Political Currency

After weeks of warnings from George Osborne and Ed Balls, Donald Trump has rolled the dice and launched Operation Epic Fury and Operation Rising Lion against Iran. The strikes sent shockwaves around the world, with many wondering what Trump’s real motivations were. Why did Trump act now? What is his endgame? And what could the domestic and geopolitical consequences be?

Ed and George unpack the strategic calculations behind the decision, from Middle East security to access to oil, and discuss the geopolitical fallout that may follow.

The conflict in Iran has also brought about the starkest moment of disagreement between UK and US since the Vietnam war. Keir Starmer refused to follow the US and Israel, but how much was that position based on internal disagreements within Labour and the long political shadow of the Iraq War?

Finally, the pair turn to Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement. Did the Chancellor miss the mark? With defence spending pressures rising and unresolved questions around student loans, they ask if the statement was unusually partisan despite delivering few major policy changes.

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.

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Please note: Kitchen Cabinet is only available via Patreon.

Credits:

Research: Sam Burton
Production: Caillin McDaid & Caitlin Caitlin Hanrahan
Video Editor: Avi Asher
Executive Producer: Ellie Clifford

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

On the heels of the AI Impact Summit, former advisor to Nick Clegg and author Verity Harding asks how Ed Balls and George Osborne’s experiences of the dot com bubble and rise of social media can inform the current government’s approach to AI. They also discuss whether AI is heading for its own Dot Com crash.

And, what’s in a Department Name? More than you’d think apparently. The pair get surprisingly passionate about the joys of a government department rebrand - reminiscing on the coalitions unpicking of the Whitehall reorganisation done by New Labour. Ed is still bitterly disappointed at the abandonment of the DCSF.

And, turning to the appointment of Antonia Romeo as Cabinet Secretary - and the wave of misogynistic commentary that followed - Ed and George ask, given her obvious qualifications, why didn’t Keir Starmer appoint her sooner?

Finally, former civil servant Tamara Finkelstein asks why investment into UK deep tech startups is so lacking, and what can be done to close the gap with the US? Ed and George pose a challenge to the government to address this issue sooner rather than later.

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.

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:

Research: Sam Burton
Production: Caillin McDaid, Caitlin Hanrahan & Eve Jones
Video Editor: Avi Asher
Executive Producer: Ellie Clifford

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Should a government hold a referendum on tax? A civil servant messages in to pose this idea to Ed Balls and George Osborne on this week’s EMQs. The two debate the merits of holding any referendum, reminisce on how easily they become about more than their central question, and ponder whether tax policy is suited to the form of a referendum.

Former MP Luke Hall asks the pair about charities funding and tax changes, and George relays the surprising difficulty he found in crafting the appropriate policy for this sector whilst Chancellor.

And, is Peter Mandelson leaking information to Jeffrey Epstein a betrayal to the Labour party on the scale of the SDP forming in ‘81 or Ramsay MacDonald’s National government? Or, is it something even greater? Ed explains the ways that the Mandelson scandal is uniquely perfidious.

Finally, is the shelf life for a British politician shorter than the rest of the world? Why is it so rare to see someone re-enter the Commons after leaving? Ed and George weigh up the reasons for greater churn in British political life than in other democracies.

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.

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:

Research: Sam Burton
Production: Caillin McDaid, Caitlin Hanrahan & Eve Jones
Video Editor: Avi Asher
Executive Producer: Ellie Clifford

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

We’re one week from the Gorton and Denton by-election, which could prove another brutal blow to Keir Starmer’s already unstable premiership. Could Reform gain another MP or will this be the Green Party’s first by-election victory? And is a Labour hold out of the question?

Ed Balls and George Osborne explore the state of play for the parties, including the U-turn on postponing 30 local elections, the Labour Together scandal, and Reform unveiling their ‘shadow cabinet’.

Then, following last weekend’s Munich Security Conference, the pair turn their attention to further calls for Europe to increase defence spending. The question for the UK is: can the Treasury afford the proposed 3% defence spending by the end of the parliament? And would the British public accept spending cuts needed to hit that target?

Finally, George gives the inside scoop on the AI Impact Summit in India. He explains what opportunities and concerns are being addressed by world leaders, as well as why it represents an achievement for Britain.

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.

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:

Research: Sam Burton
Production: Caillin McDaid & Caitlin Caitlin Hanrahan
Video Editor: Avi Asher
Executive Producer: Ellie Clifford

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