Political Currency

Politics is back with a bang, and so are Ed Balls and George Osborne. As Keir Starmer declares "phase two" of his government, he's immediately engulfed by a scandal that threatens his Deputy Prime Mi…

What if the great 'what if' moments of recent British history had turned out differently? Ed Balls and George Osborne dive into the political sliding doors that could have rewritten the last three de…

Political Currency’s summer specials continue! This week, while Ed Balls is away, George Osborne is joined by one of Labour's longest-serving and most compelling figures, Dame Emily Thornberry.

Thornb…

What are the essential skills for a life in politics? In an age of TikTok soundbites, can a single speech in Parliament still change minds and topple a government? Ed Balls and George Osborne dive in…

What is it really like to go from nine years in the political wilderness to running one of the most challenging departments in government? For Wes Streeting, Labour's Secretary of State for Health, i…

Why do the concerns of young people barely register in political debate? Ed Balls and George Osborne take questions on the widening gap between the careers young people dream of and the jobs actually…

While George Osborne is away “stirring the pot” (this time with JD Vance),Ed Balls is joined by author and columnist Sarah Vine for a powerfully candid conversation about her explosive memoir, How No…

Why haven’t Ed Balls or George Osborne written political memoirs? Broadcaster Iain Dale puts the question to them, asking what’s stopping them, what they’d reveal if they did, and whether political h…

Kwasi Kwarteng reflects on what went wrong.

The former Chancellor joins Ed Balls to talk through the decisions behind the Truss mini-budget - from bypassing the OBR to what he now calls its “real inte…

The future of a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine comes into question this week, as Ed Balls and George Osborne respond to a listener asking whether Israeli public opinion has shifted i…

The IMF has upgraded its global growth forecast - so things aren’t quite as bleak as we feared. Still bleak, though.

Ed Balls and George Osborne dig into what the numbers mean for Chancellor Rachel Re…

The UK’s high speed railway has been plagued with cost blowouts, delays and scale-backs - so Ed Balls and George Osborne consider: has it all just been a big waste of money? Couldn’t those funds have…

Parliament has broken up for summer, but politics shows no sign of cooling down. Ed Balls and George Osborne run through the latest from every party - the Tories’ frontbench reshuffle, Labour’s mount…

What should the NHS pay for, and what should it not? In this week’s episode, Ed Balls and George Osborne tackle one of the toughest political questions: how do you decide what’s “reasonable” for the …

Donald Trump wants to know why everyone won’t just forget about the Epstein files already. As he keeps pointing out, the disgraced financier has been dead for years. But Trump himself stirred up fres…

Which side of politics loves the monarchy more? Conventional wisdom says Conservatives are the monarchy’s biggest fans. But are Ed Balls and George Osborne the exceptions to that rule? The pair explo…

There was a lot of ceremony and back-patting this week as Emmanuel Macron visited the UK. But behind the smiles, thorny issues like migration and post-Brexit power dynamics are back on the table. Geo…

What is a fair way to govern? In response to a long time listener who feels a victim of his own success – disproportionately hit by taxes and ineligible for certain benefits – Ed Balls explains three…

Some incredible scenes in PMQs this week - in which Chancellor Rachel Reeves was openly crying - has Ed Balls and George Osborne considering just how bad things have got for the Labour government. Me…

Is the G20 still a force for peace and diplomacy, or just a stage for political performance? Ed Balls and George Osborne kick off this week’s EMQs with a question about nuclear non-proliferation and …