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PODCAST

Political Currency

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

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All Episodes

46:39

EMQs: How to survive a cabinet reshuffle

Political Currency ·

2025/02/24

Ex-ministers Ed Balls and George Osborne reflect on the moments in their political careers when they went against the whip. What are the consequences of going against the party grain, and is it worth it? Simon Hart, former Chief Whip under Rishi Sunak, sends us a voice note to ask…And on the subject of political maneuvering and backroom deals – and with rumours swirling No 10 is planning a Spring rejig –what’s it like when there’s a cabinet reshuffle? The pair reflect on the political brutality that

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1:03:08

Could Keir Starmer send British Troops to Ukraine?

Political Currency ·

2025/02/20

Donald Trump and his Vice President JD Vance have set the cat amongst the pigeons as they criticise Europe and Ukraine this week. Ed Balls and George Osborne look back on a week that turned the world upside down. How do NATO members respond to perhaps the most unpredictable world leader ever known?Keir Starmer is just one world leader considering his next steps in Trumpworld. Is his vision for Britain as a bridge between the EU and the US working? And if he’s to follow through on his pledge of

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42:48

EMQs: Are personal insults fair in politics?

Political Currency ·

2025/02/17

With Valentine’s Day just gone, podcast soulmates Ed Balls and George Osborne are turning to questions of both hearts and minds this week. As Keir Starmer recently became the first sitting Prime Minister to take a public HIV test, Richard Angell, the Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust asks: Did Ed and George ever take a similar step while in leadership?They also consider whether UK politics could ever drop the inevitable personal attacks that are rolled out during an election campaign. And

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58:58

Can Kemi Badenoch get free of Nigel Farage?

Political Currency ·

2025/02/12

The Starmer government’s landmark Assisted Dying bill could be in danger of collapsing, with sponsor Kim Leadbeater now proposing major changes in the final moments. Will this signal the end once and for all? Ed Balls and George Osborne clash over how Keir Starmer should best proceed. Should he pull the bill entirely? Or is it time to press on?Meanwhile, Kemi Badeoch is marking 100 days in what is arguably one of the worst jobs going in politics: Leading the opposition. She's working hard to hose

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41:05

EMQs: Can we get young people back to work?

Political Currency ·

2025/02/10

This week, Ed Balls and George Osborne take on some of the most difficult challenges facing society today. With millions of people of working age not in a job - officially called economically inactive - the pair consider the current costs to society and how to fix them. Columnist for the Times and former MP Matthew Parris asks George directly: Didn’t he see this coming with the introduction of personal independence payments?And the Office of Budget Responsibility is meant to be apolitical – but does

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59:51

Will the Tories fall for Keir Starmers EU trap?

Political Currency ·

2025/02/06

Keir Starmer has been in Brussels this week, meeting with European Union leaders with the view to resetting the relationship with the bloc. George Osborne and Ed Balls ask, is it making good on a campaign promise? Is it to shore up UK-EU relations as President Donald Trump runs wild with tariffs? Or, is it a perfect opportunity to lay the perfect trap for the Conservatives …Trump’s decision to slap tariffs on major US trading partners sent shock waves across the globe and sent the stockmarket into a

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32:40

EMQs: Should we want Donald Trump to succeed?

Political Currency ·

2025/02/03

This week Ed Balls and George Osborne look at what makes a smart, successful opposition party. Is disagreeing with everything the government of the day says the best way to do it? Or are there some judicious, selective compromises to be made? And who are the best examples of politicians who’ve made some well played, cross party agreements?Amid global tumult, they consider the question: is democracy dead? What will happen if President Donald Trump’s policies are a roaring success? And the pair

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59:05

Can extremism amongst young men be stopped?

Political Currency ·

2025/01/30

In the wake of the horrific Southport attack, George Osborne and Ed Balls consider the parameters of the upcoming inquiry and the intensifying concern about young men engaging in acts of violence. Should the definition of extremism be changed with the so-called manosphere in mind? And do we need new rules for reporting on major crime for our social media age?And the pair mull over Rachel Reeves speech outlining her plans for growth. George thoroughly approves of everything she is announcing, and

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39:33

EMQs: Should David Beckham be knighted?

Political Currency ·

2025/01/27

A somewhat sporty one this episode, as in the wake of a Davos meet, George Osborne and Ed Balls consider: Why hasn’t David Beckham been knighted yet? Lady Posh Spice would just sound so good.Meanwhile, Former Minister for Sport Tracey Crouch asks if there’s any way to keep politics out of sport under Trump’s presidency. With a World Cup and an Olympics games in the US this year, what will be at stake under the new administration?And, the pair slip into professor mode to break down a few lessons of

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58:48

Trump's tech supremacy era begins?

Political Currency ·

2025/01/23

President Trump has had a big week, what with an inauguration and then signing a myriad of actions in his first days in office - never mind the move to US tech supremacy. After a big start, Ed Balls and George Osborne ask whether he can sustain the political honeymoon, or if this will be a very different Trump presidency, marred by the reality of being a populist President in office.Meanwhile, like the rest of the global elite, George is in Davos, and he’s reporting back to Ed everything he’s heard

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38:16

EMQs: Could Ed Davey’s EU plan actually work?

