to the 2000s, with questions on the move away from regions and the Tories abandoning their green agenda. Why have cities become more appealing than regions, pushed by the likes of John Prescott, and why is Kemi Badenoch not following David Cameron’s ‘vote blue go green’ strategy?

They’re also quizzed on who the last prime minister, before Andy Burnham, to go to Cambridge was, and why Oxford has produced so many more PMs. .

We love hearing from you, so please don’t forget to send all your EMQs to questions@politicalcurrency and make sure to include a voice note of your question or send a question to our social media handles:

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Please note: Kitchen Cabinet is only available via Patreon.

Credits:

Production: Sam Burton
Producer: Caillin McDaid
Video Editor: Louis Norris
Executive Producer: Henrietta Harrison

Political Currency is a Persephonica Production and is part of the Acast Creator Network.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Foreign affairs took centre stage in British politics this week, with Andy Burnham finally showing where he stands. Ed Balls and George Osborne examine the shake-up in rhetoric to Israel/Gaza, but suggest the policy was already planned by the Starmer government. George wonders whether Ed Miliband’s tone was too populist, and whether this was all a play for uniting the left vote. Elsewhere, they examine rising tensions over the Falklands, and just how Burnham will navigate delicate relations with both Donald Trump and the EU.

The best laid economic plans can be thwarted by global events, and the pair warn that John Healey’s forthcoming coming - being billed early as a ‘boring’ budget - will be a hostage to fortune. George also questions Healey’s safe approach economically to Burnham's emphasis on a radical break, and how the two can co-exist long-term.

Finally, the rise of the far-right AfD in Germany has seen a big advancement. The party came out on top in the Saxony-Anhalt state election at the weekend, and has put Chancellor Friedrich Merz under increased pressure. Will he be the German Keir Starmer? If so, what can Britain learn from this, as parties like Reform and Restore attempt to succeed with their own populist agenda.

We love hearing from you, so please don’t forget to send all your EMQs to questions@politicalcurrency and make sure to include a voice note of your question or send a question to our social media handles:

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Thanks for listening. To get episodes early and ad- free join Political Currency Gold or our Kitchen Cabinet. If you want even more perks including our exclusive newsletter, join our Kitchen Cabinet today:

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Please note: Kitchen Cabinet is only available via Patreon.

Credits:

Production: Sam Burton
Producer: Caillin McDaid
Video Editor: Louis Norris
Executive Producer: Henrietta Harrison

Political Currency is a Persephonica Production and is part of the Acast Creator Network.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Off the back of our preview of the Bayeux Tapestry, The Rest is History’s own Tom Holland asks Ed Balls and George Osborne about another significant English date: 926. The show is broadcast from inside the British Museum and Tom asks whether we should celebrate this date, commonly thought to be the beginning of England as we know it, and if so how?

Two listeners also ask about education; one asks if we can achieve longstanding education reform through cross-party consensus and another seeks advice ahead of going to university in the coming weeks.

Renowned biographer of British premiers Anthony Seldon then asks if his latest subject, Rishi Sunak, will see his legacy rehabilitated over time like another Tory prime minister: John Major. The pair compare Sunak’s achievements to Major’s, and suggest how he can continue to make an impact in life after No. 10.

Finally, Sir Peter Wanless, a former colleague of Ed’s, reminisces on their meeting with Dolly Parton to ask what matters more: charisma or evidence. They also commemorate the success of her Imagination Library and get into a heated debate over her best song.

You can vote for Good Morning Britain in the National Television Awards here: https://www.nationaltvawards.com/vote

We love hearing from you, so please don’t forget to send all your EMQs to questions@politicalcurrency and make sure to include a voice note of your question or send a question to our social media handles:

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Thanks for listening. To get episodes early and ad- free join Political Currency Gold or our Kitchen Cabinet. If you want even more perks including our exclusive newsletter, join our Kitchen Cabinet today:

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Please note: Kitchen Cabinet is only available via Patreon.

Credits:

Production: Sam Burton
Producer: Caillin McDaid
Video Editor: Louis Norris & Oliver Geraghty
Executive Producer: Henrietta Harrison

Political Currency is a Persephonica Production and is part of the Acast Creator Network.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, George Osborne and Ed Balls broadcast from the magnificent Bayeux Tapestry exhibition at the British Museum - the only podcast allowed in the space. Joined by curator Michael Lewis, they discuss the dramatic diplomacy that saw the delicate masterpiece travel from France to Britain, the real story this 70 metre long tapestry tells and the parallels with politics today.

They then turn from 1066 to 2026, with our new prime minister facing the Commons for the first time, they assess Burnham’s early premiership. The pair praise his confidence in the role, but caution he has big challenges that could destabilise him; namely, early prison releases and a critical budget.

Finally, they do a health check on the major opposition parties. Can Zack Polanski take Keir Starmer’s old seat? Will Kemi Badenoch’s reshuffle cement the Tories as the main opposition? And, can Reform’s conference this weekend put an agonising summer of scandal behind them?

We love hearing from you, so please don’t forget to send all your EMQs to questions@politicalcurrency and make sure to include a voice note of your question or send a question to our social media handles:

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Thanks for listening. To get episodes early and ad- free join Political Currency Gold or our Kitchen Cabinet. If you want even more perks including our exclusive newsletter, join our Kitchen Cabinet today:

👉 patreon.com/politicalcurrency
👉 Apple Podcasts

Please note: Kitchen Cabinet is only available via Patreon.

Credits:

Production: Sam Burton
Producer: Caillin McDaid
Video Editor: Louis Norris & Oliver Geraghty
Executive Producer: Henrietta Harrison

Political Currency is a Persephonica Production and is part of the Acast Creator Network.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.