After a faltering start in the rain, Rishi Sunak’s campaign seems to be gaining momentum. Is it enough to prove he was right to gamble on a snap election?

While it might not all be plain sailing for the Conservatives, things have certainly been looking up as trouble brews in the Labour Party. Ed Balls thinks Keir Starmer's handling of Diane’s Abbott’s candidacy has been a “terrible mess”. Could it have real ramifications for his hopes at the polls?

But elsewhere George Osborne thinks a nightmare could be brewing for the Tories in the form of Nigel Farage. Could the so-called “honorary president” of Reform UK be looking for a Conservative seat?

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Producer: Rosie Stopher and Ned Miles

Production support: Miriam Hall

Technical Producer: Oliver Geraghty

Executive Producers: Dino Sofos and 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.

Ed Balls and George Osborne have election fever and won’t be stopped from answering your EMQs. How did George get the election date so wrong? Is the public too despondent with the state of politics to bother voting at all? And could the Liberal Democrats stun us all to become a credible opposition?

Plus, George reveals what he thinks the Tories’ attack line on Keir Starmer will be, and Ed tries to nail him down on just who the incompetent junior minister in his treasury was…

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Producer: Rosie Stopher and Ned Miles

Production support: Miriam Hall

Technical Producer: Will Gibson Smith

Executive Producers: Dino Sofos and 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.

A snap election! Not quite George Osborne’s prediction of 14th November, Ed Balls is struggling to understand the logic that led Rishi Sunak to surprise, well, literally everybody with 4th July as the date of the next general election. Are good inflation numbers really enough to see the Conservatives to a better result than the formerly predicted disaster? George reveals Number 10’s thinking.

As the battle is drawn, Ed and George discuss the seats to watch and the issues on the table - and of course, the ones that aren’t. And, they draw back the curtain on how Westminster will be preparing in the wake of the prime minister’s bombshell.

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Remember to send us your questions to questions@politicalcurrency.co.uk

Producer: Rosie Stopher and Ned Miles

Production support: Miriam Hall

Technical Producer: Will Gibson Smith and Oliver Geraghty

Executive Producers: Dino Sofos and Ellie Clifford

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

Why doesn’t Bristol have a mayor anymore? What do treasury officials actually do? And is there a reason we’re losing so many bright young tech experts to the West Coast of America?

Plus, author Will Hutton wants to know if Ed Balls and George Osborne will take responsibility for their involvement in the economic crises of the twenty-first century, and in a podcast crossover, Sascha O’Sullivan of POLITICO’s Westminster Insider wants to know if we should be trying to find silver linings in Truss’s attempt to be different.

Remember to send us your questions to questions@politicalcurrency.co.uk

Producer: Rosie Stopher

Production support: Miriam Hall

Technical Producer: Will Gibson Smith

Executive Producers: Dino Sofos and 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.

Keir Starmer, poster boy. The Labour leader’s new pledge card is here, with six key policies and a black and white photoshoot to woo the public. Is it all a bit retro? Well that depends who you ask: George Osborne would prefer a new approach, whereas Ed Balls reckons some solid Labour '97 nostalgia might just be what the party needs.

Meanwhile, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary David Lammy is working hard to get himself out there on the world stage - and back in the good books of a certain former (and possibly future) US President, of whom he’s rarely been complimentary before. If he’s after an invitation to Mar-a-Lago, the good news is that George has the inside scoop from the current Foreign Secretary on how an evening at Donald Trump’s dinner table plays out.

And, with George on the ground at Stanford University, what are the challenges of the campus protests sweeping the world - and what does it mean for politics in a globally important election year?

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Remember to send us your questions to questions@politicalcurrency.co.uk

Producer: Rosie Stopher

Production support: Miriam Hall

Technical Producer: Will Gibson Smith

Executive Producers: Dino Sofos and 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.

Ed Balls and George Osborne are pleased to have been asked for book recommendations. Is this the start of a book club to compete with the likes of Richard and Judy? If so, George is bagsying his role in the duo now - and no, it’s not Richard.

MP Greg Clark asks about the future of local mayoralties, and Sunday Times interviewer Decca Aitkenhead wants to know whether George is doing anything about his, ahem, selective memory. Plus, what on earth did the Cameron government see in Liz Truss all those years ago, and what’s changed?

You could have been listening to this episode of EMQs early and ad-free! Become a member of POLITICAL CURRENCY GOLD 🏅 to support the podcast, enjoy ad-free listening to all our episodes, receive early access to EMQs and Inside The Room, and to live show tickets.

Try for free: patreon.com/politicalcurrency or on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/politicalcurrency

Remember to send us your questions to questions@politicalcurrency.co.uk

Producer: Rosie Stopher and Ned Miles

Production support: Miriam Hall

Technical Producer: Will Gibson Smith and Oliver Geraghty

Executive Producers: Dino Sofos and 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.

Rishi Sunak lives to fight another day after some terrible local election results. But as he loses yet another MP to Labour, Ed Balls and George Osborne ask whether it might be time to play a new strategy and try acting the underdog.

Meanwhile, whilst Labour had a markedly better weekend, it didn’t quite indicate the 1997-style landslide they might be hoping for in the next general election. Is Keir Starmer on track for a small majority? And if so, how should he manage it?

And in foreign affairs, the UK is notably absent from President Xi Jinping’s European itinerary this week. How did Sino-UK relations end up here, and how would a prime minister - current or future - get back on track?

Become a member of POLITICAL CURRENCY GOLD 🏅 to support the podcast, enjoy ad-free listening to all our episodes, receive early access to EMQs and Inside The Room, and to live show tickets. Try for free: patreon.com/politicalcurrency or on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/politicalcurrency

Remember to send us your questions to questions@politicalcurrency.co.uk

Producers: Rosie Stopher and Ned Miles

Production support: Miriam Hall

Technical Producer: Will Gibson Smith

Executive Producers: Dino Sofos and 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.

It’s polling day. Ed Balls and George Osborne give their expert analysis on the importance of local elections: what contests do you need to look out for? And what do they reveal about Rishi Sunak’s political fortunes?

Across the border, the Scottish National Party is in turmoil after First Minister Humza Yousaf resigned. Could this open the door to a Labour resurgence in Scotland?

Speaking of, the person hoping to lead that resurgence is Keir Starmer. But how well do we really know the man hoping to be our next Prime Minister? George has called up Keir’s old friend Andrew Cooper to find out more about the Labour leader’s youth.

Become a member of POLITICAL CURRENCY GOLD 🏅 to support the podcast, enjoy ad-free listening to all our episodes, receive early access to EMQs and Inside The Room, and to live show tickets.

Try for free: patreon.com/politicalcurrency or on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/politicalcurrency

Remember to send us your questions to questions@politicalcurrency.co.uk

Producer: Rosie Stopher

Production support: Miriam Hall

Technical Producer: Will Gibson Smith

Executive Producers: Dino Sofos and 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.