Political Currency ·

2025/01/20

With Donald Trump back in the White House as of Monday, leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey has called in to ask: In strengthening the nation's negotiating hand with the new American leadership, is there a case for rejoining the EU customs union? George Osborne and Ed Balls discuss whether he's on to something - and whether there's any way it could happen under a Starmer government.Meanwhile, the PM wants to supercharge the UK’s Artificial Intelligence capabilities – but should that be top of

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55:36

Should Starmer replace Reeves?

Political Currency ·

2025/01/15

After a tough week, Keir Starmer’s been forced to publicly proclaim Rachel Reeves has his full support – and to hose down suggestions she won’t make the full parliament. Ed Balls and George Osborne weigh in on just how politically fatal it would be to ditch a Chancellor six months into the Labour leadership.The second Trump presidency is now a matter of days away, so how will this new American political era play out on the world stage? Why are some Trump opponents approaching the Trump sequel with

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38:21

EMQs: Time to take Trump seriously?

Political Currency ·

2025/01/13

George Osborne and Ed Balls are back for their first round of questions of the year, ready to mull the big conundrums of 2025! Craig Oliver, former director of Politics and Communications in David Cameron’s No 10, asks the pair to weigh in on the upcoming Trump Presidency. Do we need to take him seriously – and literally – this time around?In the wake of our Inside No 10: David Cameron - The First Six Months series, should Labour have taken a leaf from the Cameron/Osborne era and painted a fuller

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1:01:23

Reeves’ bond market headache

Political Currency ·

2025/01/09

Is Rachel Reeves starting 2025 with a bond market headache? Ed Balls and George Osborne explain how global trends and UK inflation might just mean she’s boxed herself in… again.Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s growing interest in British politics – and hatred of Keir Starmer – has erupted into a row over the grooming gangs scandal. What would Ed and George do in Starmer’s position? And what are the long and short term political implications for Labour, the Tories and Nigel Farage’s Reform party.Plus, over in

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49:17

Inside No 10: David Cameron - The First Six Months...

Political Currency ·

2025/01/06

How do you position yourself on the world stage? David Cameron might have been Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, but in this third episode he shares with Ed Balls and George Osborne the true reality of leading a small country in a big world. British soldiers in Afghanistan; Relations with China; The beginnings of a rupture in the UK-EU relationship. And he shares the more personal moments - like losing a parent - that still happen in the life of a human being who happens to be Prime Minister.As

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39:06

Inside No 10: David Cameron - The First Six Months...

Political Currency ·

2025/01/02

How do you prepare the country for austerity? David Cameron joins Ed Balls and George Osborne to step back to the 2010 budget. From the true relationship between a Prime Minister and his Chancellor, to the careful decisions on departmental spending, to the very difficult task of selling cuts to a country that doesn’t want them, this is the reality of a Prime Minister before a government-defining fiscal event. As Keir Starmer marks six months as Prime Minister, Political Currency is stepping back

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40:13

Inside No 10: David Cameron - The First Six Months...

Political Currency ·

2024/12/30

What’s it really like to step through the black door of No 10 for the first time as Prime Minister? Ed Balls and George Osborne ask David Cameron about his “out-of-body” experience on the way to the palace, plus what it’s like organising a staff team who have just had to say goodbye to a government. They discuss how to handle the top job when life starts relentlessly throwing events at you, the surprising tasks - like letters of last resort - that suddenly become your responsibility, and whether a

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38:19

EMQs: 2025, The Comeback Year?

Political Currency ·

2024/12/26

This Boxing Day, George Osborne and Ed Balls pop the champagne and turn their minds to the year ahead. Good Morning Britain's Kate Garraway asks: What could Labour achieve in 2025 that would earn it Ed and George’s seal of approval? And what are they personally looking forward to in the coming year?Meanwhile, Conservative Member of Parliament Laura Trott, Shadow Education Secretary, has rung in to ask for advice on getting the issue of improving schools on the radar.And have Ed and George really

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24:29

EMQs: Christmas crises and cracker etiquette

Political Currency ·

2024/12/23

Christmas is just days away now, so Ed Balls and George Osborne are getting into the season by reflecting on Christmas-time political emergencies that have interrupted the festivities over the years.Meanwhile, Claudia Winkleman makes a guest appearance to ask the pair to weigh in on important matters: Should one read the joke first or place the crown after pulling a Christmas cracker? She also asks – mince pies or ice cream? And, of course, traitor or faithful?The pair also consider which political

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57:55

A lump of coal for Waspi women?

Political Currency ·

2024/12/19

David Cameron is revealed as our very special guest on Inside No 10: David Cameron - The First Six Months, out 30th December.Follow us wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you don’t miss this incredible conversation about what it really takes to run the government.📺: Watch the trailer now!Plus: An alleged spy scandal that reportedly ensnared Prince Andrew has Ed Balls and George Osborne asking: is it as bad as it looks? Isn’t spying – which the Chinese national in question strongly denies he

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