Rishi Sunak is on a mission to prove his political fortunes are turning round… despite a long list of headaches. How can he get out of the political spiral he’s in? George and Ed pick over some lessons from Prime Ministers past… 
He’d do well to heed their words. On the Labour side, Rachel Reeves had made another big play for the role of chancellor, giving the Mais lecture. Is ‘securonomics’ the future of Britain? And does it mean she’s disowning some of Ed’s New Labour decisions?
And forget the Eton rifles, could Britain’s young people actually be going to war?
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Producers: Rosie Stopher Technical Producer: Will Gibson Smith Production support: Miriam Hall Executive Producers: Dino Sofos and Ellie Clifford
Political Currency is a Persephonica Production and is part of the Acast Creator Network Subscribe now on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can Sunak save himself?

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 Thursday.
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Find us on social media @polcurrency
Political Currency is a Persephonica production. Subscribe now on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

News

Politics

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

EMQs: Truss, treasury officials and techxit?

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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Protests, Presidents and Politics like it's 97!

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?
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EMQs: Political Book Club

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?
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Defections, coalitions and China-UK relations

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.
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Can Sunak save himself?

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