Political Currency

Two Members of Parliament (and a former too!) are seeking Ed Balls’ and George Osborne’s counsel this week. The pair consider the impact of AI, courtesy of a question from Alan Mak, the MP for Havant and the Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology - who has rung in to ask how emerging technologies can help governments run better. Meanwhile, Jake Richards, a newly elected L...

With just days to go before Rachel Reeves delivers her first Spending Review, Labour is facing an uncomfortable squeeze. NATO wants defence spending ramped up to 3.5% of GDP, but Reeves is sticking to her strict fiscal rules. Can Starmer keep both Washington and voters at home on side - or will the sums simply stop adding up? Meanwhile, Donald Trump is reigniting the trade war - with a 25% steel t...

When things go wrong - very badly wrong, as with the case of the infected blood and the sub-postmasters scandals - why can’t the state act quickly to compensate victims? Ed Balls and George Osborne consider how the government should best respond, and balance the interests of innocent people as well as taxpayers.  Harvard is the latest American university to feel the full force of Donald Trump...

If Labour was hoping for one of those quick and easy policy U-turns, they certainly haven’t got it. With Rachel Reeves’ spending review a scant two weeks away, the government is still having trouble explaining the details - or providing any detail, really - on how winter fuel payments are now going to work. Now that cutting the two-child benefit cap is in the mix, who is going to explain what is p...

Can a quick political win keep the public on side while the hard work happens behind the scenes? This week on Ex-Ministers’ Questions , Ed Balls and George Osborne debate whether Labour's lack of early symbolic moves has cost them public goodwill - and whether a bit of political theatre can actually make or break a government. They also tackle questions from across the UK and the US: how can Kemi...

Did someone say U-turn? Ed Balls and George Osborne have been saying it for a while, actually, when it comes to the matter of the controversial winter fuel tax cut. Now that the government has walked it back, will it do the trick and soothe voters and ease tensions with Labour MPs? Ed thinks the approach is “politically and technically messy”. George, for his part, thinks it’s nothing short of a d...

California Governor hopeful Steve Hilton has a question for Ed Balls and George Osborne this week: which American state would they choose to live in, and would they rather be a senator or a governor? A trip down fantasy lane has the pair questioning the best path to political glory, based on previous presidents’ CVs. Ed Balls for 2032? Seems… far fetched. Back in the real world, the pair debate wh...

Keir Starmer’s controversial reference to an “Island of strangers” as part of his immigration overhaul has sparked a furore, and inspired a comparison to his previous stance on migration. Ed Balls thinks while there’s no doubt it will cause some consternation, it will be a price worth paying. George Osborne, meanwhile, is getting Tory vibes … it all sounds a bit like it could’ve come from a Conser...

This week on Ex Ministers’ Questions Ed Balls and George Osborne hear from listeners from the high seas, the Dubai sun, and the halls of Parliament - including a Gold subscriber who circumnavigated the globe listening to the podcast under the stars. The pair consider, has the press been too negative on the government’s brand new free trade deal with India? And while they’re talking about global al...

It’s been an impressive week for the Labour government, with trade deals with both India and the US. Ed Balls and George Osborne consider: what does this say about the Starmer government’s ‘softly-softly’ approach to the wildly unpredictable Trump administration? Being the first in the world to ink a deal with the Americans is nothing to be sniffed at, even if it is a little light on the details –...

Ed Balls and George Osborne, fresh from a break for the Inside the Room Series: The Election that Never Was, jump straight back in with a slew of questions. With George’s old mate and former David Cameron adviser Steve Hilton jumping into the Governor’s race in California they counsel a stateside Republican voter (and Kitchen Cabinet member) on whether they think he’s a good choice.  They als...

Local elections are taking place across England today - and they’re a major political test for Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch, and Nigel Farage. Ed Balls and George Osborne break down what’s at stake in these key contests, from mayoral races to a critical by-election. Meanwhile, across the pond, Donald Trump has just hit 100 days in office. With stock markets reeling, 142 executive orders signed, and...

To Snap or Not to Snap?... As we turn to October 2007, election fever has taken over the UK - everyone from journalists to the opposition to Ed Balls himself is expecting Gordon Brown to call a snap general election. But with the polls lurching back towards the Tories, Brown gets cold feet.  In the final episode of this series, Deborah Mattinson rejoins the series to recall those final war ro...

Election Speculation... Labour had a substantial lead in the polls in 2007, fuelling talk of a snap general election to cement Gordon Brown’s place in Number 10. And things only got better as the party arrived in Bournemouth for their party conference. By the end of it, election fever was well and truly in the air. To listen to episode 3 straight away, sign up to Political Currency Gold or our Kit...

Gordon Brown Takes the Crown... Ed Balls and George Osborne relive the sliding doors moment that could have changed the course of British history - the 2007 election that never was. To listen to episodes 2 and 3 straight away, sign up to Political Currency Gold or our Kitchen Cabinet. Head to Apple Podcasts or www.patreon.com/PoliticalCurrency to find out more. Subscribers will also get exclusive...

In this Easter special, Ed Balls and George Osborne meet a truly mythical creature: someone who wants to pay more tax, not less. And according to George, there’s actually a way to do it. They also discuss a big political what-if: what happens if a Prime Minister loses their seat? They've talked before about how someone can become PM without being an MP - think Mark Carney in Canada - but this week...

As the US-China trade war heats up, Ed Balls and George Osborne ask: what if the Trump White House took the nuclear option… defaulting on its debts to China? Ed explains why that could be a catastrophic thing to do, while George points to the ‘Mar-a-Lago Accord’ as a way that the US in reality may negotiate its debt.  Sticking with Trump, Ed and George also ponder ‘patrimonalism’ – a ter...

It’s been a rollercoaster few days for the world economy thanks to Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs announcement - and his dramatic U-turn a scant week later. With a 90-day pause for every country hit - aside from China -  Ed Balls and George Osborne consider the significance of a hugely disappointing auction of US treasuries, and how it led to Trump’s Treasury Secretary warning him of...

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 to in a hearse on the drive home. The pair consider: what are the merits of regulating the funeral industry? Should our cultural institutions be charging more...

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 they are merely reached through a simple formula. Will the Federal Reserve be able to cut interest rates as quickly as Trump would like in the wake of his tariffs...

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 reductions and welfare reform, the government is “ stealing our clothes ”?  Lord Macpherson, Permanent Secretary to no less than three Chancellors, praises...

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 the Roulette table’, having failed to land on black the first time around…  He also compares her inflexibility to fiscal rules to his own approach while Ch...

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: what approaches would they take if they were still setting policy today?   They’re also pressed on recent arguments made by Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak tha...

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 characters’ – so why are we now hearing of a secret meeting between the two before Christmas? Ed Balls and George Osborne pick apart the significance of th...

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 Reeves pass their test? They also consider if Nigel Farage will come to regret his close alignment with Donald Trump. Could the electorate turn against him if...